With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God’s likeness.  Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be. Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? My brothers, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water. (James 3:9-12)

I saw a great example of this passage of Scripture the other day when I was walking with a friend, let’s just call her “Charlie”.  Charlie has often mentioned the grace of God and all that she’s been given.  But on this particular walk, my friend decided to take the complaining route.  Charlie launched into a whole discussion about what she doesn’t have and how unfair it is.  Just as Charlie was getting to the tip of her feelings, we walked by a little boy crying.  This was great!  I turned to Charlie and said, “That’s how you sound to God right now!”  We both got a good laugh out of it and enjoyed the rest of our walk.

Unfortunately, many of us take the route of complaining and often sound like the little boy crying because his sister is beating him on a race with her bike.  We cry, we complain, and we crowd out the grace of God by our whining.  Our mouths are filled with fresh water and salt water on a daily basis.  We choose to daily surrender our desires and our hopes to the Lord.  We choose to be fresh water or salt water every day.

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