At the Dentist

... Though I have received wonderful revelations from God, ... to keep me from getting puffed up, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from Satan to torment me and keep me from getting proud.

2 Corinthians 12:7

So I finally made it to the dentist to have my tooth checked out. As he examined me he discovered that it was my last molar, upper left, that was giving me such trouble. Interestingly, the dentist noted, the last molars are indeed the most useless and, at the same time, the most troublesome teeth. You could lose all four of your last molars, he informed me, and still retain 99% of your chewing capacity. On the other hand, because of their reclusive location and their proximity to the buccal folds, food tends to get trapped nearby, serving as a nidus for infection and decay.

So useless, so troublesome. A terrible combination. It's as though this tooth causes trouble just to get your attention. Since it's apparently so useless, it has to do something to get noticed.

I can imagine that Paul debated this very matter with himself when he talked about the nature of the Body of Christ in 1 Corinthians 12, comparing it to the human body. He opines, "God has put the body together in such a way that extra honor and care are given to those parts that have less dignity. This makes for harmony among the members, so that all the members care for each other equally. If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it, and if one part is honored, all the parts are glad."

Yes, who would ever notice that poor old tooth if it didn't give me trouble. Is there a lesson in there somewhere? I think so. If you ask yourself, critically, when you're most likely to pray, you'd probably answer when you're in trouble. We tend to give priority in prayer and concern to the troublesome areas of our lives, and rightfully so. Sometimes, perhaps, it might be God's way of drawing our attention to certain areas of our lives that need prayer and action. Perhaps, too, that is why Paul was given his "thorn in the flesh" (2 Corinthians 12), to draw his attention to the problem of pride.

So when next I suffer such pain, physical or emotional, I have to take pause and think, "Is God trying to get my attention?"

With love, Doosuur.