Disbelief and a Broken Tooth

Jackie with her front tooth fixed

We found ten-year-old Jackie crying next to the pool, waiting for us. She’d been our foster daughter for just a short time, but she came quickly into our arms. She was still damp and the scent of chlorine clung to her. Gently pushing blond hair from her face, I said, “Let me see, Jackie.” She opened her swollen lips to display the front tooth broken off in a sharp slanted line.

My husband said, “We’ll call the dentist just as soon as we get home, Jackie. He’ll fix your tooth right away.”

After a few more minutes of making sure she was otherwise okay and assuring her that her tooth was fixable, my husband asked, “Jackie, why ever did you dive head-first into the shallow end of the pool?”

“No one told me not to,” she said.

“That’s not true, Jackie,” I said, surprised. “We told you many times not to dive into the shallow end because you could get hurt.”

She wailed, “I didn’t believe you! I thought you were trying to keep me from fun.”

How often are we like that with God, thinking his commands deny us good things? Our disbelief that God’s intentions are good can result in broken teeth like these:

• A young mom lies rather than learning to tell the truth in love: Her family doesn’t trust her.
• A wife refuses to forgive: Her marriage and faith crumble.
• A teenage girl sleeps around: She’s a mother even though she still needs one herself.
• A teenage boy dabbles in drugs: Addiction ruins his education and confidence.
• A couple covets their friends’ lifestyles: They’re crushed by debt.
• A husband indulges in porn: His wife is hurt and feels inadequate.

This list could go on endlessly, couldn’t it? Who hasn’t dived into the shallow end of some pool of disobedience and come out with broken teeth—or worse?

After her accident, Jackie believed our rule was meant for her good and resolved to never dive into the shallow end of a pool again (that’s true, isn’t it, Jackie?). Of course, no preteen believes every parental warning, but God does expect grown-ups who profess Christianity to believe that the Creator of the universe gives his commands out of love, to acknowledge he knows best, and to resolve to obey him.

Righteous are you, O LORD, and your laws are right. The statutes you have laid down are righteous; they are fully trustworthy. Psalms 119:137-138

Related:

Chasing Crows

Working Out Your Salvation?