and give me life in your ways.
Psalm 119:37
I don't know about yours, but my local grocery store has a section for day old bakery items to be sold at a discount. Half of the display is bread, but the other half...ahh the other half! That side has cream cheese danishes, glazed doughnuts, decorated cupcakes, chocolate ganache covered cakes, and lots more yummy, tempting, succulent goodies.
It isn't like these items are at the front of the store and you have to walk past them. They are hidden away at the back of the store. How do I know? Every time I walk in the store that rack is my first stop. I can ignore the expensive junk foods, I can avoid the aisle with Little Debbie waving at me, beckoning me in for a taste. But this rack is cheap, this rack calls to me.
Problem is, this rack is worthless and actually robs me of life. The food has no nutritional value. It is full of items that can raise blood sugar and clog arteries. It creates a brief energy rush that ends with negative thoughts and a "crash" when the sugar wears off. I know this, and yet I return to it again and again. Proverbs 26:11 says, "Like a dog that returns to his vomit is a fool who repeats his folly." That puts it in a new perspective.
The way this verse was explained to me is, dogs like the taste of vomit. Think about it, they do. If a dog pukes it at least sniffs at it, if not eats it again. That is a pretty good analogy for me returning again and again to this discount pastry rack. I go back because I like the way it tastes. Like a dog and it's vomit, it can't be good for me.
So the next time I enter my grocery store and I find myself standing beside that discount pastry rack, I am going to picture it as vomit. I don't want to be the fool. Is this going to work? I sure hope so. I pray that God will turn my eyes from it, that He will remind me that it isn't good, and I will choose to not be a dog/fool.
So, what is your vomit?
Love,
