How often do you go to the dentist? I go religiously, every six months. It’s one of those things my parents drilled into my brain as a child.
My daddy used to tell us we had to protect our Colgate grin even though we used Crest toothpaste in our house. To get us to brush regularly, he would give us $5 for every dentist appointment we came out of with no cavities. As a child in the stone ages, $5 was a lot of money. I still frequently call my Daddy after my dentist appointments to tell him he owes me $5.
Getting my teeth cleaned is fairly uneventful because I brush and floss regularly. If I didn’t, there would be a lot of damage to my teeth from the build up of plaque. A dental visit would be painful and costly, to say the least.
Our dental habits aren’t the only practices that can yield good health. Daily time with the Lord keeps us healthy in our mind, body and spirit. It’s a time to deal with any gunk in our lives to prevent build up. It prevents us from walking around wounded or wounding others.
For example, meeting with Jesus daily makes it difficult to form a bitter root stemming from anger. He won’t let it sit there. Ephesians 4:26-27 says,
In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold.”
Just like the hygienist uses a tool to remove anything trapped in our teeth, The Lord will use His Word to remove sin or bitterness in our lives because He knows leaving it there will allow the devil to reek havoc in our lives causing us and potentially other harm.
In our busy lives, it’s easy to let some things slip away from our mornings. People skip breakfast or eat hurriedly in the car. Yet there are some things you just simply won’t skip. They’re more than important to you. You deem them as necessary for your day.
You wouldn’t think of going to work without brushing your teeth or taking a shower. Spending time with Jesus each day is even more important than those hygiene practice. The impact of doing so is longer lasting than hygiene habits.
Are you making Jesus a priority in your day? The pay off is far greater than $5.
Lately, I’ve spent time with the Lord more in the night time than in the morning because that’s when I have more “time.” But whenever I fall into the night time habit, I usually reach a point where I’m convicted and see that I actually just do it just because I like sleeping in. Reading this blog post was my “convicted” moment, and I’m going to try harder now to spend time with God both in the morning and at night. After all, I brush my teeth at those times, why not make a habit of spending time with God at both times also!