S234P9 – When fools rush in: a dangerous cycle

Pro. 26:11

As a dog returns to its vomit, so a fool repeats his foolishness.

Many of my evenings were only a blur.  Others were a complete mystery to me.  There was a part of me which thought that my drinking was only the normal antics of a twenty-something who liked to have fun on the weekends.  After all, I was not alone when I went out, but things had begun to change for me.  My issue was that my body was not reacting to the alcohol the way it had in the past.  Sometimes, I did not have to drink that much at all to lose hours of the night from my memory.  Although these episodes were quite frightening, the fool in me who wanted to escape his life so badly I simply did not care.  I returned every weekend and gambled with my safety and, quite frankly, my life. Only God’s intervention could change that dangerous pattern.

One difference between the foolish and the wise is that the wise seek more wisdom.  They want to learn.  This is not to say that a wise person will not make mistakes, but those mistakes actually have value because they cause a change in behavior.  They serve to bring new knowledge and wisdom that will be applied to avoid those errors in the future. Those with godly wisdom have a pattern of learning from the foolish things they do and understanding why they do not want to return to them.  This is the kind of attitude and behavior we should display. When we err, when we sin, when we act outside the will of God, we must allow the conviction of the Holy Spirit to lead us away from repeating our offense.  This is the pattern of the wise children of God instead the foolish pattern of the world.

God gives us the power to turn away from sin every time we are tempted.  He makes available to us the ability to walk in perfection today and tomorrow and the next day.  However, we might still commit unbelievably foolish acts and tell ourselves that we should know better. When these times come, it is critical for us to learn from the consequences of our errors and decide that we will not return to that place.  The wisdom of God always leads us in that direction.  If we are allowing his Spirit to guide us, we will have no desire to revisit that foolishness.  Father, we ask that You would give us wisdom to learn from our errors and willing hearts which desire not to revisit our sins but to turn back to You.