My dentist tells me I am a grinder…. This was a rather stunning revelation initially. What does grinding entail? Is it contagious? What are the implications of being a grinder? Will I get to see my family again? She gently explained that it means I grind my teeth at night while I am experiencing what I always thought were pleasant dreams. My inlination toward such unitentional dental destruction has of course led to me spending some time in a chair that has a bright light attached to it.

No one looks forward to going to the dentist. Some actually have a fear of needles, drills, and probes. My dentists and their capable assistants, however, make you feel at ease. I always feel a little foolish when I need work done in their office. I am an educated professional. You would think that my teeth would be in tip top shape. That is not the case, because I am a grinder… They have never made me feel inferior. One of their assistants even empathized to the point that she said: “I had a root canal myself done last week.”

I actually go the dentist’s office pretty willingly. I know that I will be probed, shot, drilled, and fitted for all kinds of helpful equipment for my mouth. Sometimes it hurts a little bit, but the compassion of the dentists and their employees make it tolerable.

I left the dentist’s office today thinking less about root canals and more about hearts… I suppose I really should explain. I wondered to myself if people feel some of the same pressures at church that they do at the dentist’s office? People come to church because their hearts are like my teeth… a little imperfect. Somtimes it is necessary for a hard heart to be probed and drilled.
That process can be painful….

Do we empathize with people when their hearts are hurting? Do we walk with them as they experience the spiritual equivalent of a root canal? I have never felt embarrassed or belittled in the dentist’s chair. I am convinced that it is not necessary for people to feel such emotions in the pew either for meaningful heart change to take place.

I will back in the dental chair soon, because I am a grinder….I even feel comfortable asking other patients in the waiting area if they are grinders as well? We might as well be honest with each other!

But more importantly I will strive to model the same qualities of compassion, professionalism, and kindness that I see in my dental team to every person who walks through the door of the church building this week , because I suspect some of them are grinding their lives away in an abyss of hard living. Hand me a probe and prep the drill. It is time to go to work on some hearts…