You Can Pick Your Teeth and You Can Pick Your Sins

A trip to my dentist taught me something about the health of my gums and the health of my soul.

My dentist recently told me to quit using the plastic dental toothpicks I’ve been using for years. I thought they were a good way to clean my teeth, but she said they were damaging my gums. 

I was grateful to know this because I don't want to do something that is harmful to my body.

It made me think of how similar this situation is to sin and how differently we respond. When someone confronts us about some sin or we feel the conviction of the Holy Spirit, we’re faced with the fact that our behavior is damaging us. And it’s not simply damaging something physical like our gums—it’s damaging our heart, our conscience, and our relationship with the Lord. 

We should be grateful to be corrected or convicted. Sadly, we often respond proudly and illogically. 

To use my analogy, I could have called my dentist a Pharisee for focusing on some little thing I was doing wrong instead of affirming me for faithfully brushing and flossing. 

I could have gotten angry and called her picky (pun intended). 

When I’m confronted or convicted about some sin, it’s not as easy to swallow as my dentist’s warning, but if I ignore or excuse it, I’m just plain stupid. 

“Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but whoever hates correction is stupid (Proverbs 12:1).

💙💙💙

💙 I encourage you to check out the Bible Love Notes collection Accepting Correction. I especially recommend When One Falls Down, which talks about the time Hurricane Irma almost did major damage to our home.

💙 And I encourage you to check out Wisdom for Life, on sale 25% off on AmazonLifeway, and Christianbook.


A trip to my dentist taught me something about the health of my gums and the health of my soul.


Bible Love Notes

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