Avoiding the dentist

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If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. – 1 John 1:9
      
      
Sitting in a dentist’s chair is not my idea of fun. But there I was, eyes closed, mouth open, trying to ignore the scraping sound as the dental hygienist cleaned my teeth. And hoping I put enough money in the parking meter. I didn’t think a checkup and cleaning would take this long.
      
“I’m not going to wait five years again,” I told her during a pause in the procedure.
      
But that wasn’t all I needed. X-rays revealed fillings that needed to be replaced, so another appointment was scheduled.
      
One week later I was reclined in the dentist’s chair again. The hygienist numbed my gums before the shots (note: “shots” is plural), so I was good to go. Blessed Novocain! I didn’t feel a thing, except a little pushing and shoving. The only thing I was worried about was whether I plunked enough coins in the parking meter. I’d thought an hour and a half would be plenty.
      
I left the office with new fillings on the top and bottom back left teeth—and an appointment to do the other side. Six days later, I put enough money in the meter for two hours, thinking this time should be a breeze. I mean, whoever invented Novocain should be canonized.
      
But it wasn’t a breeze. It wasn’t bad, understand, but I’m a wimp when it comes to pain. “I can do this,” I told myself as I winced every time a little jolt shot through my mouth.
      
“I have to show you something,” the dentist said when the ordeal was over. “See that?” He pointed to a photo on the computer screen. “There was some infection under that tooth. I’m afraid now that it’s filled, the infection will be sealed up, with no place to drain. If that tooth gets abscessed, I’ll have to do a root canal.”
      
Great. The last root canal I had, I took Valium an hour before the procedure.
      
“What will be, will be,” I thought as I left, glad that I escaped without another appointment card.
      
That was 10 days ago. At the time I was beginning a five-day course of antibiotics for lingering head congestion, so the drugs probably kept any infection under my tooth at bay. But now . . . maybe it’s just my fear making me think my gums are itchy and my jaw is starting to hurt, and my head . . . okay, so I’m a bit of a hypochondriac.
      
Unfortunately, I tend to be the same way when it comes to spiritual matters. I don’t think I sin. But I do. I tend to be judgmental and I struggle with pride. I don’t like to admit I’m not the perfect Christian I want to be, that I want everybody else to think I am.
      
I shouldn’t avoid spiritual checkups. As with the decay in my teeth, unconfessed sin can cause a lot of problems that could have been avoided if dealt with as soon as it shows up.
      
All it takes is a little confession. God will do the cleaning. And you won’t feel a thing. Except relief.

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Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting! Amen. (Psalm 139:23-24)

Special-Tea: Read 1 John 1:5–10

What seems right . . .

. . . keep oneself from being polluted by the world. – James 1:27 (NIV)

For years I’ve waged a continuing war against hypothyroidism, weight gain, insomnia and fatigue. I’ve spent endless hours researching, especially the thyroid. Last fall I ordered a vitamin-mineral supplement especially formulated to support the thyroid gland. I worked on weight loss, avoiding sugar and white flour. I couldn’t give up my tea, though. I like it sweet—two packets of artificial sweetener per cup, two to three cups a day. Since sucralose was touted to be made from sugar, I figured it was better for me than the other kinds. It was the right thing to do. So I thought.

I did everything I could to get and stay healthy, even buying antibacterial hand soap and dishwashing liquid.

In March, I stopped taking the vitamin-mineral powder. Over-the-counter vitamins especially formulated for women my age (hint: the name includes the word “silver”) were less expensive, although the amount of the vitamins and minerals were different. By the end of June, the fatigue had returned with a vengeance. I blamed it on insomnia and my underachieving thyroid. “What I wouldn’t give to be able to sleep straight through the night,” I repeatedly muttered to myself.

Then one day while shopping, the headlines on the front page of a magazine caught my eye: “Dr. Oz’s Thyroid Cure.” I usually don’t allow myself to be lured by headlines at the checkout, but I was exhausted. And desperate. So I bought it. “Tell me something I don’t know,” I mumbled as I opened to page 36 and started reading. He did.

According to Dr. Oz, triclosan, a chemical used as an antibacterial agent in hand soaps and dish detergents, interferes with thyroid function. How many times a day do I wash my hands with antibacterial soap? And wash dishes with an antibacterial dishwashing liquid? And here I thought I was doing the right thing.

Not one to accept only one source, I got online and researched “triclosan” and found plenty of evidence to support Dr. Oz’s claim. What else interferes with thyroid function? I wondered. I googled “sucralose” + “effects”—and read that people have complained about weight gain, insomnia, brain fog and fatigue. As I read labels, I was surprised at how many products contain sucralose. I was getting a lot more of it than from the packets I stirred in my tea and sprinkled over my cereal.

Using calorieless sweeteners and antibacterial soaps seemed the right thing to do for my health and well-being, but, over time, the negative effects began to manifest themselves. I blamed them on everything but the true sources—which I continued to use.

Isn’t that just like sin? It sneaks into your life looking like something good, promising good things. As it wreaks its havoc, we blame everything else but the true source. “It can’t be wrong when it feels so right,” we say, quoting a popular song. Only when we acknowledge sin as sin can we get back on the road of spiritual health again.
     
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). Dear God, open my eyes to the sin in my life. Give me the courage to confess it and the strength to banish it. Amen.

Special-Tea: Genesis 3, James 1:19-27