Moment of Meditation: Cursing and Blessing (James 3:9-10)

Original Broadcast: February 2010

Monthly Theme: Second Commandment

With [the tongue] we bless our Lord and Father,
and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God.
From the same mouth come blessing and cursing.
My brothers, these things ought not to be so.
(James 3:9-10)

Cursing and Blessing

"These things ought not to be so." There are many things that ought not to be so. The greatest of these is how we use our tongues. We sit in worship for an hour on Sunday morning and sing praises to our heavenly Father. The other 167 hours of the week we're cursing other people sometimes for the simple fact that they've crossed our path or they did something that annoyed us.

Other people, made in the image of God, are the ones we wish God would do something horrible to. That's exactly what we're doing when we curse someone else. We're asking God to do something terrible to whomever we curse.

How can we both bless God and curse His creatures? We've been given God's name in our Baptism, but we still retain the sinful nature that seeks to trip us up every step of the way.

Call upon God to help tame your tongue so that it is used for blessing Him and His creation. This can only be done through Him. Pray for His help today. Amen.