by Tad Lindley
Are you brushing your teeth enough?
According to online recommendations from the American Dental Association, we should all be brushing our teeth twice a day for two minutes per brushing. That’s a total of four minutes per day. If you multiply that times the number of days in a week, you get 28 minutes per week. I know that you probably have your 28’s table memorized, but I don’t, so standby while I get my calculator. Got it. Twenty-eight minutes per week times 52 weeks in a year is 1,456 minutes of teeth brushing per year. Let’s break that down into hours: 1,456 minutes divided by 60 minutes per hour = 24.26 hours per year of teeth brushing. That is literally one day of your life every year spent brushing your teeth. (Power Tip from Bro. Lindley: if toothpaste is unavailable or too expensive, a cheaper option is baking soda, which doesn’t taste as good, but does a great job).
How much do you brush?
If we are honest about it, it’s possible some of us are not brushing our teeth enough. There are possibly even people that you know that never brush their teeth. It takes too much time, toothbrushes are too expensive, or they have never developed the habit, or are simply too busy in life to stop between sleep and awake to be bothered with brushing their teeth.
Chompers get janky
Now imagine that you have a friend who has finally managed to get an appointment to see the dentist and get their teeth cleaned. The catch is that they have not brushed their teeth for over a year. Not one of us would like to open up our mouth wide for a dental hygienist and have them see that although we look good on the outside, that our mouth hides a gross, janky set of teeth that are swarming with rotting dried meat and corn syrup-fueled bacterial colonies.
Killing it with brilliance
“No problem,” our friend tells us, “I’ve done the math. In order to make up for lost time, I’ll spend 24 straight hours brushing. After all, 4 minutes a day equals out to 24 hours a year, it’s a no-brainer.” There you are shaking your head, because you know like your friend doesn’t, that no amount of brushing can erase the cavities and gum loss that comes from 12 months of chronic neglect.
11th hour wannabes
I didn’t sit down to write about your teeth though. I do care about your dental health, but I came to write about the dangers of procrastinating the day we get right with God. You see there are many people going through life neglecting the great salvation that Jesus offers (Hebrews 2:3). We tell ourselves, “I’ll turn to the Lord tomorrow. In fact next week I’ll go to all three services and I’ll pray 4 hours a day. Now is just not a good time for me. After all, didn’t the thief on the cross get saved in the eleventh hour?”
Felix’s fail
One time the apostle, Paul, was having bible study with a man named Felix: Several days later Felix came with his wife Drusilla, who was Jewish. He sent for Paul and listened to him as he spoke about faith in Christ Jesus. As Paul talked about righteousness, self-control and the judgment to come, Felix was afraid and said, “That’s enough for now! You may leave. When I find it convenient, I will send for you.” (Acts 24:24-25) Did you catch that? Felix was under the conviction of God, but he told himself that he would have another chance. Sadly, Felix never found a convenient time, because there is never a convenient time to turn from sin.
Better brush your teeth tonight
If you want to keep the teeth you have, you better start brushing them twice a day, starting today no matter how inconvenient it is. If you want to be saved, it starts today.
As God’s co-workers we urge you not to receive God’s grace in vain. For he says, “In the time of my favor I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you.”
I tell you, now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation. (II Corinthians 6:1-2 NIV)
Even though we grasp this mentally, many reading this are thinking, “Yep, the Bible is right, so I’m going to repent to God just as soon as I finish the gram I just bought.” Or, “Bro. Lindley, I was with you until I remembered that I just started a bucket of homebrew yesterday, and I…”, or, “I just downloaded some stuff from porn hub and I’ve got to check it out before I repent…” It’s never convenient is it?
Our graveyards are full of Felixes
Just like dentists chairs are full of people who thought they could brush really hard before their visit and be okay, our graveyards are full of Felixes who never found it convenient to serve God. Oh, they told themselves they would repent at some point in the future, but death caught up with them long before that convenient day ever came. Friend, if you have been telling yourself that you will get right with God when it all lines up, you are setting yourself up to fail like Felix. The time is now, repent, be baptized in Jesus’ name, and receive the Holy Ghost (Acts 2:38).
Reverend Tad Lindley is a minister at the United Pentecostal Church in Bethel, Alaska.
