This is a chapter from the book The Character of Creatures: What the Animal Kingdom Teaches Us About God and His Word.
Returning to Sin – The Dog
Dogs can be great companions; they are loyal, sweet, loving, and obedient if trained well. But something you cannot train out of a dog is how gross they can be. If a dog throws up, they will immediately leave the area, but a few minutes later they’ll be back to see how the mess on the ground tastes.
God gives us a great warning through this disgusting behavior:
Like a dog that returns to his vomit
is a fool who repeats his folly. ~ Proverbs 26:11
Discussion:
1. We know that murder, adultery, and lying are wrong, but we forget that hatred is counted as murder, impure thoughts as adultery, and that all liars will have their place in the lake of fire. It was from these and many other sins that Jesus saved us and trained us to renounce all ungodliness and worldly passions. Which sins are you constantly repeating or tempted to return to? How can you renounce them and set boundaries to stay away?
2. Have you considered that when you turn to sin, God sees it as a vile and foolish act that shows a terrible lack of spiritual understanding? How can you leave your sin and make it unappealing to you? Psalm 37:31 says, “The law of his God is in his heart; his steps do not slip.” Is the law of your God in your heart?
3. Godliness is one of our most important tools for defeating sin; it is only given through the Holy Spirit after a person believes in Jesus. It is like a muscle, the more you work it, the stronger it gets. If you start working on it now, you will be better off as you grow.
Be killing sin or it will be killing you. ~ John Owen
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