I can’t stand the dentist. I mean, I love my dentist (shout out, Dalton!) but I hate going to the dentist. My pediatric dentist still has PTSD from me. Yall, I was the kid that got demerol for a teeth cleaning every six months. I didn’t do a very good job practicing good hygiene for my teeth as a kid. Toothpaste tasted gross and don’t even get me started on the gagging, bleeding disaster of flossing my teeth. It wasn’t until sixth grade when I got made fun of for my bad breath that I actually started taking brushing my teeth seriously.
I hated the dentist because it seemed like every time I would go for a dental check-up, I would get C- and below assessments on my brushing, and I’d always end up having to come back in the next few weeks for fillings and crowns for my cavities. There were not a whole lot of positives that I could see from anything to do with my teeth.
Why would my parents want me to experience something so terrible??
Because they loved me. At 9, 10, 11 years old, I couldn’t see the big picture. 1 Corinthians 13:12 says, “Now we see only a dim likeness of things. It is as if we were seeing them in a foggy mirror. But someday, we will see clearly.”
Just as we were created to physically mature, we are created to spiritually mature as well. As we go through difficult times, our faith increases as we grow stronger in our ability to let go of control and lean on Him and His understanding. We get caught up in trying to humanize God when we assume He wants us happy, comfortable, and content. The God of the Heavens wants us to experience things like love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control. These are things that can only come from the Holy Spirit. As a maturing Christian, I understand that those qualities will not just give me a temporary burst of contentment, but an everlasting abundance of satisfying fruit.
My folks wanted me to experience a shame free life and good health. All I had to do was my part. Because I thought I knew better, and the temporary work wasn’t something I wanted to endure, I chose a lifetime of “the shakes” when I go to the dentist.
1 Timothy 6:12 says, “Fight the good fight of the faith.” Declaring your faith is a battlefield every day. I heard a cool quote this week. The speaker said, “Godliness is not impossible to achieve, but very few achieve it because it’s not a natural tendency.” How true is that? Doing the right thing gets further and further away from being the norm every minute. Why? Because Satan is the “prince of the power of the air.” (2 Corinthians 4:4) He’s creating a world in which what feels comfortable is far from godliness. Where flossing is painful and toothpaste tastes like liquid rubber. The more he can convince us to do what feels right, the more his plaque consumes us (get the picture?).
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.” -Colossians 3:23-24
Comments