09/08/2026
Proverbs 4:14-15 says, Do not set foot on the path of the wicked or walk in the way of evildoers. Avoid it, do not travel on it; turn from it and go on your way.
" “When you go to the trough, you can’t be upset to find pigs.”
Put it on a T-shirt. Put it on a bumper sticker. Cross-stitch it on a pillow.
We do this ALL THE TIME. We keep going back to the same places that make us miserable. We keep entertaining the same drama. We keep participating in the same gossip. We keep scrolling the same things that make us angry, jealous, insecure, or discontent. We keep hanging around people who pull us farther away from who God is calling us to be. We keep returning to habits we already know aren’t good for us.
And then we stand there absolutely appalled when we find exactly what we knew would be there. At some point, we have to quit complaining about the trough and stop going to the trough.
Proverbs 4:14-15 says, “Do not set foot on the path of the wicked or walk in the way of evildoers. Avoid it, do not travel on it; turn from it and go on your way.”
Did you catch that? AVOID IT! Sometimes discernment isn’t knowing how to survive an environment. Sometimes discernment is knowing you don’t belong there in the first place.
Guard your heart. Choose your people wisely. Pay attention to your surroundings. And when God gives you enough wisdom to recognize the trough, for heaven’s sake, quit being surprised by the pigs." Author Amy Bowdoin
