"Even so the tongue is a little member and boasts great things. See how great a forest a little fire kindles! And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire by hell. But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the similtude of God. Out of the same mout proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not be so." ~James 3:4-6, 8-10
"I need Thee, O Lord, for a curb on my tongue; when I am tempted to making carping criticisms and cruel judgements, keep me from speaking barbed words that hurt, and in which I find perverted satisfaction. Keep me from unkind words and from unkind silences. Restrain my judgements. Make my criticisms kind, generous, and constructive. Make me sweet inside, that I may be gentle with other people, gentle in the things I say, kind in what I do. Create in me that warmth of mercy that shall enable others to find Thy strength for their weaknesses, Thy peace for their strife. Thy joy for their sorrow, Thy love for their hatred, Thy compassion for their weaknesses. In thine own strong name, I pray. Amen. ~Peter Marshall
"Gratitude as a discipline involves a conscience choice. I can choose to be grateful even when my emotions and feelings are still steeped in hurt and resentment. It is amazing how many occasions present themselves in which I can choose gratitude instead of complaint. I can choose to be grateful when I am criticized, even when my heart still responds in bitterness. I can choose to speak about goodness and beauty, even when my inner eye still looks for someone to accuse or something to call ugly." ~Henri J.M. Nouwen
"Notice, we never pray for the folks we gossip about, and we never gossip about the folk for whom we pray! For prayer is a great deterrent." ~Leonard Ravenhill
"More churches have been destroyed by the accuser of the brethren and its faultfinding than by either immorality or misuse of church funds. So prevelant is this influence in our society that, among many, faultfinding has been elevated to the status of a ministry!" ~Frances Frangipane
"If you want the truth to go round the world you must hire an express train to pull it; but if you want a lie to go round the world, it will fly; it is as light as a feather, and a breath will carry it. It is well said in the old proverb,' a lie will go round the world while truth is putting its boots on." ~Charles Haddon Spurgeon
"You are confronted again and again with the choice of letting God speak or letting your wounded self cry out. Although there has to be a place where you can allow your wounded part to get the attention it needs, your vocation is to speak from the place in you where God dwells." ~Henri J.M. Nouwen
"Kind words do not cost much. They never blister the tongue or lips. They make other people good-natured. They also produce their own image on men's souls, and a beautiful image it is." ~Blaise Pascal
"Gossip is a sin that comes very naturally to a lot of people, especially women. We love to talk about other people, but often we are cutting down those people and not lifting them up. Our gossip can tear apart even the closest friends. Make an effort to bring up something good about a person every time that you hear a negative comment and try to refrain from making negative comments yourself." ~Unknown
"T-Is it true?
H-Is it helpful?
I-Is it inspiring?
N-Is it necessary?
K-Is it kind?
If what I am about to say does not pass those tests, I will keep my mouth shut." ~Alan Redpath
"Too many women have too much leisure time for their own good. They have time for criticism, gossip, faultfinding, and complaining. They have time for idle games and lay too much attention to the things of the flesh. There are other women who have too little time for the enduring things of life. They are too busy flitting about doing this and that. They have great activity and much doing, but they lack time for building Christian characters. Both kinds of women -- the too-idle and the too-busy need to take time for mediation and quiet reprose in prayer to God. They need time to cultivate their souls that in turn they may cultivate their children's lives." ~Billy Graham
"The old country doctor of my boyhood days always began his examination by saying, "Let me see your tongue." It is a good way to start the examination of anybody." ~Vance Havner
"It is required of us that we be tender of the good name of our brethren; where we cannot speak well, we had better say nothing than speak evil; we must not take pleasure in making known the faults of others, divulging things that are secret, merely to expose them, nor in making more of their known faults than really they deserve, and, least of all, in making false stories, and spreading things concerning them of which they are alogether innocent. What is this but to raise the hatred and encourage the persecutions of the world, against those who are engaged in the same interests with ourselves, and therefore with whom we ourselves must stand or fall? Consider you are brethren." ~Matthew Henry
"A gossip is a beast of prey who does not even wait for the death of his victim." ~George Meredith
