The foolishness of man

By Ken Blue
“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 Peter 2:22.

Human nature is a fragile thing and God warns us to guard it and not to tamper with it. It can be altered, twisted, bound, and distorted until we become slaves. One’s unwillingness to obey the truth is justified by questioning or scoffing at truth. “Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.” Psalms 1:1.

The tampering process progresses one small act or thought at a time until the one who believes he is free becomes a slave to the flesh. Once I illustrated the foolishness of man in a sermon at Open Door. I ask Jerry Lundquist, one of the strongest men in our church to come to the platform. I took a spool of thread from my pocket and wrapped one strand around Jerry’s two wrists. Jerry broke it with ease.

Next, I wrapped his wrists with four strands, and again he broke them, but with greater difficulty. Finally, I wrapped about a dozen strands of sewing thread around his wrists and ask him to break them. He could not. This is the way our habits hold us and keep pulling us back to wallow and puke.

I spent my early years on a farm in Arkansas. We had several hogs and dogs. There were other animals, but these two illustrate the point. The hog pen reeked with their excretions. The wetter the mixture, the better and the more attractive it was to them. However, hogs do not have reasoning ability and they wallow in the mire to keep cool. The wallow is disgusting, but we don’t fault the hog. He is a brute beast.

[pullquote align=”right” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]Like the hog loves his wallow and the dog loves his vomit, so the sinner LOVES HIS SIN.[/pullquote]

Then there is the disgusting behavior of dogs. Many times I have seen dogs vomit and return and eat it. They do more disgusting things, but I won’t mention them. Of the two animals on earth, what two could God uses to better illustrate the foolishness of man; man who was made in God’s image and given reasoning power?

I know people who have been to detox over twenty times, only to return to their vomit each time. Men and women spend long years in prison, and most return within a year because they return to run with the pigs. I’ve watched men and women remove the oxygen tubes from their face so they can light up another cigarette. I personally spoke to a woman who ran a rehab facility. She confided in me that they were unable to do anything for any patient who did not want to clean up; and most do not.

Like the hog loves his wallow and the dog loves his vomit, so the sinner LOVES HIS SIN. He or she could get free if they really wanted to. All of them want their sin; they simply don’t want the misery that goes with it. But, you can’t have one without the other. When you really get serious about giving up the wallow and the puke, God will deliver you.

It doesn’t take long for the wicked heart to open wide for sin. Remember, it only took a few strands of thread to bind the strong man, and you are no match for the wiles of the Devil. Flee sin and you can avoid the dogs vomit and the hog pen.