Ick!

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Proverbs%2025-26&version=NIV

As a dog returns to its vomit, so a fool repeats his folly. - Proverbs 26:11

Here's a quiz - where else in scripture do we find the above verse referenced?

Proverbs 26:11 is one of those verses in scripture that makes me giggle and cringe at the same time. Yet it is such an accurate description of human behavior and our inaccuracy or unwillingness to look at our own depravity. One commentary says that "the dog is a loathsome emblem of sinners who return to their vices. This describes one who thinks their spiritual state is good, when it is really bad."

How often does this describe people in the church - perhaps even ourselves. The over-estimation of one's spiritual state can lead them straight into the mess God just expelled from their lives. For example, the alcoholic, believing they have recovered enough, goes back to their former friends and hang-outs. The pornography user believes they don't need an accountability systems because they are now strong enough to resist the temptation on the Internet. The couple in relationship struggling with premarital sex does not wisely put safeguards in place that would keep them from falling into the same temptation. The over-spender doesn't cut up their credit cards. The person with anger issues doesn't deal with the underlying causes. The person who God just pulled out of a damaging relationship jumps right back into another without exploring the pattern of relationships that have ended badly. The over-achiever, after recovering from illness caused by exhaustion, goes straight back into their same patterns of work. The list goes on and on.

The other reference to this verse is in 2 Peter 2:22. Peter adds another analogy that is just as descriptive as the dog. He also says these people are like "A sow that is washed and goes back to her wallowing in the mud."

How sad it is that people in the church are so like the dog and the sow. In both cases the nature of the animal is not changed. The sow returns to the mud because by nature it is still a sow. The change was merely cosmetic. The preceding verse (2 Peter 2:21) says of the proverbial dogs and sow that "It would have been better for them not to have known the say of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them".

I think at this point there are three questions that need to be asked: Am I a dog or a sow in any area of my life? Why do I keep going back to my old nature instead of allowing God to change me from the inside out? and How can I change?

It begins, I believe, with two things. The first is a prayer similar to that found is Psalm 139:23-23 - "Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me to the way everlasting." The first step is to allow the Holy Spirit to begin the changing process in you by getting before God and waiting and listening in silence for him to show you where you need to change and then begin working that change in you.

Secondly, it takes the willingness to be humbly and honestly self-aware. Many people don't see their own junk because they don't want to face their own depravity. Perhaps it's because of pride that they don't see it. Perhaps it is because looking at the patterns of behavior in their lives means dealing some pain - maybe a lot of pain. But dealing with pain now means that future pain can be avoided.

Thirdly, I believe it takes the willingness to recognize one's own weakness and depravity before God. Ask God to get the pride out and give you an accurate picture of your own weakness and your own Spiritual state - an accurate reading of your own spiritual temperature. Rather than not liking what you see and being unwilling to admit that this is a true picture of you, accept it, embrace it as the condition of every human without the power of God. Then start the process of allowing him to change you from the inside out so your nature changes, not the just mud washed from the outside.

How does this changing process (called sanctification) look? It looks like the person who dives into the word of God - not for a season, but for life. It looks the the individual who finds and connects with authentic Christian community - and then is willing to be authentic with this community. It looks like listening to the wisdom of spiritual mentors and being willing to accept conviction as conviction, and not transfer it onto others as condemnation. It looks like those who are willing to admit their weakness and seek accountability partners. It looks like being willing to give up those things in your life that will drag you back to the vomit and the mud if it means permanent victory over that area of your life. It looks like making God your life instead of your Sunday diversion.

Sound hard? Remember, you aren't operating on your own power. God will help you, show you the way, walk with you through it and work the change in you. Your job is being willing to admit truth and participate in the process. Are you ready? You will no longer be a dog or a sow. Instead, you "will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor.

Today's post was submitted by Carol Bartels