My dad just recently went through eye surgery for his cataract. If truth be told, he should have dealt with this eye problem 10 years ago. But for various reasons, he decided to hold off until it got too unbearable.
When he went into the ophthalmologist to remove the cataract, the doctor mentioned that since the cataract worsened over the years that the surgery would be difficult. He also said that the success of the surgery was not totally favorable due to the damage to his eyes. But my dad had nothing to lose because there was a possibility of going blind either way [sermon illustration #1 given below].
After a successful surgery, dad went through some complications during the healing process. The place where they made the incision was not healing well. In fact, the stitching caused a linkage in his eye. He went to the doctor several times for re-stitching. At the most recent appointment, the doctor told my dad to give it some time and it will probably heal by itself. My sister, who lives in Chicago, was getting concerned. She decided to set up a different appointment with a reputable doctor who specializes in eye surgery in order to get a second opinion. My dad refused and decided to stick with the first doctor for various reasons [sermon illustration #2 given below].
Finally, after some heated “discussions”, Diane and I convinced my dad to go to see the specialist. To make a long story short, this new doctor could not believe some of the procedures that were performed (and procedures that were not performed). Therefore, he is headed back to the hospital to finally fix his eyes properly. I am wondering if some of the headache could have been avoided if we got a second opinion early on in the ball game.
Sermon Illustration #1: When there is a problem, or shall I say symptoms of things going bad, it is probably a good idea to get things “fixed” ASAP. I don’t know how many times people have just ignored the warning signs and the situation got worse. In fact, God gives us warning signs everyday. The real issue comes down to humility – are we willing to humble ourselves and get the problem fixed – not by our own methods but by God’s standards?
Sermon Illustration #2: It is amazing how so many people make life’s decisions based on just one perspective. I have realized over the years how important a second opinion is to our lives. Too often, we get myopic with things. It can be due to our selfishness, our narrow-mindedness or even our lack of experience. But whatever the reason, we would be wiser if we would get another person’s perspective on things. I don’t know how many people make life changing decisions on the fly or even by their emotions. These are the same people that testify to the truth of what the writer in Proverbs 26:11 wrote – “As a dog returns to its vomit, so a fool repeats his folly.”