Everything Looks Fine

O

ne Friday morning, around 11:30 a.m., I went to a local restaurant to grab a bite to eat.  I wasn't exactly sure what I wanted which meant that everything on the menu was fair game.  Would it be the fried chicken or the meatloaf?  The chopped steak was tempting and so was the baked cod fillet.  After much debate and more than a few visits by the waitress, I decided to order a chef's salad, just so I would feel better about eating healthy.

The salad arrived and I began eating right away.  However, I hadn't made very much progress when something happened.  As I bit down on a piece of bacon, there was a distinct crunch in my mouth.  The crunch indicated that something more than the bacon and the croutons were being chewed.  A quick survey of my mouth soon verified what I feared.  One of my teeth had chipped, leaving me with an odd feeling in my mouth.  I finished the salad and went on with my regular activities, in no pain, but well aware that something was not quite right.

The following Monday, I visited the dentist and he confirmed what I already knew.  There was no way to repair the tooth; it had to be pulled.  When I asked the dentist what had caused this, he told me about a sizable cavity in the tooth.  This came as quite a shock to me because outwardly, there were no signs of any decay.  The enamel on the tooth looked healthy.  It was white, shiny, and apparently strong. 

However, the dentist explained that some decay had made its way under my gums and had begun slowly deteriorating the soft interior of the tooth.  It was only a matter of time before it shattered and it didn't matter whether it was bacon or a grape, the result would have been the same.  He showed me the results of the x-rays and, sure enough, there is a cavity inside the tooth, leaving the outside unmarred.  Bacteria had worked its way inside and had effectively destroyed the living tissue causing the tooth to decay and died on the inside.  Eventually, this decay weakened the solid structure of the tooth and it broke.

What a strikingly vivid picture of the way sin works in our lives.  James, the brother of Christ, explains it this way: "Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death," James 1:15. The problem with sin is, that like tooth decay, it takes very little of it to eat away at the very fabric of our lives.  Usually, it goes undetected, lying hidden from our view but it is working nonetheless. 

Notice James states that desire is the conduit through which sin enters us.  As humans, we constantly want things.  It could be money, power, position, influence, reputation, or status.  It could also be the desire to have things because we feel incomplete without them.  How many of us have purchased something only to discover later that we had made a poor financial decision?  We find our resources depleted and other areas of our lives suffering because we acted out of impulse instead of making a rational financial decision.  Again, how many of us have suffered emotionally because of something we said or did, or failed to do or say?  That one little decision, left unchecked, festered and eroded several areas of our lives.

In the same way, sin wrecks havoc in our relationship with God.  Outwardly, it may seem everything is all right.  There may be no signs we are in imminent danger.  Suddenly, however, the structure of our relationship with God is compromised and we find ourselves weakened, broken, and decayed.  James says that left unchecked, desire leads to sin and sin, if left unchecked leads to death.  Spiritual death, which James is addressing, is separation from God.  We cannot serve God and harbor any sin in our lives.  It gets in under the surface, erodes, and decays our relationship with God to such an extent that the smallest test or trial results in our being broken. 

The only cure for sin is to remove it, to extract it, to pull it out by the roots.  Only then can we be assured that its influence will no longer affect us.  If we tolerate it, if we do not have it checked, if we refuse to let God remove it, it will eat us alive and render us decayed, useless, and spiritually dead.  This is just where Satan wants us to be.  Christians with a dead relationship pose no threat to the enemy.  They do not work for the furtherance of God's kingdom and they don't share Christ with others.

I did not look forward to having my tooth pulled.  The dentist chair held no great allure for me.  However, I was grateful for someone capable of recognizing and repairing the problem.  I could not do it on my own.  In the same way, we cannot fight the power of sin on our own.  We must deal with it daily and be ready to let God examine us and, if necessary, to remove whatever is hindering us from enjoying a perfect relationship with him. 

When is the last time you had a thorough examination?  Is there anything lurking below the surface which is decaying your relationship with God? Why not make an appointment for a checkup with him today?