Leave the Vomit Alone

I am slowly accepting that I have a soft spot for children. It seems like somehow, I always end up caring for kids as a part-time gig. The family I am currently assigned to have a dog that is fourteen years old. So bro is pretty up there in age. He never ceases to amaze me. He eats everything he can off of the ground and throws it all up within minutes. But today, I noticed something different. My guy threw up the Oreos he ate and licked his vomit. As soon as I opened my mouth to lecture him, God spoke to me. He said, “He is no different than you. You ingest things that you should not. When you get it out of your system, you run back to it.” Ouch! I didn’t come to work for this today. It amazes me how God speaks through the small things we experience daily.

Proverbs 26:11 says, "Like a dog that returns to his vomit, is a fool who repeats his folly." I have been the fool on many occasions. I am notorious for taking in things that I am not supposed to. After crying, praying, and fasting to be free from a situation, I'd end right back there with even more baggage the second time. As I mature, I am starting to realize that are certain things that I just cannot participate in or entertain anymore. Although it may not be a sin, it isn’t a good thing for me. Living a consecrated life wasn’t a goal of mine. Being saved is enough right? I've confessed that Jesus is Lord and Saviour, so I'm good. But how can the spirit of God dwell in me if I haven’t presented my body to be a temple? How can He speak to my mind if I am consumed with drama from reality television shows? How can He use me to inspire others if my soul is weighed down by petty conversations?

We often focus on the offenses that we consider to be big (or what one would consider noticeable). But what about the little things that plant seeds that grow into character flaws? Maybe I can't hang with that homegirl anymore because she is negative. I'm thinking she's just being herself, not realizing that she is planting a seed into my spirit. Before I know it, I am depositing negativity into someone else's life without even knowing it. We have to make a conscious decision every day to be and stay free. We have to fight our flesh so that we don't return to the things that God has brought us out. We also have to fight the desires to justify the things that we want to do but shouldn't do. The fact that I am actively pursuing a celibate lifestyle is still a shock to me. But I am persuaded that what He desires to do in me requires for my lifestyle to reflect His standards. And when things are not playing out the way I desire, I cannot return to my vomit.

At this point, you’re just making yourself sick!