A young business executive was constantly seen in his corporations rest room, peeking in the mirror and fiddling with something in his mouth. As it turns out, the young man suffered from a tooth, which needed immediate repair, yet he repeatedly kept putting it off, instead continually dabbing the sore area with a numbing gel.

Due to neglect, the problem became worse, now infecting a larger portion of the gum area. After one year, the man finally went to the dentist. “I’m sorry,” said the dentist,” you have a serious infection that has reached to the bone. If we are to salvage that bone, I am going to have to remove several of your teeth and fit you with partial dentures.”

The young executive was stunned! How could this have happened? How could he have neglected his health like that? He thought. The ointment he had been using killed the pain, but numbing did not solve the deeper problem. And so, the young executive sat back in the dentist’s chair to be fitted for his partial dentures.

Real life application:

In our own lives, there may be times we prefer to take the easy route and numb the pain through alcohol, drugs, over-eating, or even fleshly pleasures. Eventually, that quick fix loses its potency and we begin to seek stronger and more powerful pain-killers, yet, all the while the problem is not only being put on hold, but is also worsening due to our neglects.

Stepping away from sin and making a conscious decision to chose godliness is not always easy when we have applied such painkillers to our life, because once the numbing effect wears off, we are then left with a raw nerve. While this now exposed nerve throbs in pain as it cries out for more painkillers, the good news is that we can finally look at the issue face to face, thus begin a road to full recovery.

As our Lord and Savior, our Heavenly Father knows our pains and hears when we cry out to Him and He is quick to respond to those who seek His mercy and gentle guiding hand. He alone is the ultimate Healer. Letting go of sin is not always easy, but remember, with Jesus Christ, you are never left to deal with healing alone.

Contributed by Melanie Schurr JoyfulMelanie@aol.com

Copyright 1998