Do you know any fools? Have you seen people do crazy things? Most will do it again. Binge drinkers will binge drink. Drunk drivers will drive drunk. Violent, angry people will again be angry and violent. Selfish people will be selfish, unless God intervenes—unless they allow Him to change them. (Have you allowed Him to change you? Are you willing?)
One of my bosses used to cite a proverb to me each time I came to his office:
“As a dog returneth to his vomit, so a fool returneth to his folly” Proverbs 26:11.
Isn’t that hilarious? The way he said it implied that HE was the vomit: “So—you’ve come again, like a dog returning to his vomit?” I just smiled and swept papers off the chair so I could sit down in his cluttered office.
But do you understand the writers’ point? Dogs will vomit, then return to the spot and eat their vomit. And there’s a medical reason—but who cares? It’s gross, right? Dogs eat vomit. That’s nasty.
But fools do the same thing. They have these colossal failures, screwing up their lives in dramatic fashion: they drink until they black out, or they fight with strangers, or rob convenience stores, cheat on their wives—whatever it is—and then THEY DO IT AGAIN. If people are lost, they are cut off from the God who can change them. Thus, most are destined to repeat their mistakes—like dogs returning to their vomit.
We need to rescue people from lives of failure. We need to tell them about Jesus and His grace: He can restore and redeem broken lives. God can give value, worth, and self-control to those who have nothing.
At the same time, this verse reminds us to be careful: those you know who have experienced disastrous failures may experience them again. Be cautious that you are not dragged into their folly. Love them and pray for them, but don’t let them influence you. I pray we make God’s Word our guide in all things.
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Household Words: 