so today i had the wonderful task of going to the dentist. YUCK!!! this is one task that i have hated for quite some time now, mainly due to the fact that my teeth seem to be prone to problems. but for the last two visits (prior to today) i hadn’t had any cavities! but the dentist said both times to “keep an eye on it”, referring to one of my teeth. there was a problem developing, but it didn’t need attention at the time.
in my mind this made no sense. being the tough guy that i am, i would prefer to take care of any problem BEFORE it caused me any pain. but i’m not the dentist, just the tough guy? today it came to the point where the dentist felt the problem had developed into a cavity that needed to be taken care of…in three weeks.
this reminds me of a passage of scripture believe it or not. james 1:14-15 says, “Temptation comes from our own desires, which intice us and drag us away. These desires give birth to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death.” (NLT) when i read this, i think that james and i are on the same page. he is giving a warning of where the problem starts so it can be taken care of before it causes more pain than it has to.
just like my small problem 18 months ago, if we just “keep and eye on it” and don’t take care of it, temptation can cause great pain. temptation that is not dealt with becomes bigger, sinful actions. then if it is not dealth with…death. WOW! that’s pretty cut and dry.
so no offense to my dentist, i would rather take care of the problem before pain. and i need to carry that over to my life and deal with temptation right away, before it gives birth to pain.
