James 3:12

"Can. fig tree, my brethren, produce olives, or. vine produce figs? Neither can salt water produce fresh."

Once again God selects illustrations that everyone can follow. "From the plant life James mentions three of the commonest agricultural products native to his part of the world-the fig tree, the olive, and the grapevine…..The reader can draw his own application. An inconsistent tongue is contrary to nature. It indicates something wrong with the heart, which expresses itself by the tongue. With such inconsistency even the admirable things we might express from time to time are rendered suspicious because of the contradictory uses to which our tongues are often put" (Kent p. 125-126). If we misuse our tongue, we shouldn't be shocked when our loved ones and others fail to believe our apologies or attempts at being sincere. Jesus taught the same basic truth in Matthew 7:16.