You know that every human being has a unique fingerprint, but did you realize that each person also has his or her own unique tongue print? According to published reports, scientists have discovered that just as no two people have the same fingerprint, so each one of us can – theoretically – also be identified by our own unique tongue print!
Now, the scientific report didn’t say how the researchers had convinced their subjects to lick that inkpad, and I’m certainly not going to volunteer for the research project, so I suppose I’ll just have to take their word for it. But it did remind me of an episode that happened in my own life, many years ago.
Back in 1979, when I was attending Fuller Seminary in Pasadena, California, I experienced a toothache. Since I didn’t know any of the local dentists, I dropped by the school’s medical office, which maintained a registry of reputable medical professionals who were willing to see students at a reduced rate. I was referred to a Korean dentist with the assurance that she was “one of the best.”
As soon as I climbed into her chair and had settled back, the dentist abruptly ordered me to “Stick out your tongue.” Puzzled, I complied, only to be startled when she grasped my tongue and pulled it out of my mouth farther than I had previously known it could stretch. The dentist twisted and turned my poor tongue, examining it carefully. When I finally retrieved my tongue I managed to sorely stammer: “What was that for?” “Ah,” she explained sagely, “tongue is very important – tells all about the health of the body. Anything wrong with your body, I tell it from your tongue.”
Thankfully, I have never suffered a repetition of that experience (perhaps because I have been allergic to Korean dentists ever since), but her words have always struck me as conveying a deeper truth than she may have realized. Jesus once said, “Out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks. The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him” (Matthew 12:34-35). Because our tongue SAYS what our heart THINKS, there is nothing more revealing than what we choose to talk about and how we choose to say it.
Since Jesus taught that we can be identified by our tongue – or rather, by how we use it –let’s be extra careful in the words we choose today. Select words that are truthful (1 Peter 3:10); helpful (Ephesians 4:29); calming (Proverbs 15:1); and kind (Proverbs 15:4), for these are the kinds of words that bring glory to God (Colossians 4:6).
Avoid words that are untruthful (Exodus 20:16); hurtful (Proverbs 26:18-28); angry, reckless, and provoking (Proverbs 15:1); or vulgar, obscene, or irreverent (Ephesians 5:4, James 3:10-12, Exodus 20:7). Remember: every time we speak, we’re identifying our character, our choices, and even our association with Christ!
Dan Williams