The other day I was sharing with my daughter a lesson about life I learned the hard way.  It is a lesson that applies to our physical and spiritual well being…

When I was a teenager I was working on my classic Mustang and cut my right index finger under the finger nail.  Being a ‘manly man’ I shook off the blood and continued working.  A few hours later the cut was filled with grease and other muck associated with working on an old car.  I finally went in to wash my hands and treat the cut, but the damage had already been done.

Over the next few days I noticed that the cut wasn’t healing correctly.  It was painful, swollen, and the skin was odd looking.  I kept my painful wound covered for about two months before I finally told my parents I needed to go get it looked at.

The doctor quickly recognized that the cut on my finger was infected.  He attempted to freeze the infection on several visits which was a painful way to try and kill off the virus.  Eventually the doctor decided that the end of my finger would have to be removed in a minor surgical procedure.

The minor surgery was not pleasant, as you could imagine.  The doctor numbed my hand with a series of shots and then set to work cutting off the end of my index finger and part of the finger nail.  The smell of the flesh being cauterized was repugnant.

Fortunately the procedure was a success and my finger regrew for the most part, which is pretty amazing!  I am left with only a slightly misshapen finger as a reminder to wash my hands and clean my cuts.  The infection that started in my finger lingered in my blood stream for a year or so requiring constant monitoring as cuts on my hands and arms healed.

I told this story to our daughter to emphasize the importance of washing her hands often and particularly the importance of cleaning out a cut immediately and keeping it clean.  I know my parents didn’t enjoy watching me suffer through the treatment of my poor choice and subsequent infection.  I for sure don’t want either of my children to have to endure that either.

The infection I got in my finger is a lot like sin.  Many times we think that doing things we know are wrong is no big deal and we just shake off the warnings being issued by the conscience that God created us with.  We let the dirtiness of sin get into our mind where it spreads like a disease and takes root.  I knew that leaving that cut uncleaned was a bad idea and it even hurt as I continued working as the dirt and other material infected my body.

Dealing with sin when it has attached itself to our lives can be a painful process.  Jesus, speaking in hyperbole in the Sermon on the Mount, told the people to gouge out their eyes and cut off their hands if they were a cause of sin (Matthew 5:27-30).  The process of cutting out sin can be a painful one.  We wouldn’t gouge out our eye, but if our iPhone is a source of opportunity for sin we should get rid of it.  If we can’t control what we look at on the internet, we can live without it.  Cutting things out might be painful but it is a position we put ourselves in.

I still go to the same doctor who treated my infection when I was a teenager.  He remembers the infection we worked to get rid of and gives my hands a thorough exam at every physical to make sure the infection has not returned.  The result of my ‘macho’ mistake is something he helps me watch for constantly.  When we allow our hearts to become infected with sin we must also let the Great Physician give us an honest examination.  He gives us the Word that details the things we should be doing and those we should be avoiding.

As much as I want for my children to avoid the pain of an infection from a cut, I strive even harder to help them avoid the pain of a spiritual wound.  I hope that you are doing the same for your children and actively teaching them through example and word.

This week’s Dinnertime Devotional is a bit different in that we are spending all five lessons examining my favorite verse in the Bible.  Part of the devo this week is encouraging every family member to commit the verse to heart >>> Dinnertime Devotionals 11