Teeth.... and Discipleship.

They help us chew our food, which in turn allows our body to gain strength, build muscle, harden and strengthen bones, be healthy.

If we care for our teeth, we brush them, floss them, be careful not to eat too much junk, our teeth will last. But even if we do all of these things, there can still be problems. That’s where the dentist comes in.

A while back I had a piece of my tooth fall out. For a while I just tried to make it work. I ate on one side. I kept it clean. As time went on it began to hurt. I ignored it for a couple of days. I began to hurt more. I worked up the courage and went to see a dentist. I SO did not want to see a dentist. I SO did not want to see the dentist. Dentists do things that hurt. I was afraid. No wait… I was terrified.

He was good. He went in, froze the tooth, did some cleaning and put in a temporary filling. That was uncomfortable. He said we would wait and see what would happen. If there was pain, I was to go back in and they would do a root canal… There they were…. A heart-stopping couple of words…. Root Canal. He emphasized … “It’s expensive.” I was gripped with fear. I was sure I was going to have to endure the procedure.

Once the temp filling was in, I noticed every twinge of pain. I was sure that it was going to be the root canal. I found myself able to tolerate a little pain to avoid going back. Besides, how was I going to pay for the procedure? As a way of paying came up, I called and asked the price. $1000. Good thing I have dental coverage.

I booked the appointment and braced for the worst. I was convinced that I had a root canal on the way. I was telling everyone that. When I sat in the chair the endontist did some spelunking around in my tooth and said that he was just going to fill it. Phew! Don’t get me wrong. I wasn’t easy. The dentist was good though. Very gentle. Consoling. Sympathetic. I had one of those epiphany moments.

I was in the chair because of how I had neglected my teeth over the years where my dental coverage was sporadic. It was sort of how some people live their Christian life. They coast. They went to the altar once when they were young, but never allowed it to change how they lived their life in a moral and spiritual sense. Often those are the kids of “Christians” that drift away for a while and indulge in stuff that they know is wrong. Some people even end up in a very dark place because of their choices. Sometimes it takes God going in like a dentist and fixing the damage. We have to make the appointment, and it may still hurt, but in the end God allows it to make us stronger. We may have to give some things up that caused the damage. We may have to get ourselves back into a cycle of maintenance of our faith. That is why the Bible says to examine yourself daily to see if you are in the faith. It says to be faithful with the little things. It says to think of the things that are excellent or praiseworthy.

Discipleship takes discipline. Work at your faith daily.