Why Return

2 Peter 2:22

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.

I have no idea why dogs regurgitate their food and then turn right around and lick it up. It’s disgusting. It’s gross and it almost makes me want to let go of whatever I just ate.

Dogs will normally smell their vomit before they start licking it up. I am always like “Ewww!” It’s like they think it will smell and taste better the second time around. And we all know that is not true…AT ALL. Then we are left to pick up the remains.

I have always viewed pigs as dirty creatures. Seems as if all they do is wallow in mud or dirt. I understand that it is a cooling mechanism from the heat. Even dogs will dig a hole in the ground to keep cool but dang.

But this verse is an aphorism (a concise saying embodying a general truth) about life. And it describes many people in the world today. It coincides with our sin nature.

Many people, male or female, have been washed in the blood of Christ and have had their sins forgiven. Therefore, they have been washed cleaned. They are no longer the filthy creatures they were…all covered in sin.

The regurgitation is likened to confession. For when we confess, we are indeed vomitting our sins out of our mouth. It brings healing, peace and forgiveness.

Those things we confessed were bad things. Sometimes dirty and sometimes not so dirty, yet still sinful regardless. Why in the world would we want to turn around, take a whiff and then put it back into our lives? Why would we want to return to the mire clay from which we were just set free of? Yet, many of us do.

Porn is one of those sins for which many are cleansed of. They confess it. They repent. They cry over it. They struggle. They pray for strength and then cry more. It’s a hard process that can take years to be completely free of. Once free many will help others try to overcome their struggle with it. Then years later they return to it. Why?

I believe it is because we become complacent in our walk, unaware that danger can be right around the corner. Often times, I believe, it is because we become haughty to a certain degree. I feel that we are in error when we think like that.

1 Corinthians 10:12

Wherefore, let him that thinks he stands firm take heed lest he fall.

Just because you have been free from the grip of porn for years does not mean the enemy has forgotten you.  Battles are won and lost on a daily basis. We must maintain our vigilance. Many times that first lick of our old vomit is a pop-up on the computer screen. Maybe it is a post that has been read that gets your mind thinking. There is another lick and before you know it has been all swallowed up and back in your system. And then there you are hiding, watching porn and masturbating again. And you get scared and/or nervous thinking about how hard it will be to stop again.

For some it is when their sex life within marriage becomes lacking that they return. Thinking that just once will not be an issue. Wrong answer!

For a few of us it can be the fact that masturbating to porn is easier than dealing with the let down of not being able to get our wives to orgasm during intercourse. But still…wrong answer!

1 Peter 5: 6-9

Humble yourselves, therfore, under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time,

Casting all your care upon him; for he cares for you.

Be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary, the devil, like a roaring lion walketh about, seeking whom he may devour;

Whom resist steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.

The last verse shows that just because we become a follower of Christ does not mean we are exempt from temptation, hence the reason to be vigilant. We must be on guard at all times.

If you are an accountability partner or just trying to help someone overcome their struggle with porn please consider this verse and remain vigilant in your walk with God.

Galatians 6:1

Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye who are spiritual restore such an one in the spirit of meekness, considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.

So the question is still there. Why would someone who has tasted freedom want to return to the mire? Have they forgotten the painful and shameful lifestyle it entailed and the struggle to get unstuck from the mirky swamp of lust and sin? I believe that sometimes we can forget, especially if one has been free for years. But God’s word tells us what happens when we return. And for that alone I know that, I for one, can not return.

2 Peter 2:20

For if, after they have escaped the pollutions of the world though the knowledge of the Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in it, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning.

I can not return to my struggles with porn. I need nothing more wicked in my life than what I have already experienced. What I viewed was bad enough. I can not imagine what would happen if I did return.

I am free. I am walking in freedom. I’m not going back into bondage! And I see no reason why anyone else would want to either.

Please join with me in praying for all people, regardless of gender and faith, to continue on in their journey with strength and integrity.