Dog's Vomit

Dear Victorious,

Proverbs 26:11 says that "a dog returns to its own vomit." What does this mean?

Irene V. - Branson, MO

Dear Irene,

It means that the dog is foolish enough to return to its own sickness - or that which made it sick in the first place. The metaphor here is that people naturally return to their own foolishness. We tend not to learn from our mistakes - but repeat them. We know things are bad for us - but are drawn to those things.

Of course, that's our human condition. If we will die to self and yield to our spiritual condition, it will make much better choices!