“As a dog returns to its vomit, so a fool repeats his folly” (26:11). We are creatures of habit. Our lives are determined, to a great extent, by the patterns we create. We don’t always stick to our patterns, but we do tend to get drawn back to them. A helpful way to assess your life is to look, not just at individual actions, but at patterns of thought and behaviour. Behind our worst behaviours, inevitably, we will find bad patterns. The failure to succeed is often due to a lack of good patterns of behaviour. So, let’s think about this. Do you recognise bad patterns in your closest relationships? These might be the smallest things like negative attitudes, rudeness and a bad temper. Are you neglecting relationships? And what about your relationship with God? Is prayer integrated into your pattern of life? Or do you rush forward without regard for God? What about your media intake? What do you habitually watch and read? It is important that you spend time thinking through these kinds of things lest you end up wasting your time and strength ‘repeating folly,’ as the proverb says. It takes time and discipline to leave bad patterns behind and introduce new ones. But it’s worth the determination and effort because the quality of your life is determined by the patterns of your life.
Reflect on what patterns you need to break and/or establish in your life.
Read Proverbs 26:11-17
