“As a rudder steers a ship, the tongue steers your life. Watch your words.” —Anonymous

*ouch* Between that quote, and the verse from James, I think my toes just got stomped. Did you know that Merriam-Webster defines a Christian as “a person who believes in Jesus Christ and follows His teachings”? Believes and follows… If we call ourselves Christians, then there’s an expectation for our behavior to emulate the One we call Savior. Jesus didn’t curse. Jesus didn’t use sarcasm or anger or criticism in speaking to others. Jesus loved His followers. Do we seek to follow His example? Do we show love to our Christian brothers and sisters? Do we honor Christ with the vocabulary we use? Do we watch our words and our tone when speaking (or typing a response to a Facebook thread) to someone whose opinion contradicts our own? Can we call ourselves religious (i.e., a Christian) and then behave as if Jesus doesn’t matter to us? I don’t think so. It’s not easy to control our tongues, but when we do, we show the world we are different. And boy, the world needs to see a better way to react to others.