And if we put bits into the mouths of horses to get them to obey us, then we guide their entire bodies.

you ask and do not receive because you ask wrongly, so you can spend it on your passions.

Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters! Let every person be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger.

So put away all filth and evil excess and humbly welcome the message implanted within you, which is able to save your souls.

You desire and you do not have; you murder and envy and you cannot obtain; you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask;

Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into this or that town and spend a year there and do business and make a profit.”

For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord,

Can a fig tree produce olives, my brothers and sisters, or a vine produce figs? Neither can a salt water spring produce fresh water.

For where there is jealousy and selfishness, there is disorder and every evil practice.

But if you have bitter jealousy and selfishness in your hearts, do not boast and tell lies against the truth.

Draw near to God and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and make your hearts pure, you double-minded.

For the sun rises with its heat and dries up the meadow; the petal of the flower falls off and its beauty is lost forever. So also the rich person in the midst of his pursuits will wither away.

And the tongue is a fire! The tongue represents the world of wrongdoing among the parts of our bodies. It pollutes the entire body and sets fire to the course of human existence – and is set on fire by hell.

So be patient, brothers and sisters, until the Lord’s return. Think of how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the ground and is patient for it until it receives the early and late rains.