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In the heart of the United States lies Big Spring. Big Spring may be the nation’s largest freshwater spring. 286 million gallons of water – on average – flow from it each day. Some of the water flows 45 miles underground before rising to the surface. The water is colored blue by dissolved limestone. The equivalent of 70 tons of dissolved limestone is carried away each day.*
Why all this talk about a spring? Well, James talks about a spring when he talks about our speech. In James 3:9-12 he says, “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.” (NIV)
So, what’s his point? A spring produces what flows from inside the earth. It doesn’t produce both good water and bad water. We think nothing of praising God, or of saying hateful things about people. We think we can do both. But we can’t. As James says, a salt spring can’t produce fresh water. Any praise we lift to God is polluted when we also curse people. So, remember, keep your speech fresh and pure!
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Bumper music “Landing Place” performed by Mark July, used under license from Shutterstock.