I was busy brushing my teeth one night, when I thought about my tongue. How easy I moved it around when I moved my toothbrush. This is something I never thought about. I always take it for granted that my tongue serves me with eating and speaking. But what about people with tongue-cancer? Who needs their tongue to be amputated? It will mean that they lose their ability to speak. And eating.. I don’t know that they won’t be able to chew as well, I guess.
How scary that the loss of this little part of our body can cause so much loss and difficulties in our life. These things that we take for granted will always be part of us, eventually (when life makes it that way) will be broken or lost and only then will we understand what a big part he’s been in our life.
Again and again I’m so grateful that what happens with my daughter’s tongue is (only) a cyst and not aggressive. I just can’t digest if she had to walk my path.
Aside from losing your tongue might be super scary, we often forget that the Bible also talks A LOT about the incredible power of tongue. How important it is for us to use our tongues in a right way to deliver what is good and to glorify God, and how we have to tame our tongues in order not to fall to sins or make people sinned.
My google search let me know there are around 120 times tongue (and its importance) are mentioned in the Bible.
Those who guard their mouths and their tongues keep themselves from calamity.
Proverbs 21:23 NIV
The words of the reckless pierce like swords, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.
Proverbs 12:18 NIV
When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell. All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and sea creatures are being tamed and have been tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be. Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? My brothers and sisters, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.
James 3:3-12 NIV
And still many more verses about this. Actually this subject alone can be filling one whole book!
And there goes the same principal with our other body parts. Losing thyroid glands, for example, have also brought a lot of impacts in my life even though it’s nowhere like losing a tongue. I couldn’t speak for a few months as a side effect of the surgery, and boy, having two running and screaming toddlers and couldn’t talk was much more than your daily dosage of frustration! Or losing the ability to move your limbs. I once experienced this for several months and had to learn to walk again… I never thought you actually have to think like which muscle you have to move first to get your foot moving.
I’m reminded again that every single good thing – big and small is actually the grace of God alone. Yes we play a part of taking care and maintaining things we have in our life, but how it goes and how it’s still all good and sound, actually all credits belong to God alone. All thanks to God who sustains and provides!
Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.
James 1:17 NIV
