When The Door Slams
As a dog returns to its vomit, so a fool repeats his foolishness. There is more hope for fools than for peoples who think they are wise. (Proverbs 26:11-12 NLT)
We almost invariably repeat the patterns of the past; our old problems revisit us again and again. It is easy to slip back into familiar sinful patterns; that is why we need to be diligent to preserve our spiritual gains. In 2 Peter 2:22 They prove the truth of this proverb: "A dog returns to its vomit." And another says, "A washed pig returns to the mud.
The fool says in his heart, There is no God (14:1; 53:1). The apostle Paul argued in Romans 1:21-22 that there is no excuse for such rejection: "Although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became useless in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools."
Think about this: Do you joke about things you don't understand and think it's funny? "Doing wrong is like a joke to a fool, but wisdom is pleasure to a man with understanding. "The discerning sets his face toward wisdom, but the eyes of a fool are on the fleeting pleasures of this world. Is it more important to you to express your opinion than to listen? "A fool takes no pleasure in understanding, but only in expressing his own opinion. If these describe you, you might want to consider the danger of your foolishness as described in Proverbs. Dogs lapping up their own puke is funny to a fool, but when humans do it, no one is laughing.
If you put your trust in a fool, there's a price to pay: "Whoever sends a message by the hands of a fool cuts off his own feet and drinks violence"(26:6). And if you confront a fool, you could wind up in a world of hurt: "A stone is heavy, and sand is weighty, but a fool's provocation is heavier than both" (27:3). Solomon offered a similar saying: If a wase man has an argument with a fool, the fool only rages and laughs, and there is no quiet" (29:9). Whether it's a foolish employee, a wild neighbor, or an outlandish buddy, a fool leaves a fire of pain in their path.
Sometimes you find fools in bars, sometimes in churches. The crowns of Israel were not immune to foolishness fatal attraction. Foolishness cost Saul his kingdom when he disobeyed God's commands (1 Samuel 13:13). Amnon's foolishness robbed him of sexual self-control, leading him to rape his half sister (2 Samuel 13:14).
Matthew 5:22 do not warn us against using the word fool. Rather, warns us against weaponizing words to demean or destroy others. There are times when it is kind to inform fools of their folly. Without a righteous warning, many won't recognize the monster they keep poking. We want to avoid foolishness at all costs. How? Start by recognizing the weight of influence in your life must be from people of faith. If your family member or co-workers are followers of Jesus Christ, you can afford more friends who are Christians. You may need to do a serious audit of how much time you spend with people inside and outside the faith so that the weight of influence is tilted toward the Holy Spirit.
Affirmation: Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him (James 1:12). This is the message we heard from Jesus and now declare to you: God is light, and there is no darkness in him at all. So we are lying if we say we have fellowship with God but go on living in spiritual darkness; we are not practicing the truth. But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin (1 John 5-7 NLT).
Ask the Holy Spirit to search your heart and reveal any areas of unconfessed sin. Acknowledge these to the LORD and thank Him for His forgiveness.
Never Rest Ministries
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