When You Stop Smelling the Mud

A hog lays in the mud and rolls in it. Along comes a sheep and asks, “Why are you laying in that mess?”
The hog answers, “It’s cool. You should try it. That wool coat has to be hot.”
The sheep asks, “How do you stand the stink?”
The hog says, “You get used to it.”

That’s the danger Scripture keeps warning about. What you live in long enough stops offending you. What once smelled wrong begins to feel normal.

The Bible never describes sin as suddenly attractive. It describes it as familiar.

“Take care, brethren, that there not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God. But encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called ‘Today,’ so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.” (Hebrews 3:12–13)

Sin deceives before it destroys. It doesn’t always shock the conscience. Sometimes it just dulls it. Hardening happens when a believer stays close enough to the world that the smell no longer registers.

Paul warned the same thing.

“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” (Romans 12:2)

Conformity doesn’t require agreement. It only requires exposure without resistance.

John puts it even plainer.

“Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” (1 John 2:15)

The sheep smells the mud because it doesn’t belong there. The hog doesn’t notice because it does.

Believers don’t drift by accident. They drift by tolerance. They stay close. They linger. They adjust. And eventually, they stop smelling what once warned them.

That’s why Scripture keeps saying “Today.”
Because the longer you stay in the mud, the quieter the warning becomes.

The danger is not falling in.
The danger is getting used to the stink.

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“What I write is not for everyone, but what I write is meant for someone.” – Dean Butler

This work may be shared for ministry or personal use, but please credit the author when doing so. © Dean Butler