There's one, basic thing everyone needs to know when it comes to stopping a cut from bleeding: apply pressure. This is the one medical thing I can remember learning from a young age, whether it was dealing with a cut I got from playing outside or a bloody nose. I was always taught to put a bandage of some sort on it and apply lots of pressure.
Tonight, this is exactly what I did. It's become a natural instinct now. I was hanging up some metal signs on my wall when I caught the edge of one on my hand and seared a nice gash on my left ring finger. It was one of those cuts that was deep enough to fold the skin over and watch blood poor out (sorry for the graphic detail). Anyway, my point is that it was one of those cuts that needed pressure to stop bleeding, and it needed a lot of it. I had to hold a paper towel on it for at least 20 minutes and then bandage it after that, and it still wasn't done bleeding; however, the pressure eventually did the trick, and it stopped. After minutes of pressure and bleeding, it finally cauterized.
Wounds and pressure are funny like that- they ultimately take force, weight and pressure, to begin to healing. The pressure is good for the wound.
This made me think about how applying pressure to some sinful or life wound can also do the trick sometimes. Whether it's dealing with some sort of struggle or issue or dealing with tough decisions, there's something about applying pressure to those situations that begins healing. I'm not talking about an intense, peer kind of pressure that forces bad decision making, but instead I'm talking about a pressure that comes from mentors or teachers that's applied in order to make us think, make us respond and make us begin to deal with the wounds we're currently dealing with. It's a pressure that comes from caring, and a gentle pressure that's supposed to stop the bleeding.
There is something to be said for a healthy amount of pressure and constrictive criticism coming from people who care about you. It's that kind of pressure that will, not only begin a healing process, but also identify where the bleeding is coming from. It's not peer pressure; it's productive pressure.
-Cliff
Cliff's Note: Pressure is needed to cauterize any wound, whether it be physical, spiritual or emotional.