During the sermon in church today, Pastor Stephen spoke on James 3: 1-5 and taming your tongue; knowing when to speak and when to hold your tongue.  Admittedly, this is a lesson I am still learning.  I’ve heard this passage many times and it pings me every time, especially the part about “Anyone who is never at fault in what they say is perfect, able to keep their whole body in check.”  Wouldn’t that be amazing to keep your whole body in check?  Definitely something to continue working on.

The point that jumped out at me today was when Pastor Stephen made the comment that all the muscles in your body come in pairs, except your heart and your tongue, which are the pair for each other.  Having taken many courses in Anatomy and Physiology over the years, the science nerd in me wanted to come home and look up the innervation of (the nerve that supplies) both muscles, just to see if there was by some chance a common nerve between the two.  What I found was fascinating.

I started to think about verses that I knew contained words about the heart and the tongue.  These are the 3 that specifically came to mind:

Matthew 12:34: “For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.” (NRS)

Proverbs 16:24: “Kind words are like honey— sweet to the soul and healthy for the body.” (NLT)

Psalm 34:8: “Taste and see that the Lord is good.”  (NIV)

This is where it got really exciting for me.  I pulled out my anatomy book and looked up what nerve innervates the heart and the tongue.  It turns out that part of the Vagus nerve (Cranial nerve 10 – the number ten becomes important in a minute), supplies part of both the tongue and the heart, as well as part of the lungs, stomach and intestinal tract.

The part of the tongue that Cranial nerve 10 innervates is responsible for (you guessed it!) taste, as well as the laryngeal muscles (for phonation or sound creation).  In your heart, the Vagus nerve is responsible for your heart rate.  In your lungs, the Vagus nerve regulates your breathing and in your stomach, the Vagus nerve helps with regulation of the digestive process.

So biologically, for the verse in Matthew, the heart and the tongue ARE connected – the same nerve that helps control your heart, is also responsible for sound production for your tongue and helps provide the breath behind the words so that they can be heard.  In the same vein (I know we’re talking about nerves here and not veins), this connection would also explain why when you know something in your heart, many times you also feel it in your gut.

I have previously felt like the Proverbs verse was just poetic. Looking at this same verse in a new light, honey tastes good in your mouth, then goes down into your stomach and the nutrients are absorbed by your intestines.  And whose heart isn’t happy when you have something that tastes good in your mouth?  (I think you could just as easily insert “chocolate” for “honey” but that’s just my opinion – maybe it would need to be dark chocolate in order to get some health benefits).

As for the verse in Psalms, understanding how to “taste” God’s goodness has been a challenge for me – don’t get me wrong, I appreciate a good meal as much as the next person, but I don’t think the verse only pertains to a culinary experience.  After my study tonight, I think it means more that you know God is good in your heart and your mind and your gut, all of which are connected with the same cranial nerve.  (I wish I had put all this together when I was taking exams in Anatomy all those years ago – I probably would have received much better grades on my tests!).

What about the fact that this particular cranial nerve is number 10?  Is there something specific about the number 10 that might also be relevant to this one crazy nerve that goes to so many different and seemingly unrelated parts of your body?  A quick, and not nearly exhaustive, internet search led me to a page which states: “Ten is also viewed as a complete and perfect number, as is 3, 7 and 12. It is made up of 4, the number of the physical creation, and 6, the number of man. As such, it signifies testimony, law, responsibility and the completeness of order.” (http://www.biblestudy.org/bibleref/meaning-of-numbers-in-bible/10.html).  So this perfect and complete nerve is what we engage for what goes into and comes out of our mouths.  What an awesome responsibility for one nerve and what a responsibility we have to use well all the functions that this nerve provides.

I was amazed by all these connections tonight.  I hope you were too.  Thanks for listening (that’s Cranial Nerve 8).