It was a shot of pain my mouth.
I was eating frozen strawberries and, wow, you might as well have hit me with a hammer.
That had never happened before. I’ve heard of people whose teeth were sensitive, but this was crazy. It was like a brain-freeze with a side of punch-in-the-mouth.
Then it was gone. But over the next couple of days it got worse. By Wednesday night I couldn’t even drink lukewarm water without a shot of pain. So Thursday morning there I stood at the dentist’s counter, trying to look pathetic so they would squeeze me in.
Finally I was in the chair of doom. “Ah,” he said, looking at fresh X-rays, “There is decay underneath the filling. What do you want us to do?”
“What do I want you to do? Well, I’m in pain, so FIX IT!”
Of course you know they can’t really “fix it.” There’s no fixing decay, there’s only getting rid of it.
So he fired up his tools, ground off my tooth, ground out the filling, and drilled off every bit of decay. The decay was gone, but so was my tooth!
See, there’s no fixing it. It has to be made new. And soon I will be wearing a shiny new crown.
Now let’s go back to what the dentist said. “Ah,” he said, “there is decay underneath the filling.”
I think that is a great description of what happens in our lives. We grow up and behave like responsible adults. We get our act together and become (at least reasonably) socially acceptable. We work and have a nice home and everything looks good.
“Looks” good.
About like my tooth. My tooth looked fine. What I didn’t know is that down under a perfectly good looking filling, was decay.
And this is what happens in our lives. The outside looks good, but inside there is decay. Usually we don’t do anything about it. We don’t even realize it’s there, until one of two things happens.
First, you can wait like I did, wait until the decay finally causes you pain. If you allow decay in your life, even if no one sees it, eventually it will rot your soul to the point of excruciating pain. Trust me, waiting until it hurts is not the best way.
The best way is to have an X-ray find the decay before it causes pain.
The decay I’m talking about is moral decay. If you allow moral decay in your life, it’s going to hurt.
So what is the X-ray for moral decay? How can we see deep down inside ourselves?
Start with this self exam found in Psalm 4:4. When you are on your bed, search your heart and be silent.
God has created each one of us with a conscience. That little voice is easily drowned out in the hustle and bustle of the day. But at night, when all is dark and quiet, listen to that little voice. It will point out any moral decay.
As a side note, let me say this. Please don’t go to sleep with the television on. I think that is a bad habit, and it drowns out that still small voice even to the very last second of your waking day.
“Maybe I want to drown it out,” you say. Fine, but the decay will keep decaying to the point of pain. Is that what you want?
In addition to your self exam for moral decay, pray this little prayer found in Psalm 139:23 – “Search me, O God, and know my heart...”
This is like going to the dentist for an X-ray. When you open up your soul to be tested by God, He will show you any moral decay.
Now here’s the thing. He shows you, you realize it’s true, you see the moral decay, but then what? How can it be fixed?
You know, I definitely didn’t want to go the dentist. I don’t like the dentist. I don’t like giving him money. I don’t like anything about it…except I do want good teeth. So all I could do was tell the dentist, “Fix it!” then surrender to his expertise.
The same when God shows you any moral decay in your life. All you can do is say, “Please fix it,” then surrender His expertise.
My dental assistant told me I would get a “permanent crown.” I said, “Permanent?” She said, “Well, as long as you do what you’re supposed to.”
It’s the same with God. He will point out our moral decay, and He will fix it. But we can’t sit back and do nothing. We need to follow His instructions, and do what we are supposed to do.
So don’t wait for the pain to kick in. Open yourself up to God, and let Him show you any areas of moral decay. And when He does, make the decision now, “I will do whatever He tells me to do.”
(As heard on Wave 94.1 FM)
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