Hey everyone, John Mark Comer here. Welcome to the Bridgetown Daily for Monday, February 8th.

Our reading for today is from James chapter 1, verse 19 to 21.

My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this. Everyone should be quick to listen,

slow to speak and slow to become angry because human anger does not produce the righteousness that

God desires. Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly

accept the word planted in you which can save you. Let me read verse 19 over you one more time.

That is a command in the text. Every one should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become

angry. I'm recording this on Sunday afternoon. It's about 1 30 the day before, February 8th,

the Super Bowl is in full swing. I am likely missing the weekends, half time show, or whatever it is.

And I just finished teaching for our Sunday morning gathering at Bridgetown. And whenever I get done

teaching, it was a great morning, but doesn't matter. I start to replay in my mind all of the things

that I wish I had not said. Ooh, I wish I had not made that joke. Oh, I wish I had not made that

point. Oh, I wish I had not made that aside. There is a proverb. Tell me all you want. No, it was okay,

but there is a proverb in the Hebrew wisdom literature that is a great kind of synopsis of the

danger of my job. Quote in the multitude of words, sin is not lacking. Stand up on a stage in front

of the church or on the internet and talk for 40 minutes as I just got done doing. And you are bound

to sin at some point. An unkind joke, a sarcastic dig at somebody else's expense. God forbid a

untrue doctrine or idea, a self-glorifying aside. Who knows? For this reason, James goes on to write

after his command to be quick to listen and slow to speak. He goes on to write in the next chapter,

let not many of you become teachers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly.

It is not like my life verse, not a favorite for me. That is followed by the most famous

passage in all of scripture on the tongue. Listen to an excerpt. Consider what a great forest is set on

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