Food for Thought - Rotten Fruit

The book of James has been a true blessing for me to really ignite my gratitude to our God and allowing Him to show me that He is in control. James seems to write so simply and vividly, which gives you no doubt about what he wants to say. I always need something that's clear and concise so that I can read it and understand it!

I have particularly found this passage to stick in my head:

JAMES 3: 6-12

And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell. For every kind of beast and bird, or reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so. Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and salt water? Can a fig tree, my brothers, bear olives, or a grapevine produce figs? Neither can a salt pond yield fresh water.

It just blows my mind the imagery that James uses to explain how powerful our tongue can be. Our tongue was given to us by our Father to praise him and bless others, yet we tend to use it more often for negative things and to put others down. Even if it's not a common occurrence for someone, it does happen. The Enemy is present. The Enemy WILL come into our speech and curse men. This becomes the complete opposite of what God intended our tongues to do. We must fight to keep the negative speech out of our mouths in order to fulfill God's purpose for us. Without God, the tongue is untameable. Period. We cannot control it, we cannot beat it. God alone is the only thing more powerful than a tongue, even as small as it is.

When James uses the "salt water" imagery, it really hit me. It is impossible to get fresh water (the good) from salt water (the bad). This particular day that I did my study, I had gone to Sprouts to buy produce, and I was being particularly picky about what I was buying. Some of the grapes were beginning to go bad, so I picked around until I found one that was perfect. Same thing with the strawberries, and lettuce, etc. If any of the produce is bad, I put it down. I leave it there. Even though most of it is good, I won't buy it unless it's ALL good. This is how we can envision God looking at us. I don't want Him to go through and have to pass me because I am not ALL good.

I want to be the most perfect package of strawberries in the market.