As the image below suggests many people when they think about taming the tongue, think only about shutting up. 

But James says there's more to it than that. Learning to “shut up” when you need to is only part of taming the tongue … you’re really dealing with two extremes. An untamed tongue doesn’t just say too much – it also says too little.The trick to taming the tongue is to find balance between the two extremes .

James tells us that this small muscle in our mouths can be a terrible troublemaker because it has awesome power. And he insists that just as a Doctor asks us to stick out our tongues and say "Ahhhhh," to check for physical health, Jesus, the Great Physician does the same thing and measures spiritual health by what our tongue speaks. Now, no matter where you are in your spiritual journey, from just checking this whole God thing out or a committed follower of Jesus, this is a message where all of us can gain great benefit. Because like the other studies in this book, this is very practical and demonstrates once again a religion that really works.