For the Dogs

I’ve had one of those messy mornings. I offer these thoughts from it with a warning – if you have a sensitive stomach, you might want to skip the first part. Vomit is involved. 

Some workmen were coming so I put my dog in the laundry room to keep him out from under their feet. About two minutes later they asked for a broom, so I went to the laundry room, only to find the dog had vomited and was enjoying his breakfast the second time around. So gross. I cleaned up the mess and took him to sit with me outside, where he threw up again about 20 minutes later. This time was messier and even he didn’t want anything to do with it. It might have been funny if it hadn’t been so awful. 

Dogs eat some pretty disgusting things. Our previous dog loved to eat dirty tissues. She did it in secret, but it always came to light from the other end. It obviously wasn’t good for her and often caused gastric distress, but she kept doing it. 

I joke that dogs have small brains (at least mine do). I’m sure there’s some survival instinct wired into them that makes these seem like good choices, but the part that gets me is that no matter how often I scold them, or even the physical suffering they experience, they keep doing the same thing again and again.

I hate to say it, but we’re like this sometimes. We think our sin is delicious. We consume as much as we can because we don’t see it for what it really is – dirty kleenex. We keep eating what made us sick in the first place. We might try to keep it a secret, but the truth always comes to light and the outcome is never good.

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

Probably dogs don’t really have a say in the matter. They’re creatures of instinct doing what their instincts tell them to do. Biology classifies us as animals too, but we know that we’re meant to be more than just animals acting on impulse alone. We’re meant to think, to consider, to choose. Sin removes our humanity and makes us more like creatures than children. It clouds our minds and darkens our understanding (Ephesians 4:17-19). It taints our choices and enslaves us (John 8:34); eventually we lose the ability to discern or choose what’s really best for us.

We may start off this way, but we don’t have to stay this way. Christ can set us free from the dominion of sin (Romans 6:17-18). He can restore our humanity (Romans 8:12-14). He can renew our desires (Ezekiel 36:26). The choice is ours. 

“To all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. They are reborn!” John 1:12-13