Proverbs 26:11
Like a dog that returns to its vomit,
so a fool repeats his folly.
This is probably one of the most popular proverbs of the Bible. Partly because they are used by Peter in 2 Peter 2, but also because they’re vivid and true. So true.
You’ve known someone, as have I who has done this. And it can drive you absolutely insane! You see someone make a foolish decision that costs them a lot, personally and even financially. You watch them suffer and even try to help them through the pain. Eventually, they come out the other side and you think they’re going to be better off for what they’ve gone through.
Until…
They do the exact same stupid thing again! They should have learned from their foolish choice in the past, but still they did the same stupid thing that cost them so much the first time around. It’s absolutely infuriating! It really is as gross as a dog returning to its vomit to eat whatever made it throw up the first time.
We can see the folly of the dog, and we can even see the folly of the foolish person who make this decision. But what about us?
Truth be told, we’re all a little foolish about something. None of us are perfectly wise, and we are all in a constant struggle between playing the part of the fool or the part of the wise. There is most certainly something in my life as there is most certainly something in your life that you keep returning to. You know it’s not good, you know that you need to change your ways, but still you keep going back to it. You go back to it, do the same thing again, and end up in the same spot.
Whatever it is, we need to flesh it out, and figure out a way to get past it. Until we do, we will continue to find ourselves going back to the toilet and taking a drink.
