Sickening Picture

Read Proverbs 26

As a dog returns to its vomit, so a fool repeats his foolishness.

Proverbs 26:11

Proverbs is certainly not a book for the faint of heart or weak of stomach! It confronts adultery, sin, and folly in no uncertain terms and with vivid images. Here we have a graphic picture of the type of person who makes a mistake and then makes it again. This person, here called a “fool,” has not learned from the foolish mistake and so is doomed to repeat it. This is as disgusting as the habit of a dog that goes back to its own vomit.

Everyone makes mistakes—even foolish ones. If we desire to be wise, our mistakes can become beneficial. Many times we have said things we now regret, spent money we should not have, acted in ways that now embarrass us, or faced severe consequences for a foolish mistake. But most of us learn from those mistakes and put those hard lessons to use so that we do not make those mistakes again. That is the path of wisdom.

A WORD FOR TODAY

Mistakes teach us or we repeat them.

Today, Lord, help me remember and learn from my past mistakes so that I don’t have to repeat them.