I found myself sitting in a dental chair this week … gazing up at a tv screen which displayed the most adorable photo of the dental assistant’s dog, all dressed up in its Halloween costume! (Haha!)
It seems that over the past year or so a gap has formed in one of my old fillings … and in turn, decay has started to develop in the gap. The dentist needed to drill out the old filling, and replace it with a new filling.
As the dental assistant was prepping everything, she asked me: “You don’t want nitrous do you?”
Almost all the fillings in my teeth are 25+ years old … meaning, I’ve never been asked that question before. So her question took me off guard, and I responded with a brief moment of confusion: “What??? No thank you. I usually just take a needle in the gum.” (Haha!)
A needle in the gum is not exactly pleasant. But it’s vital when it comes to having your tooth drilled out!
As the drill was doing its thing in my mouth, I couldn’t help but think how this is exactly what God does for us … when decay develops in our life.
In life, we make poor decisions.
We tell a little “white” lie.
We take something small which doesn’t belong to us.
We harbor a grudge against that person who wronged us.
Just something tiny. Doesn’t seem like much really.
Nothing bad comes from it.
But then we make more wrong decisions. We intentionally do things which we know full well are wrong and bad. Our wrong decisions begin to compound.
It’s just like when I was a young person, intentionally eating lots of candy and junk food which I knew full well was bad for me! And compounding on top of that … I did not floss! At all.
I knew it was not wise to eat so much candy and junk food.
But it tasted so good!
I knew I should be flossing.
But it was such a hassle! Why bother.
I didn’t care.
Then … decay developed! Lots of decay!
And … there was pain accompanying the decay!
This exact same thing happens in our life!
We know we should not be making those bad decisions. We know we should not be doing those wrong things. But it “tastes” so good!
We know the right thing we should be doing!
But it’s such a hassle! Why bother!
We don’t care.
Then … decay develops in our life! Lots of decay!
I had lots of decay as a young person, in lots of teeth! Decay in my molars in the back of my mouth! Decay in my upper teeth! Decay in my lower teeth! Decay in-between my teeth!
This right here is what happens in our life!
This right here is what our life looks like when we make bad decision … after bad decision … after bad decision. Lots of decay in lots of different parts of our life!
And there is pain! Pain which accompanies the decay!
Yesterday was Halloween.
Satan … the sly, camouflaged dragon of evil … holds out to each of us a basket of “treats” every day!
“That person did you wrong. They are the worst! Here, take this ‘treat’ of ‘anger.’ You deserve it! It’s really delicious! Why not try just one piece.”
And we reach out and take the “treat” from the basket.
“Remember that wrong thing they did to you! That was so mean! Oh, and that other thing they did! They are the worst! Here, take this ‘treat’ of ‘unforgiveness.’ And while you’re at it, try this ‘treat’ of ‘bitterness.’ Doesn’t it taste good!? See … I knew you would like it.”
And we reach out and take the “treat” from the basket.
Satan was right … it does taste sweet and delicious!
We reach out for another “treat” of “unforgiveness” … it’s so sweet and delicious! And while we’re at it, we take another “treat” of “bitterness.” Mmmm – mmmm!! We reach and grab a “treat” of “hate” … and then a few pieces of “gossip” … as well as a few pieces of “slander.”
But the thing is … those “treats” are not healthy for our soul!
A steady diet of such things will result in unwellness of our mind, our heart, and our soul. Our soul will become sick! Decay will set in!
And the decay will grow!
And pain will accompany the decay!
What do we do???
We need to have the decay “drilled out.” Just like, as a young person, I had to have the decay drilled out of my teeth.
And it wasn’t a one-time fix-all. It was a process.
As a young person, I had had such a lifestyle of eating poorly, and flossing not-at-all … that it took time. The dentist would fix this cavity … only 6 months later to have to fix that cavity.
This right here is what happens in our life! The pain of our bad decisions and our unwise choices reaches a point that we need to have the “decay” (aka – the sin!) in our life “drilled out.”
And it’s a process. It takes time!
In my dental appointment this week, I was having an old filling replaced.
In life, when we make bad decisions, the consequences are often far-reaching. We might have brought that “decay” to Jesus … and Jesus already “drilled it out” … fixed it and “filled it.” But that area of our life is now weak. It’s not the same anymore. We might find that several years down the road that “weak spot” in our life needs Jesus to do some more work on it.
Just like the dentist “re-drilled” and “re-fixed” my “weak” tooth this week … so also, Jesus will “re-drill” and “re-fix” whatever needs to be fixed in our life!
Thank you Jesus for “drilling out” and “fixing” whatever decay is in our life!
No matter how much of a process it is!
And no matter how many times it takes!
And thank you Holy Spirit for being right there by our side when that tempting basket of “treats” is waved in front of our face each day! Thank you for convicting us when we start to reach out and take a piece. Thank you for giving us the courage to put that piece back down! And thank you for giving us the strength to resist!
