I sat back down with my Bible and blanket and cuddled up with King Jesus. I got lost in my study referencing and counter-referencing the Scriptures. Before long, the dog begged to go outside, again. I jumped to my feet and raced him to the door to let him back outside. Then, while walking back to my Bibles, I remembered the present the dog left earlier that was still on the patio. I looked out the window to, well, you probably can guess.
The dog was hovering over his own vomit and eating it. I opened the door and not-so-gently coached him to “leave it.” Why? Why do dogs do that? The Holy Spirit reminded me of His Word. I was witnessing a scripture. God warns us in the Old Testament that we too can act like dogs at times and do the same thing.
Proverbs 26:11 says, “Like a dog that returns to his vomit is a fool who repeats his folly” (ESV).
“Oh Lord,” I thought. That’s what it looks like. When we know the Truth and continue to repeat our sin, it’s as if we are returning to our vomit just like this. I doubt any of us would willfully want to return to our vomit. If you have ever had the stomach flu, food poisoning, or rode one of the spinning carnival rides that sent you to the closest restroom or trashcan, I’m sure you tried to get as far away as possible as quickly as you could after you tossed your cookies. I think we all would willfully leave, never to return unless it was absolutely necessary for round #2.
Peter, a disciple and apostle of Jesus, also refers to this proverb in the New Testament in greater detail. 2 Peter 2:20-22 says, “For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first. For it would have been better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than after knowing it to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to them. What the true proverb says has happened to them: ‘The dog returns to its own vomit, and the sow, after washing herself, returns to wallow in the mire’” (ESV).
The Bible describes what it’s like for those of us who have escaped and walked away from the sinful ways of the world because of our precious knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ only to return to our old, sinful habits. The return to sin is worse than when we were in it the first time.
Before we accepted Christ as our Savior and His complete forgiveness for our wretched sin, we did not fully understand the weight of our sin. But after realizing our dire need for Christ, accepting His death on the cross for our personal sin, and choosing Jesus as our personal Savior, it’s worse turning back to our sinful state because we are willfully choosing sin over Jesus. You now know the sacrifice He made for you and the gravitas of your sin, but return to your own vomit anyway.
The Bible says it would be better to not have known Jesus than to know Him and His extravagant grace and turn away from Him for the love of our sin. We are like a dog returning to its own vomit. Let that settle for a moment!
How can we know Christ and willfully make decisions that defy Him? If He is truly the Lord of our life, we will desire to change our sinful ways and obey Him. He died for our sin. How can we truly know Him and love Him and continue to sin against Him?
You can’t have both Christ and sin. You can’t claim Christ as your Savior and continue to live in your sinful habits. If there’s vomit in your life, it’s time to walk away from it! Jesus Christ can help you turn and never look back. Pray now and ask God to show you sinful patterns in your life, ask Him to forgive you, and ask for His strength to follow Him completely. Walk away from those tossed cookies!
How can you make Monumental Moments and live to multiply His movement today?
