As a dog returns to his....

In the Bible, we read: "As a dog returns to his vomit, so a fool returns to his folly." It is not a very appetizing thought. But, I was reminded of this phrase a couple of weeks ago. I was taking our cute little dog out in the backyard, for him to do his business. I wouldn't have always called her cute, so I've come a long ways. And, truth be told, there are some cute things Nikki does. But, there is one particular thing that I just can't get over. I do think the vomit thing would get me, and make me nauseous; but this is equally as bad...maybe worse.

I take Nikki out into the back yard, to "do her thing"; but instead she decides to "make me sick." What does she do? She goes directly to what she deposited in the yard earlier, and not only sniffs it, but seems to desire a snack. Are you kidding me? Is there anything more disgusting than that? Her nasty act tempted me to put her on ebay that minute. I gave her a little, let's make that big pep talk, counseling her against the dangers of eating that kind of thing. She didn't seem to get it.

Later, I began to reflect on the Scripture about a dog returning to other nasty stuff, and the spiritual connection was made. Like it or not, this is exactly what we do when we return to our sin. The sin that looks so good to us, smells so good, seems so desirable, is, in reality...disgusting, foul smelling, and can actually destroy you. Why do we keep going back to it? Why do we think it will taste good this time; and fully satisfy?

The key is seeing our sin the way God sees it. We must see it the same way we feel if our disgusting dog goes back to the vomit or dung. That makes us sick; and God is sickened by our desire to return to our sinful ways. If we can also see sin that way, we won't return to it, but we will properly bury it, and never return. Yes, sin will always be present, but we don't have to return to it, we don't have to pretend it smells good. We certainly don't have to eat it.