James says: "Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, THESE THINGS OUGHT NOT TO BE SO." (3:10)

In other words, James is telling us that we should make a conscious effort to avoid speaking such things as-

but the next moment speak kindly, truthfully, sweetly and so on. It should be either one way or the other, but not both! In a similar way, Jesus said He preferred Christians to be either hot or cold, but not "lukewarm"! Rev.3:16

Jesus wants us to be completely committed to Him, not half-committed.

James uses several illustrations to make his point:
· A spring doesn't produce both fresh and bitter water,
· A fig tree doesn't produce both figs and olives
· A grape vine doesn't produce both grapes and figs.

This reminds us of Genesis, when God created life, and made it to reproduce "after its kind."

Just about every living creature in the world has been, at some time, caught, tamed, trained or controlled by Man, but the tongue has never been tamed completely. Mature Christians do keep their tongues under control, but they need the power of the Holy Spirit to do this.

This means the believer must:
1. Choose to speak only good words,
2. Make a habit of taking in or feeding on good words,
3. Exclude bad words, or situations where they are used.

The sinful nature cannot thrive when it is starved of fuel.

We must try to be sensitive to the voice of the Holy Spirit. He is able to restrain us when we are about to say something ungodly, if we slow down and listen to Him. He can keep us consistent in what we say.