Lesson from Sea Robin -
Out of few such moral ethics, one specially stands out. "Tongue", James writes in 3:5, though a small part of the body, which is a restless evil, no one can tame it, and is full of deadly poison (3:8), which can boast, bless, and curse as well (3:5,9). Proverbs 18:21, reads, "The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat it's fruit", eating its fruit is the consequence of the words spoken out of mouth.
The word eat, Hebrew "akal", one of it's meanings is "devour". Humans generally eat, but beasts devour it's prey. Proverbs 18:20, reads, "From the fruit of a person's mouth his stomach is satisfied; he is filled with the product of his lips." Some people are satisfied by what they speak. Gossips, hatred, cuss words, are just part of it. Speaking to the Pharisees and Scribes, Jesus answers, "it is not what goes into mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person", (Matthew 15:11). If our speech is honourable, we are honoured, if not, one can't expect honour.
At this point I want to get to your notice few surprising facts about an ocean fish. "Sea Robin" (Prionotus carolinus) is an ocean fish, lives in shallow waters (10 to 300 feet deep or more) in western Atlantic ocean, which has special characteristics like, wings like a bird and legs like a Crustacean. This fish uses its six crab like legs for quick motility, digging, searching, and finding food at the ocean bed. Interesting thing is it's legs are full of sensory organs, which acts almost like a tongue.In 2019, Harvard University postdoctoral fellow, Corey Allard, in his study to evolutionary patterns, said in a statement, "Sea Robins are an example of species with a very unusual, very novel trait. We wanted to use them as model to ask, 'How do you make a new organ?'" Sea Robins are so good at finding food that other fish sometimes stay around them to get some of the leftovers to fill their appetite. Sea Robins are a healthy diet. They are rich in Magnesium, Phosphorus, Vitamin V6, Selenium, Proteins, and Omega3 fatty acids.
Let it be a Sea Robin or a human, no one eats unhealthy or poisonous food. As Jesus said whatever we eat is good, but what comes out is bad. Proverbs 10:14, reads, "A wise man holds his tongue. Only a fool blurts out everything he knows; that only leads to sorrow and trouble." [TLB, (personal paraphrase verson in English by Kenneth N.Taylor, using American Standard Version, 1901, as base)]. Trouble?
Trouble?
John 18:23, reads, "If I said something wrong,", Jesus replied, "testify as to what is wrong. But if I spoke the truth, why did you strike me?" Yes, sometimes speaking truth pushes us into trouble. But Jesus and the early Apostles never stepped back in speaking the truth about the Good News. As Paul accepts, "we are an aroma of death leading to death, but to others, an aroma of life leading to life; a fragment offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God" (2Corinthians 2:16; Philippians 4:18). Apostles never wavered to give-up their lives for the sake of truth. Tertullian, early Church Fathers in the second century said, "the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church"
Though some parallels are unexplainable, I hope you observed them. With this I close my write-up. God bless.