James alerts us in his New Testament book that our tongues are very difficult to tame! 3:2 For we all stumble in many ways, and if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body. Kent Hughes on page 142 of his book, “Disciplines of a Godly Man” gives some great understanding to this challenge – The true test of a man’s spirituality is not his ability to speak, as we are apt to think, but rather his ability to bridle his tongue…A preacher with hammer in hand, doing some work on a church work day, noticed that one of the men seemed to be following him around. Finally the preacher asked why. The man answered, “I’m just listening to hear what you say when you hit your thumb.”
While we cannot control our tongue, the Holy Spirit is able to. We can know victory even over our tongue by walking moment by moment in step with the Holy Spirit. Galatians 5:16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.