Dogs and Pigs

One

Things of God are not for people who act like beasts.

Our Lord told the Syrophoenician woman, “It is not right to take the food from the children and give it to the dogs.”

Earlier in Matthew’s gospel, he says, “Do not take what is holy, and give it to the dogs. Nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and then turn on you and tear you to pieces.”

This is strong, strong language. But it’s clear that Our Lord is saying that the salvation he offers is not for beasts. And it’s not for those who act like beasts. It’s not for people who have the same priorities as a dog or a pig.

In other words, if you are enslaved to pride, lust, and greed, then you will not be able to access the things of God.

Two

The Priorities of a Dog

Dogs and pigs pretty much want to do three things: Eat, mate, and sleep.

A person whose priorities are centered around eating, sleeping, or sex is living the life of a pig. He’s living the life of a dog.

That’s what lust, greed, gluttony and sloth do to you. It bestializes the image of God. Such a person has no capacity for God, because God appeals to the soul, and someone in the grip of lust and greed and gluttony and sloth has no interest in the soul. No interest in spiritual things. So how can such a person be saved? 

Divine love and divine truth don’t mean anything to that person, any more than they mean anything to a barnyard animal. A pig or a dog just focuses on their physical impulses. Which, actually, is fine for a pig or a dog, since they don’t have any other aspect of themselves to develop. But what if you have an immortal soul? What happens when you let the eternal part of you wither and twist and truncate? What will be left of you when the body, with all its urges, lies rotting in the dust?

Three

A Dog’s Life and a Pig’s Life

Even the earthly life of a pig or a dog isn’t that great.

Have you ever seen stray dogs wandering around alone through back alleyways, or at the edge of a country road? Those dogs are hungry. Those dogs are restless. And those dogs are lonely. That’s a pretty good summary of a life of lust, a life spent dominated by sex addiction. When you give yourself over to lust, you’re always hungry, you’re always restless, and you’re always, always, very, very, very lonely.

And a pig’s life, you’ve seen them. They just sit in the muck, and the only excitement of the day comes at feeding time. The pig sleeps and the pig eats while the shadow of the slaughter perpetually looms over it. So a pig is pretty much just waiting for death without actually getting very much out of life.

And you know there are people like that. People who are just killing time until death, people whose only division of the day is mealtime.

This is not a life worth living. This is not what we’re called to.

Four

God and Love

Slavery to the flesh means a self-imposed exile from God. You cannot serve God if you’re bound to serve the flesh. Slavery to the flesh also means a self-imposed exile from love.

You can’t love your kids, or your spouse when you’re restlessly seeking your next fix. Here’s the basic principle: you won’t have the time and energy to give generously to others when you’re spending your time and energy trying to gratify yourself.

That’s why lust and love are always diametrically opposed. There are two ultimate commandments Jesus gives each one of us: Love God and love your neighbor.

Lust, greed, gluttony, and sloth diminish our interest in loving God. And these take away the self-possession we need to actually love our neighbor.

Will you live far from your father’s house with the pigs, like the prodigal son? Will you whine under the table with the dogs, instead of eating your fill with the father’s children?

Because if you don’t want to class yourself with the pigs and the dogs, you’ll have to acquire self-mastery over your desires.

Five

Making the Resolution

What are the practical steps to be set free from the addiction to pride, lust, greed, gluttony, lust, and all the deadly vices? 

The first step is to admit that we are powerless to overcome these on our own. And because of them, our lives have become unmanageable and out of control. And we need someone who can restore us to sanity. The only one Strong Enough to overcome these is Jesus. So make the decision to turn your life and your will over to the care of Jesus the Good Shepherd. 

Then make a searching, fearless, and honest examination of conscience and go to Confession where Jesus can forgive you and give you all his grace, his power to set you free. But you will need a good examination of conscience to make the examine. Over the next two days, we will provide an in-depth examination of conscience on Pride and the Seven Deadly Sins.

Go over this two-part examine every day for a week. 

Examine your life and honestly admit what you did wrong or failed to do right. Then ask, “Why did I do that?” and seek the root cause of your sin in the deadly sins for they are the roots of all sin. Notice a pattern. You will fall repeatedly into 2-3 of the deadly sins. These are you dominant sins that control your life. 

We want to admit and confess all sin. But we especially want to identify our dominant deadly sins and work on them with the help of God.