Good Dental Hygiene

Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

Matthew 5:16 KJV

People are in desperate straits these days. It doesn’t take a PHD from Harvard ‘s psychology school to see the stress and anxiety in the eyes of our fellow man. We live in times like no other in the history of humanity. Like a boxer, being punched from all sides, our present society is reeling with confusion and turmoil. The pummeling blows of an impending financial collapse, rampant crime, and the complete dissolving of societal norms are all enough to send the average man to the mat. The Apostle Paul warned young Timothy that perilous times would come. (Timothy 2:3:1) Jesus foretold, “Men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. (Luke 21:26) The dark clouds of the apocalypse are on everyone’s mind. Armageddon seems to be just around the corner. What is the great need in this hour? Is it to run for cover and stick our heads in the sand? I think not. The great need of mankind has always been the same, the gospel. What this world craves is exactly what Mrs. Patterson brought each year to our grade school.

I will never forget Mrs. Patterson. She was the dental hygienist who came annually to our school to instruct us on proper brushing techniques. We all looked forward to her visit for two distinct reasons. Firstly, was her big, broad white smile. She had the biggest and brightest teeth I had ever seen. She was a walking advertisement for her profession. Secondly, were the big set of choppers that she brought with her and her oversized toothbrush. That artificial set of teeth looked a bit dangerous, but with these two items, she would teach us how to correctly brush our teeth. A big set of teeth and an oversized toothbrush are exactly what humanity needs.

This world needs clean living, God-fearing Christians. They need to see the reality of Christ through our lives. Spiritually speaking, we need big, broad white teeth to match the message we share. We are not promoting chewing tobacco. I listened to Mrs. Patterson because of the shininess of her teeth. If anyone could teach me to floss correctly, it would be her. Furthermore, men and women need a message that is straight out of the Bible with no compromises or soft landings. Gospel messages that are watered down are useless, in fact, they are dangerous. To tell a person they need a Band-Aid when they are eaten up with cancer is to betray our mission to point sinners to the cross. Heaven or hell are at stake. Lost humanity is looking for the choppers of hard truth and the huge toothbrush of application.

When the angel in Revelation 14 flew over the earth to proclaim the eternal gospel, he announced, “Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.” The true gospel doesn’t waste time with the needs of men, it focuses on a sinner’s repentance and faith. When the ship is going down the only concern on the minds of men are lifeboats.