This weekend is the British Open golf championship.  I don't think that we have a ton of golf fans in the congregation, and I don't watch much golf, but I will be trying to watch a good bit of this one because I have played at the course they're competing on, Carnoustie in Scotland.  Long story short: I had a week of golf with my father-in-law and brother--in-law back in my 20s, and Carnoustie was right in the middle of the week.  My hitting and scoring peaked on that course, as I had started poorly in the week and then wore out later in the week.  But Carnoustie was just right and I was playing great.  Going into #9 I was imagining a sub-40 score, which for me is fantastic.  Of course, then my brain said, "Uh, you're not that good."  And my body answered, "Oh, you're right."  And they conspired against me and I landed a couple balls in the water and blew up my score.  Same thing happened on #18.  

I felt bad about that round until it happened to a professional golfer one year later: Jean van de Velde was winning the 1999 British Open at Carnoustie when he teed off on #18 needing only a 6 to win the championship.  In one of the greatest collapses in sports history, he hit the ball onto the wrong fairway, then off the viewing stands, next into the water, and then into the sand, eventually losing the tournament in a playoff.

All that to say: you can think you're doing great in life, but things can blow up in a hurry.  And one of the easiest ways to get in trouble and sidetracked is by running your mouth and saying things you can't take back.  And James chapter 2 says that the tongue is "a restless evil, full of deadly poison."  It also says that "no human being can tame the tongue."  That sounds like we're hopeless, but with God all things are possible.  I look forward to being with you this Sunday and exploring this passage together! - Dave