Toothache

 

 

Have you ever had a really bad toothache? I know I have. The pain can be severe enough that you can’t function or think of anything else. Getting that tooth fixed or taken out may be a painful process but you look forward to it because you know that you will feel better afterwards. Now think about it. Your tooth is a very tiny part of your body but if it is decayed, it affects your total self.

 

None of us is perfect. Even the apostle Paul stated, “For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do – this I keep on doing” (Rom 7:18-19).

 

We may think that a bad or sinful habit isn’t really very important or that it doesn’t have any consequences. If that’s the case, we might want to take a time-out and ask God what He thinks about it. We can even ask Him to show us how our bad habits affect us. Be careful if you do that because the answer may be painful.

 

As we approach Christmas and the New Year, this is a good time to resolve to do something about our “toothaches” through the grace of God who desires to help and forgive us. As Paul later writes, “What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God – through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Rom 7:24-25).