Salt and Fresh Water
ICS Daily Devotions
James 3:9-12 (NKJV) With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the similitude of God. Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so. Does a spring send forth fresh water and bitter from the same opening? Can a fig tree, my brethren, bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Thus no spring yields both salt water and fresh.
In the above Scripture, James argued that fresh and salt or bitter water should not be flowing out of the same spring. He said with conviction that out of the same mouth must not come blessing and curse at the same time. He said that these things ought not be so. Earlier in v. 3-8, he established that nobody could tame the tongue and he now uses the word “spring” to represent our heart. The “spring” is the key to having a transformed life and breaking away from an untamed tongue.
Living in a culture where one feels entitled to say what they want completely free from any accountability, responsibility, or repercussions, we will need to tap into the power of the Holy Spirit to help us go through the closet of our mouths and discard ratty, old words that should not be in our vocabulary, because we will reap what we sow with our words, especially in our relationships. Too many marriages, and friendships have been strained or destroyed because people could not control their tongue. Secondly, we need to renew our mind that we can have self-control and live out a redeemed personality.
Bitter water represents words that come out of those who are living in bitterness, and have strong unrelenting hostility or resentment. They may have been rejected or misunderstood; they are prickly, moody, negative, and never a good company to be with. Whenever you mention a certain person, company, or event, they will go off the same old rant about how they were mistreated. They carry a baggage because of certain experiences or encounters in life. Therefore, the spring in these people is flowing with bitter water because of all their experiences and the sin nature that is working in their hearts.
Do you have salt and fresh water springing out of our mouths? How can we turn this around? We need to be intentional in making changes to our speech by speaking life and blessings. The transformed life is living from the inside out, and allowing the new creation or inner man to be empowered by the Holy Spirit to bridle our tongue and reign in the flesh.
Sermon Series: Cell Group Campaign
