As I see it, there are 3 ways to lose a tooth. One is to have it knocked out like I did when I whacked myself in the mouth with my tennis racket at age 11. A second way to lose a tooth is like when Hunter’s baby tooth became loose last week and it fell out eating bread at Olive Garden. A third way to lose a tooth is to have it fall out while drinking a cup of coffee.
Well, that’s what happened a few days ago to an unnamed relative of mine. Apparently her dentist had told her a year earlier that a cavity was forming on that tooth, but she never did anything about it. She stopped going to the dentist, ignored the pain, and hoped the cavity would somehow go away. Now she is facing the reality of a root canal. She is not a happy girl at the moment. Not only will she be going through the agony of a root canal, but also has to come up with $1900 for the surgery!
If you don’t deal with your cavity, it will cost you dearly later on. That’s
the moral of the story for you and me in our lives. The moral cavity of sin that isn’t dealt with will fester and bring about the worst of pains.
“…but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.” James 1: 14-15
I have two very close friends who are paying the price for a cavity of lust. They left a little lust alive, and now it is costing them all that they care about. Over the past three weeks I have heard of five godly men who have lost their wives, money, and potential custody of their children because of what began as “just a little sin.”
That scares me. Could it happen to me? Uhhhhh, absolutely. Could it happen to you? Never say it couldn’t. It should scare you.
Could there be a cavity in your life that you are trying to ignore?
Take a careful, slow x-ray of your heart as I read through some things that cause cavities:
• Lust of the sexual nature or material nature
• Hiding the truth from your friends or family
• Really wanting more money
• Holding something against another person
• Wishing you were more like someone else
Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.
Psalm 139: 23-24
Can you see your life about ten to twenty years from now? Maybe not what you are doing occupationally, but rather what your character looks like. Can you see the spouse of your dreams in your future? Keep your eyes pure. Can you see a little boy or little girl clinging to your arm, staring into your eyes? Your kids live with your legacy. Can you see friendships with other godly men and women who trust and respect you? The alternative is bitterly ugly and lonely.
So when Sports Illustrated wants to send me their swimsuit edition, I’ll tell them to keep it - because my dentist told me no!
Admirably,
Todd
P.S. Thank you for staying in touch with your kampers via email, facebook, letter, phone call, or visits. They talk about you all the time. Here is the link to retrieve their information…https://www.kanakuk.com/Staff/.
P.S.S. Attached is a little newsletter about what’s going on in the Kanakuk Institute. It is so incredible. I hope that if you aren’t already considering the lifelong benefits of doing the K-Institute that YOU WILL
(Editor's note: Todd wrote this article for our staff this month. He really has a wonderful gift to encourage others through writing).
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