As a dog returns to its vomit, so fools repeat their folly
(Proverbs 26:11 NIV UK)
Dogs are remarkable animals.
Using their keen sense of smell they search for survivors in collapsed buildings, detect drugs and firearms in police patrols, and, some say, locate tumours in the human body. In August Tucker was in the news. He is one of the few dogs in the world able to track the scent of an endangered group of killer whales that live off the north west coast of the US. As well as being born to sniff, dogs help humans in other ways, from bringing comfort to guiding the blind.
In the Bible, however, dogs often have a bad press. Lets face it: they have some disgusting habits. When I was a boy I had a pet dog. He used to proverbially lap up whatever he brought up, in the same way as a fool relishes his or her own silly words.
Solomon, of course, does not see things from the dogs point of view, and I guess none of us can. Is it some primeval return to the days when the dogs mother would regurgitate her food for her young to eat, as still happens today with the African Wild Dogs? Even some birds do it! Is it just an attempt to re-digest some undigested food? I read recently of an expensive restaurant where food is pre-chewed for the discerning eater. In some cultures mothers pre-masticate what they give to their infants. How different are we really?
From Solomons perspective this canine habit seems repulsive. It reminds him of fools. The fool says in his or her heart, there is no God (Psalm 53:1). A fool denies Gods priority in his or her life. Fools keep going back to their own philosophies and lifestyle. They repeat the same mistakes. The fool is deluded into thinking that his or her godless choices are reasonable. Peter said that anyone who rejects the grace of Christ and returns to a life not led by the Spirit is like a dog returning to its vomit, quoting Solomons proverb (2 Peter 2:22).
So how do we break this cycle of folly? The answer is to stop returning to the vomit. Whatever sinful lifestyle we may relish, lets not go there anymore. Lets not return to the same old patterns of sin. Sometimes dogs can be trained out of bad habits, but fools remain stubborn and are not willing to listen to correction. Lets not be like fools who despise wisdom and instruction (Proverbs 1:7). Let the Spirit convict us of our sins and change us completely so that we not longer desire to go back to how we were. Paul told the Colossians to cease indulging in their old ways of sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desire and greed anger, rage, malice, slander and filthy language (Colossians 3:5-8).
On the positive side, maybe we could take a good lesson from dogs. My boyhood dog followed me everywhere through thick and thin. He let me train him and lead him. Even though we are not dogs, could this be instructive for us? Lets follow Jesus no matter where he leads us. Let Jesus guide you, just as a faithful dog lets itself be led by its loving owner.
Be faithful to Jesus.
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