T is for TONGUE

They say we can taste four different substances though my eldest, in his studies, suggests that we can taste five and who am I to disagree with somebody who might someday be prescribing my tablets! Anyway, a quick bit of research has revealed that after all he may be right for I have discovered through the wonders of the Internet, another taste called 'umami' which roughly translated, means the savouriness of foods. Of the four I know about, I've never thought of myself as terribly keen on anything that is bitter, yet again more research indicates that this category includes coffee, which I adore, dark chocolate that I enjoy and vegetables in the cabbage family, including Brussels Sprouts, so I guess I'll have to revise my thoughts on that category. At school, we used to have a test for bitterness where everyone was given a piece of white paper impregnated with a chemical known as PTC. Many people could clearly taste the bitter chemical but there was always a number who couldn't and this was said to be said to be due to genetic variation. I could taste it for it reminded me of the vile liquid that mum painted on my nails to stop me biting them when I was young. The truth is that I got used to the taste and it didn't have the desired effect, so my nails stayed unpleasantly short until I fell in love with the guitar and realised that I needed longer ones on my right hand to pick the strings.

Sour tastes I am again divided on with things like vinegar pleasant enough in the company of chips, beetroot or pickle but less so in solitary confinement, while lemon or lime juice can be a welcome distraction in a glass of water and a glass of breakfast orange goes down well though an intimidating piece of grapefruit can be less than appetizing but like most people I'm not a big fan of sour milk.

Sweet things speak for themselves, usually in all the wrong places and I don't think there is anyone who is completely void of this taste and its occasional pleasantries but even within this rather broad band of sugary delights, most of us have an acceptable limit beyond which we rarely travel, except perhaps as one of our over-indulgences at Christmas. However there are those whose behaviour merits some attention since they enjoy the delights of lemon juice on pancakes but combine it with an ample sprinkling of sugar. I guess these are the sweet and sour people who keep all our Chinese restaurants in business.

When God created the ability in each of us to taste, no doubt it was for the enjoyment of the foods he would also provide but it was also for our well being in that we could quickly recognise an unknown or dangerous substance that might be toxic or poisonous before it entered our general digestive system. And while most of that is taken care of by the food companies, I don't think we ever lose that ability to recognise what we like and what we should approach with caution.

However, of far more importance than tasting is the role the tongue plays in our every day communications with each other. To be able to talk, to form words and allow them to float into the air for everyone to hear is indeed one of life's great treasures and one which women seem to appreciate with great relish and make full use of! I mean, why use one word when thirty will do just as well? I jest of course. Yet how many of us parents wait longingly for that first recognisable word from our infant son or daughter and I don't mean, 'Dad, can you lend me ten quid for petrol?' It's amazing just how much we just want them to start talking and then spend the next ten years asking them not to!

And yet how true that our words can bring happiness, division, sadness, anger, joy, laughter, tears, resentment, hope, worry, delusion, deception and disgust and all because one of the smallest parts of our body is not always under the control of our brain. The writer of Proverbs says 'Reckless words pierce like a sword,but the tongue of the wise brings healing' and 'He who guards his mouth and his tongue keeps himself from calamity.' So when we speak, how careful are we not only of the words we choose but also of how we say them? Do we speak when we should be listening or do we criticise when we should advise? Jesus says one thing is certain that when He returns ''every knee will bow before me; every tongue will confess to God.' Have you tasted His goodness in your life and can you speak of the salvation that He offers. Maybe you need a taste of something new.

'How sweet the name of Jesus sounds.'