Because.

    Your tongue is like a rudder on a large ship.  Just a little
angle over to one side, and the whole entire ship turns off course. 
Your tongue is poisonous...  It’s set on fire by hell.  What did you
think?  Where do those words come from anyway?  Were they in
the songbook the last time you opened it?  Did you hear them in
church camp last summer?  Did you pick them up from the Bible?

    No, certainly not there.  They came from somewhere else. 
When would any God-fearing Christian find them in their Bible? 
When would any person expect those short and poisonous phrases
to come during a time of praise?  Would you send a child of yours
to a church camp so that they could hear words like that? 
“Absolutely not.  Not ever.  Never.”  Those are your typical
answers.  Why not listen to what you say and think about what it
means?  When you say something, that’s it.  You cannot just
rewind it and say something else, or have one of those little bleep!
noises prevent everyone from hearing you.

    Ever hear the expression that a person “spat nails?”  They
spoke in a way that was sharp, prickly, possibly harmful to others,
and even to themselves.  Think about it.  Each time you say one of
those words, you are spitting nails.  They don’t just go away, they
hurt.  And they can cause you no end of harm.  You are like a
Roman soldier each time you do it.  Those nails that come from
your tongue might as well be the ones they’re pounding into Jesus
up on Golgotha!

    That’s not even the tip of the iceberg.  When you begin to
say angry words, they stick in other’s memories.  You could be
hurting them as much as you’re hurting Jesus.  But that point has
already been addressed.  If you dish it up, you’ll end up getting
back what you put out.  Eventually, someone is going to stick you
with one of their own choice nails.  Don’t think of reciting the old
line “sticks and stones...” because some words can really cut to the
bone.  Some are like daggers.  They go into you and then they get
all twisted around to cause as much damage as possible.  They
rattle your cage, they rankle, they anger...

    Since no known good ever has come from such angry and
venomous words, why even start?  You don’t need to jeopardize
yourself or any others by putting their salvation on the line.  You
don’t need to spread a bad message and give your faith a bad
reputation!  You don’t have to give into Satan.  Just enslave your
thoughts.  Just hand it over to God.  And remember, your words
come from your heart and mind. Why let such polluting rubbish
fill you up when God’s love is ready to fill you to
overflowing? Why even start using angry words?  Why
start?

    I’m not perfect.  I hope I don't sound like I’m speaking at you from
some soapbox or podium instead of writing to you.  I’m warning you of
where I’ve been, and where I could wind up.  I am not the person to
follow, Jesus is.  Listen to what he has to say about it.  Read what God
has to say about it in James, chapter 3, verses 1-12.  The only example
I can give you is from Golgotha.

    People are hurling insults at Jesus.  He’s busted up, and he’s
been getting beaten up since sometime before dawn!
Someone’s pounding nails into him.  What does he say?  He says,
“Father forgive them, they know not what they do.”  He doesn’t
even say a word that could be remotely angry.  He’s on the bottom
rung of the lowest ladder on Earth and all he has to say is a prayer
to God.  It’s a tough lesson to learn, even for people like me.

    It’s a lot tougher when you’ve exposed yourself and others to
these angry words.  Why even start?