Sheep Don’t Wallow
based on a story by C. E. Henry (1960)
There is an old story about a lamb and its mother. It seems the lamb passed a pig pen each morning on the way to the pasture with its mother. Watching the pigs wallow in the mud seemed like fun, and on an especially hot day, the lamb asked the mother if he could jump the fence and wallow in the cool mud. She replied, “No.” Then the lamb asked the usual question, “Why?” The mother just said, “Sheep don’t wallow.”
This did not satisfy the lamb. He felt she was not being fair, overreacting, and didn’t have the right to tell him what he could or could not do! So, as soon as the mother was out of sight, the lamb ran to the pigpen and jumped the fence. He was soon feeling the cool mud on his feet, his legs, and soon his stomach. After a few moments, he decided he had better go back to his mother, but he couldn’t. He was stuck! Mud and wool don’t mix. His pleasure had become his prison. He cried out and was rescued by the farmer. When cleaned and returned to the fold, the mother said, “Remember, sheep don’t wallow.”
Sin is like that. It looks so nice, so inviting. We think we can escape from it any time we wish, but it is not always so. Sinful pleasures soon become prisons.
The moral of this story? Christians don’t wallow!
Sin and sinners entice us to join in the passing pleasures of sin. But as the wise writer of Proverbs said, “Keep your feet from their path” (Proverbs 1:10-19).
For Further Study
Verses to Consider
- Esther 7:10
- Psalm 1:1
- Psalm 7:14-16
- Psalm 9:16
- Psalm 119:101
- Proverbs 4:14
- Proverbs 5:22
- Proverbs 22:14
- Proverbs 23:27-28
- Ecclesiastes 7:26
- Luke 11:24-26
- Luke 11:34-36
- John 8:34
- Romans 6:12-20
- Romans 13:11-14
- I Corinthians 15:33
- Ephesians 5:11
- I Thessalonians 5:21-22
- I Timothy 6:9
- II Timothy 2:24-26
- Hebrews 10:26-27
- II Peter 2:19
Questions to Ponder
- How does it benefit the Christian to avoid sin?
- Some say that as long as we don’t cross over the line of to sin we are okay. Others say we should get as far from sin as possible. Which is the correct, biblical approach to sin? Why?
- Can we be a Christian just by removing sin from our lives? Why or why not?
- Why does sin trap people? How does it do this?
- How can we avoid being caught in the snare of sin?
