In his book, When Good Men Are Tempted, Bill Perkins talks about one night when he unwittingly fell into sexual temptation. He only meant to go outside and water the grass, but in the dark, he looked up at his neighbor’s home and “saw a beautiful young woman talking on the phone. That wouldn’t have been any big deal if she was dressed. But she wasn’t.”

So Bill lingered and savored the view. In fact, he lingered long enough that when he went back inside, his wife asked what he had been doing. And when he told her the truth, it sucked the fun out of the experience – but only for a moment. “I liked seeing that woman,” he says. “I liked it so much it scared me, because I knew I’d be tempted to look again.”

If Bill were like most men, he probably would have looked – again and again and again.

Scripture says that when we return to our foolish sins, we’re like a dog returning to eat its vomit (Prov. 26:11). Yeah, that’s gross, but I came up with an even more gross analogy a couple of years ago (to my mother: you should probably stop reading now).

When we return to sins which never give what they promise and leave us feeling spiritually dirty, I think it’s like eating chocolate-covered cat poop. Think about it: the Godiva-dunked cat turd looks so appealing – even sumptuous. And, in fact, it is – at first.

But then you get to the soft center of it and – what do you know? – that ain’t truffles in there. The aftertaste leaves you gagging. You feel ashamed – “I ate kitty poo again! What was I thinking?”

You were thinking the same thing you thought last time: “I don’t care what the consequences are. I want me some Godiva chocolate – no matter what’s inside. This time, it will taste different.” But it doesn’t, and yet you go back for it – again and again and again.

So we’ve got a decision to make: acquire a taste for spiritual cat poo or get free from our sick attractions. As Bill shares in his book, he decided that – rather than go back to that window – he would deal with the problem head-on, which included going to some trusted friends and confessing his sin.

His friends were very disappointed – in themselves. Turns out they were eating out of the same cat poo candy bowl. But as they began dragging their habits into the light, it made their foolishness seem so much more idiotic. And now years later, Bill’s helping other men get free from the spiritual cat poo munchies.

If you have any area where you keep returning to the spiritual kitty litter box for a snack – at the very least – I encourage you to share that with someone you can trust and ask for prayer (James 5:16). It’s going to require you to swallow your pride – but that’s better that swallowing spiritual cat poop.

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