Spiritual Teeth Cleaning

by Jimmy Cochran
Published May 31, 2005

I was awake before the alarm sounded. I had a dental appointment that morning and my nerves were twisted around their own neurons. Plus, in the few anxiety free moments I had during the night, I was feverishly thinking of an excuse to cancel the appointment which was not only believable, but one that I had not used before. I have used the family illness excuse for more times than I have family, the unexpected business trip had been used way too much and I could not be ill again unless it was some rare Amazon disease. Murphy had been accused of eating car keys, the appointment card, and erasing the voicemail reminder. Basically....I was stuck. ??Girding up my loins (biblical for wearing my comfort grubby clothes), I drove to the office, signed in and waited. After being called to THE ROOM, we exchanged the obligatory small talk and the hygenist began. When I first opened my mouth and she began to poke around in there, she stated, "well, things look pretty good". Whew! ??I have good teeth, not perfect by any means, but they are good (except for the time in second grade when I thought one of those little explosive snaps was candy, chomped it and ended up with two less teeth). As I lay there listening to the hygenist talk about what she was seeing and doing, it occurred to me that the process of having my teeth cleaned is very similar to how God has dealt with me at times.
?The normal stains that occur during the day can be easily brushed and buffed off. Occasionally, there may be a stain or a piece of tartar that brings out that nasty metal pick that needs to give some extra poking and cleaning. Then there are the times when decay is found and major work needs to be done by removing the bad and replacing it with new. ??I realized that the strain and stress of everyday living can bring some stains and smudges on my spiritual walk. It might be a missed quiet time, a sharp word spoken in anger, or watching a television program which we know is not appropriate. However, in most cases like this I can clean my heart by confessing it and spending some quality time in looking for God’s guidance and strength. ??However, there are times where we do not take the time to clean and they send their evil and nasty roots through all areas of our life. Again, the television programs, the movies, the music, the dialogue and jokes we listen to, the websites we may visit, the people we hang out with; God finally becomes hidden under the smudge and tartar of our hearts. These are the times when the more serious work needs to be done. The longer we allow inappropriate behavior to continue, the harder it was to purge it from our lives because of the stronghold it had gained.

Just as the drilling and digging may be required to rid my teeth of harmful things, so is the chastening and work of God to rid my life of harmful things. When finished, the dentist will always pat me on the shoulder and ask, "are you okay, bud?". That is a comfort. However, nothing compares to the presence of a welcoming and loving God after a period of spiritual cleaning. And I usually learn my lesson in both situations. Brush, floss, read my Bible and do what God wants. ??And this my friends, is the gospel according to Jimmy.

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