Proverbs 26:11: As a dog returns to his own vomit, so a fool repeats his folly.
Insight
It is repulsive and sickening even to think of this. This is the viewpoint that Peter presents to us concerning the hypocrite: “But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire” (2 Pet. 2:22). Remember that when the prodigal son was in the pigpen, he knew that he was in the wrong place, and he returned to his home. Suppose when he returned home, he brought along with him one of the pigs from the pigpen. The little pig would not enjoy the father’s house. Eventually he would go to the pigpen. Eventually, all the hypocrites in the church will be revealed. The Bible teaches that there is a security for the believer, and also there is insecurity for the make–believer. It is to the hypocrite that the proverb refers. 1
Application
Paul provides a cure to avoid a dog-like lifestyle in Romans 6:12–13:
Do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts. And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.
How can you present yourself to God? Perhaps you can be more available for His purposes and not your own. Be an instrument in His hands.
Motivation
Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces. Matthew 7:6
You return to the thing that identifies who you really are. – TWEET IT
Prayer
Father, teach me how to break away from my past, and to rest in Your presence.
1. McGee, J. V. (1991). Thru the Bible commentary: Poetry (Proverbs) (electronic ed., Vol. 20). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
