7, 8. To what extent does Jehovah hold us accountable for our words?

⁷ A third reason to guard our speech is that Jehovah holds us accountable for our words. The way we use our tongue affects not only our relationship with fellow humans but also our standing with Jehovah. James 1:26 says: “If any man thinks he is a worshipper of God but does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he is deceiving his own heart, and his worship is futile.”b As we saw in the preceding chapter, our speech is not independent of our worship. If our tongue is uncontrolled​—spewing out hurtful, poisonous speech—​all of our Christian works could be rendered worthless in God’s eyes. Is that not a sobering thought?​—James 3:8-10.