Last week when I went for my six-month cleaning, I got the news: I had my first cavity! Ugh. I couldn’t believe it, and the thing about it is that I didn’t even know it was there. This morning, I got it filled and that got me thinking that cavities are just like sin.
Sin is like a cavity
Yep, there it is. Like I said, I didn’t even know it was there, but as the dentist was cleaning it out, he said, “Yep, it’s a good thing we’re getting this done now.” Just like sin, we don’t always know it’s there, either. It may be something small, and we think it innocent like a “white lie.” It won’t hurt yet, but as it grows and decays, there it is; and it gets worse and worse until we root it out. We must go to the priest and clean that sin right out, repair our relationship with the Lord and others we may have hurt and move on!
Sin is like a dead battery
As my dentist was drilling along, he said he got up to start his car, and boom, a dead battery! It threw his whole morning off, trying to make calls to get it started, so he could get his son off to daycare and himself to work. Then there’s more calls throughout the morning to get it replaced. This is just like sin, stopping us dead in our tracks. Boom, we’ve been caught dead! Now what? We need a jump-start to get us back on the straight and narrow road. Time to repent and ask for forgiveness.
Sin is like that numb lip
At first when we know we are going to sin, there may be that initial sharp pain just like the needle going into your gum before the procedure. It hurts, but soon, we become numb to the pain of sin. As we continue to sin, it doesn’t seem to hurt as much, or even at all. There may be times where it is uncomfortable, but it doesn’t seem to hurt.
Until it does.
Here’s the thing: even though we may become numb to sin, sin always is actually hurting us. If the sin continues, you will be hurt and those around you will be hurt. And while admitting to a sin now may hurt a lot, it will hurt so much more if it continues. So turn away now.
Sin is like food debris
Yep, it’s gross, but so is sin. My dentist said this darn cavity was because I wasn’t flossing enough, and I’m guilty, I don’t always floss. I will when I know something is stuck between my teeth. Sometimes I just floss because it’s been awhile. And then there that mad daily flossing that happens when you get that reminder that your dental appointment is coming up. Just like flossing, we go to reconciliation when we know we did something really bad. We go when we are reminded it’s been awhile. And then we may go again right before Easter (CCC 1389), but the Church encourages us to go to reconciliation any time when we are in need of God’s mercy. We also should ‘floss’ by going to weekly (or even daily) Mass, to be cleansed of our sins during the Penitential Act. Can I get an AMEN?
While I apologize to my dentist for using his good work as my sin analogy, it is a good reminder to all of us that we must floss daily AND clean our lives of sin that can decay our souls.
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