Text: "When words are many, sin is not absent." Proverbs 10:19

"In the multitude of words, there wanteth not sin." That's the way I memorized this text from the venerable King James Version. Either way, the point is to catch the message and understand it.

Our white bichon dog's vocabulary is limited to assorted dog noises and non-verbals. However, even with those limitations, he is still able to say plenty. For instance, anywhere between 5 or 7 a.m., his whimpers and whines near my side of the bed, saying, "Get up. It's time to go for a walk."

When our three children were growing up, we often traveled together both for ministry and pleasure. Ordinarily, with three kids in the back seat, after a few miles the chatter would eventually deteriorate into verbal and/or physical combat of some sort. At that point, as Dad, I initiated a lock-down: "No more talking until. . . ." As I tried to mandate them into silence, they would anticipate my quoting of this verse: "In the multitude of words, there wanteth not sin." In case they didn't quite understand the King James Version, I sometimes translated it into my own version: "The more you talk, the more you sin!"

Now, as grandparents, we listen as our grandsons are from time to time "shut down" by their parents. Been there! Done that! (Actually, my wife and I get a curious enjoyment watching our grown children get frustrated with the same things that we got frustrated with years earlier. What goes around comes around!)

Yes, the tongue really is a fire, ". . . a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell." (James 3:6)

Those are sobering words!