Matthew 23:26 Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.
Anthropologists have discovered ancient human remains with grooves worn in between the teeth, suggesting the regular use of floss and toothpicks. It’s widely accepted that horse hair was used as the first type of dental floss! The earliest iteration of modern dental floss was introduced in 1815, by a New Orleans dentist named Dr. Levi Spear Parmly who encouraged his patients to floss. Disciplined flossing the cheapest and most feasible solution to dental issues and oral health.
Flossing helps to remove a sticky film between your teeth called “plaque”. Plaque formation around the gum line causes gum infection and tooth decay. Flossing in the spiritual realm is self-reflection, self-assessments and self-correction. The sticky, slimy plaques hiding in our hearts can cause decay, if not flossed. The prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32) wasted his inheritance in wayward living and lost all his wealth. After the hangover of the inebriation had completely worn out, he came back to his senses. Luke 15:17 “When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! If we interview the prodigal son in Heaven, the one advise he would give us is to floss our heart and mind regularly and remove the destructive plaque hiding and building in our soul. The ‘inside-story’ of the prodigal from the pig’s pen back to the palace was “soul flossing”.
Three lessons from the inside-story of the prodigal:
1. Trap: Millions of bacteria, microorganisms and other germs are trapped in our oral cavity that causes teeth damage over a period of time. Likewise, wrong friendships, wilful rebellion and obstinate addictions tricked the prodigal into wicked living. As oral hygiene removes trapped bacteria, self reflection and repentance will disengage rotten thinking, erratic emotions and wasting habits. Remove the trapped bacteria and prevent decay.
2. Tartar: If the plaque (sticky film between your teeth) is left unremoved, it will harden into tartar around the gum lining. The plaque hiding in between the teeth will soon build visible ugly tartar and cause bad breath. As tartar ruins the teeth, strongholds soils the soul. Stubbornness, arrogance or self-indulgence of the prodigal, soon formed a veneer of tartar and tarnished his character. As tartar in the teeth causes bad breath, tartar in the soul causes bad behaviour. Clean the tartar and cleanse your character.
3. Touch: If you brush your teeth but do not floss about 35% of the teeth surface remains untouched. There are certain sensitive areas that we do not want anyone to touch or talk about. Whatever is kept in the dark will decay and die both in the spiritual and the natural. Making our lives transparent and exposed to the light of God’s truth will keep us spiritually healthy and strong. Flossing the food and bacteria trapped in the tight space between our teeth prevents decay; flossing our soul prevents spiritual death.
The theme of the inside-story of the prodigal is “soul flossing sharpens spiritual senses”. Reflection, repentance and remorse, renews the mind. Soul flossing daily is highly recommended for spiritual wellbeing.
1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Prayer: Dear Jesus, let the cleaning thread of your Word grind deep into the untouched areas of my soul to remove bacteria, tartar and dirt, trapped in the tight crevices of my heart. Amen
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