What is tooth decay and when does it occur? It occurs when your teeth are frequently exposed to foods containing carbohydrates such as starches and sugars like soda pop, candy, cake and even sticky fruits. The primary options for treating tooth decay are filling, crown, root canal or extraction. The goal of treatment is to preserve tooth structures and prevent further destruction of the tooth.

If left untreated, tooth decay can have serious consequences. An extreme complication can be an abscess; a collection of infected material resulting from bacterial infection of the center or pulp of the tooth. This infection can spread into the bloodstream and have serious, even fatal consequences.

Decay has become widespread in our society, but it goes far beyond tooth decay. We are surrounded by social decay, cultural decay and moral decay. I am especially concerned with the lack of commitment to facts; truth decay. This poison has infected every area of our society.

We’ve all seen supermarket tabloids that feature stories about aliens landing, 6- headed animals or even stories about celebrities that are completely fabricated. Are these stories true? No, but they sell. Even some of our news programs, in the interest of getting ratings, play fast and loose with the truth. Websites like www.factcheck.org and www.snopes.com have become quite useful tools for determining the validity of stories. Some of the most respected figures in our society; politicians, celebrities, corporate officers and even ministers have been found guilty of misrepresenting the truth. Sadly, accountability and integrity are viewed as optional character traits.

You see, a commitment to truth comes with responsibility. As one sage wrote, “The truth is heavy, therefore few care to carry it.” It is easier to just go with the flow. However, if we choose to do that, we will pay a very heavy price.

Wise men and philosophers have pondered the importance of truth down through the ages. Here are some of their thoughts:

• “And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”– John 8: 32
• “As scarce as truth is, the supply has always been in excess of the demand.” —Josh Billings
• “Men stumble over the truth from time to time, but most pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing happened”– Winston Churchill
• “In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act”–George Orwell
•  “A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is still putting on its shoes”—Mark Twain
•  “The folks who know the truth aren’t talking…. The ones who don’t have a clue, you can’t shut them up!” –Tom Waits
•  “Once your soul has been enlarged by a truth, it can never return to its original size.” –Blaise Pascal

 Each of us has a choice. We can allow the decay to continue or we can make a commitment to upholding truth. What will you do?

I had a “not so wonderful” experience recently with my computer. It became slow, unresponsive and eventually would barely work at all. When I contacted tech support they told me that it had been invaded by some really aggressive spyware; so aggressive that it had gone undetected by my anti-virus programs. Ordinarily they can log on remotely and fix these problems with some anti-virus software. But this case was beyond remote assistance. The only solution was to totally remove everything from the hard drive – documents, software programs, everything – and reinstall new software. Although it took several hours to do that, it did fix the problem.

I wanted to find out more about spyware and how to avoid it in the future. My research led me to the following definition:

“Spyware is computer software that is installed surreptitiously on a personal computer to intercept or take partial control over the user’s interaction with the computer, without the user’s informed consent. It is known to change computer settings, resulting in slow connection speeds, different home pages, and/or loss of Internet or functionality of other programs”.

After the experience, I began to think about how we sometimes have “spyware” problems in our lives that can affect our personalities, our spirits, even our souls.

We come into this world as open, innocent human beings – like a blank hard drive. We are shaped by our environment, experiences and relationships. But sometimes along the road of life we encounter experiences that have negative effects. We can become scarred, damaged, even bitter. These experiences can be small or large, but like spyware, they can change our “settings” and cause problems. These problems can manifest in many ways – low self esteem, negative self image, anti-social and even self-destructive behavior. They make you feel like you are too ________ (you fill in the blank). Or not ______ enough (you fill in the blank). Some people are so down on themselves that they even have trouble accepting God’s unconditional love.

I observed this when I taught voice lessons. Some students would come believing that they couldn’t sing (admittedly, a few of them were right). But others had been victims of negative reinforcement and were able to learn to sing quite well with proper technique and positive reinforcement.

Some of these negative experiences happen so early in life, that we have no conscious memory of them. We only know how we feel or react. The enemy of our souls works hard to fan the flames of this negative spyware.

What’s the solution? Staying focused on the truth of God’s Holy Word; allowing it to go deep into our souls. It will combat ALL negative spyware. Although my computer had anti-virus software, it wasn’t strong enough to combat this new version of spyware. I had to install something much stronger. God’s truth is much stronger than anything that the enemy could bring.

As Christians, we must be intentional about our walk with the Lord. It’s not enough to have a casual relationship with Him. We must have a daily, deep, vibrant relationship with Him, allowing Him to permeate every area of our lives. So that if there is some “spyware” he can detect and remove it. We don’t have to be victims of “old junk”. The Apostle Paul wrote “I am a recreated being. Old things have passed away, and all things have become new” (2 Cor. 5:17).

We can “Stand fast in the liberty wherein Christ has made us free.” (Gal 5:1)

Keep your anti-virus software current by staying connected to the cleansing power of God’s word!