That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh. Genesis 2:24
As I was wrapping up my night a couple weeks ago, my front tooth felt funny. I couldn’t imagine why the bottom of it was so sharp. When I looked in the mirror, I realized that I had a chip out of it! During those first couple days it felt like I had a little razor in my mouth that kept cutting my lip before it got worn down a bit.
I scheduled a dentist appointment and found out that it was the same tooth that I had fixed several years ago through bonding. The dentist wasn’t sure how long it would last back then, but it did better than we ever expected.
He was going to try to use bonding again. He roughened the surface, put down an adhesive material, and applied a resin that’s the same color as my tooth. He shaped it and used an ultraviolet light to harden it.
Since this was the second time my dentist did this procedure, he didn’t seem too optimistic that it would be a long-term solution. He said that pressure on it could make it come apart, and he was right. Part of it is already off.
It seems to me the issue wasn’t with how it was bonded (put together) but what was bonded. It makes me think that trying to bond something fake to something genuine is going to be a bit of a problem. It might last for a surprisingly long amount of time, but eventually the pressure will make it come apart.
It reminds me of relationships. We can have a strong bond with someone immediately, but if there isn’t sincerity and genuine character, that bond will come apart under pressure. It will often leave someone being hurt by the separation, like my lip from the razor-sharp end of my tooth. A connection can’t hold with fake expressions.
On the other side of the issue, a more permanent bond can be made slowly with sincerity. It’s a stronger attachment. Just like with the bonding process of teeth, heat and pressure can make it more secure when dealing with authenticity.
It says in the Bible how a man leaves his father and mother and he’s united with his wife. That’s bonding in its strongest form! This is how relationships last. The adhesion becomes even better as two people face all circumstances as one with genuine and honest communication. Isn’t it awesome that we have the means to make that happen?
I challenge you to bond through honesty and sincerity to create a strong hold in all your relationships. I especially challenge those in a marriage to throw off fakeness today. Experience a true and lasting bond with your spouse, while allowing God to be the glue that gives you the strongest adhesion possible. Don’t treat it with dread as if you were going to the dentist…have fun with your bonding process today!
