08 August 2007 Devotion for Today "Pulling the Tooth" Proverbs 22:3
I have to admit- I don't like going to dentists. I never have. Its not that I have anything against them, personally. But there is something about having someone in your face, looking down your throat, and sticking his fingers in my mouth that just bugs the fire out of me. I feel like its an invasion of my personal space. I just don't like doing it. I don't have the same feeling with doctors even though their exams are far more invasive- it doesn't make sense, I know. But the dentist likes to joke with you. When that guy tells you that you are going to feel a little pinch or that "this is going to feel a little uncomfortable," you know you had better grab the arms of that chair and hold on for dear life! Then the dentist will talk to you and want to have a full-blown conversation with you while you are sitting there, your face is numb with Novocain and with your lip feeling like its hanging on the floor he starts asking you questions. Then he wants you to rinse your mouth out and spit with some kind of dignity.
But if you have a sore tooth, you know that he is the only one who is qualified to deal with your pain. Its hard to face up to. The anticipatory dread of going to the dentist keeps you feeling bad until you actually go. I have known people over the years who try to perform surgery on themselves. They're pulling their own teeth with a pair of pliers or tying a string to their tooth on one end of a piece of string and the other end to the bumper of their car. Aside from having some limited success, the result is usually worse than the problem that they started with. No, the thing to do, no matter how hard it is or how painful it is to face up to, is to go to the dentist and get that tooth pulled. Otherwise, that tooth gets so bad it can't possibly be ignored. By then you've got an abscess and you find yourself in the hospital, or worse, in a casket because you kept ignoring the pain until the poison of the infection begins to take over.
Even though he never went to see a dentist in his life, Solomon understood this principle in Proverbs 22:3 "A prudent man foresees evil and hides himself, But the simple pass on and are punished." He says a prudent man, or wise man hides from evil by looking for areas in his life he needs to avoid to keep from falling into pitfalls. One of the most obvious pitfalls is sin. But a lesser-known pitfall is piling things on ourselves that we have no business doing. One of the reasons why we run into trouble as Christians is we like to rescue people- it's because we have so much of the love of Jesus in us we want to go around and help everybody. Our hearts are touched by people in need and those who need our help. This is not to say we should not help people in need, but more often than not we try to help people in need without realizing that there is always more to do than we can possibly do. Before we realize it, our plates are so full we are no longer free to 1) really be useful and helpful to what we are called and gifted to do and especially 2) We are no longer free to recharge our spiritual batteries so we no longer seem to have the joy we once had. We sometimes even get to the point where we can become resentful about doing things for others, or even going to church because we feel so trapped and burnt out all the time. We need to realize that, if we are to grow and move forward in the Christian life, it means that we do not allow a situation to stay in our lives that is either going to cause an infection or take up valuable space or valuable time.
That's when it becomes apparent that a sore tooth exists, and it needs to be pulled. It is difficult facing up to the fact that the tooth needs to be pulled. We don't like doing it. We try to avoid it, because we are afraid of the pain it might cause us from other people. A sore tooth constitutes anything that we allow to dilute or obscure our focus- even if it is not a bad thing in itself, it may not be beneficial to us. Get rid of it! And if you care about the kind of life that you are living and building, then there are things that are not beneficial that are problems. They take up time, resources, energy, and attention- they do not take you where you need to go. A prudent person gets rid of them
Many times we let the "sore tooth" stay the way we are because we fear someone's anger, rejection, or hurt if we deal with the problem. We fear someone's judgment or disapproval when we deal with difficult things. We fear losing the relationship itself, or losing love. Sometimes we have guilty feelings when we confront someone or deal out consequences Maybe we even blame ourselves and think we get what we deserve or we were the ones who caused it. I know you may be afraid, like going to the dentist, but taking the step may be one of the most difficult things you have ever done. But usually the most difficult decision is the right decision. Solomon says get rid of it- just let it go.
Remember that there were times when even Jesus shook dust off his feet. You might have to as well. May the Lord give you the courage that you need to face up to what you know you need to do today. It may be painful, it may be hard, but you know that if God is telling you to do it, it will be right.
Have a blessed day.
Rev. Jeffery C. Russell
Elizabeth City, NC
jefferyrussell@embarqmail.com
jcrussell@liberty.edu
Church website: http://25621.lifewaylink.com
Devotion Archives: http://www.msnusers.com/DevotionforToday
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