A Wart on My Sole

Sometime during one of my three Junior years in college (hey, I was on the six-year plan!), I got a plantar wart. I probably got it at the university gym’s locker room because I always showered barefoot. To this day, a twinge of apprehension greets me every time my bare feet hit the tile floor at my current gym.

But I digress…

I tried EVERYTHING to get rid of the wart. Home remedies, pumice stones and over the counter stuff. Eventually, I had the campus health clinic attempt to freeze it off.

All to no avail.

I limped along with a cushioned donut bandage stuck to my sole for months until my mother suggested that I go see my old doctor, Dr. M. He had a practice in Westchester, a suburb a little northeast from our home. He was a pediatrician who has served multiple generations of Boronats with great skill.

So, I swallowed my pride and went in to see a doctor who specializes in childhood ailments.

Entering the waiting room was like stepping back in time. I sat on a chair and marveled at all the memories that place held for me.

The chief memory being that I HATE SHOTS.

It’s a pity that more doctors don’t see their patients when they (the patients that it) are feeling fine. I hear that dentists have higher rates of depression than other professions. Think about it, who WANTS to go to the dentist? For many of us, it’s like pulling teeth just to get us in for our yearly checkups.

It turns out that I was to be seen by another Dr. M. His son had joined the family practice.

We went through my recent trials with the wart, and he decided that the best course of action was to perform a curettage and desiccation.

The procedure is simple enough, they inject a local anesthetic, they destroy the wart by burning it, and then they cut it out.

We set an appointment for the surgery, and I returned a few days later for the procedure.

I was led back to my old examination room (where I received all those dreaded shots in years past). The nurse brought out a tray of sterile instruments, and I was “made comfortable”. After two injections, my sole became numb and he got to work.

It turns out my sole wasn’t numb enough.

To my great surprise, I had no qualms ASKING for ANOTHER injection.

The last one did the trick, and I comfortably waited as he finished barbecuing the bottom of my foot.

Being a youth intern at the time, and wanting something to gross out my teens, I requested to keep the filet of sole in a bottle of solution.

Dr. M graciously complied.

Before I limped out of the office, I was given a painkiller to take when I got home.

It’s totally numb, no problem, I thought.

Half way home (my mother driving at her normal rapid clip) the local anesthetic began to wear off. Problem. It felt as if someone was holding a lighter to the bottom of my foot.

We didn’t have water in the car, so I had to endure the rest of the trip home in serious pain.

As soon as we got home, I stumbled out of the car and quickly hobbled over to the sink. Downing the bitter pill, limped to my bed, and was OUT COLD in moments.

The wart never came back.

I am grateful for modern medicine and the ways it can heal the body. Surgery nowadays is much safer and effective than in the past for one simple, yet vital procedure.

Sterilization of instruments.

A clean scalpel can do wonderful things in the hands of a skilled surgeon. Give a dirty scalpel to that same doctor and he’ll become a minister of death.

Even the smallest traces of bacteria can result in a life-threatening infection.

The apostle Paul, writing to his protégé Timothy, warned him using a household analogy. He said that there were two different types of instruments in a house; the common and the special. The common were just that; common. The special were different because they were pure. The special would be used by God for “every good work”.

Paul impressed on Timothy the importance of keeping himself pure before God. It wasn’t about trying to be better than other people, it was about holding himself, his motives and his actions to God’s standard.

Being pure has NOTHING to do with comparing ourselves to others. NOTHING.

Being pure is asking God to remove anything in our lives that prevents us from being the people He has created us to be.

To cut out our warts.

If you want to be common, keep judging others and ranking yourself depending on what they do or don’t do. Keeping count of other people’s warts only make ours grow worse.

However, if you want to be of special use, look to God and He will guide you towards purity. And the Master Physician will not only remove your warts, He’ll use you for every good work.


Joe

Related Verses
Mark 2:13-17
Then Jesus went out to the lakeshore again and taught the crowds that were coming to him. As he walked along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at his tax collector’s booth. “Follow me and be my disciple,” Jesus said to him. So Levi got up and followed him.

Later, Levi invited Jesus and his disciples to his home as dinner guests, along with many tax collectors and other disreputable sinners. (There were many people of this kind among Jesus’ followers.) But when the teachers of religious law who were Pharisees saw him eating with tax collectors and other sinners, they asked his disciples, “Why does he eat with such scum?”

When Jesus heard this, he told them, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do. I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.”


2 Timothy 2:15-26
Work hard so you can present yourself to God and receive his approval. Be a good worker, one who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly explains the word of truth. Avoid worthless, foolish talk that only leads to more godless behavior. This kind of talk spreads like cancer, as in the case of Hymenaeus and Philetus. They have left the path of truth, claiming that the resurrection of the dead has already occurred; in this way, they have turned some people away from the faith.

But God’s truth stands firm like a foundation stone with this inscription: “The LORD knows those who are his,” and “All who belong to the LORD must turn away from evil.”

In a wealthy home some utensils are made of gold and silver, and some are made of wood and clay. The expensive utensils are used for special occasions, and the cheap ones are for everyday use. If you keep yourself pure, you will be a special utensil for honorable use. Your life will be clean, and you will be ready for the Master to use you for every good work.

Run from anything that stimulates youthful lusts. Instead, pursue righteous living, faithfulness, love, and peace. Enjoy the companionship of those who call on the Lord with pure hearts.

Again I say, don’t get involved in foolish, ignorant arguments that only start fights. A servant of the Lord must not quarrel but must be kind to everyone, be able to teach, and be patient with difficult people. Gently instruct those who oppose the truth. Perhaps God will change those people’s hearts, and they will learn the truth. Then they will come to their senses and escape from the devil’s trap. For they have been held captive by him to do whatever he wants.