Do You Have A Talking Problem?

I recently read somewhere that if you can't go an entire day without saying something negative about another person, then you have a problem.

Imagine someone says, "I like to drink, but I don't have a drinking problem."

You might ask, "How often do you drink?"
If they respond that they cannot go a day without drinking, you might suggest that they do indeed have a drinking problem.

Consider the person who says they never go a day without getting angry at least once. Would you recommend anger management?

So then...

If a day never passes in which you don't say at least one negative thing about one other person; do you have a "negative speech" problem?

I do.

Remember what James said. "And the tongue is a flame of fire. It is a whole world of wickedness, corrupting your entire body. It can set your whole life on fire, for it is set on fire by hell itself." (James 3:6)

He also said, "For if we could control our tongues, we would be perfect and could also control ourselves in every other way." (James 3:2)

I like to think of myself as being somewhat self-disciplined. I like to think I avoid addictive practices and behaviors that will control me. So, even though a lot is percolating in my mind regarding events of the past few days... Tonight, I'm going to be slow to speak.