May 11th - Proverbs 25:16

Do you like honey? Don’t eat too much, or it will make you sick! We can always trust the writer of Proverbs to give us sound advice! His purpose is to help us live life to the full and avoid the many traps that lie in wait for us every single day. One of those traps is overeating. He draws attention to honey, which is undoubtedly good, but, like everything else, only in moderation. If we overdo it, the outcome is inevitable and well worth avoiding. Life is full of good things, but each of them will be spoilt if we give them the wrong prominence in our lives. Later in this chapter, the writer repeats the warning about overindulging on honey and adds “and it’s not good to seek honours for yourself” (v27). Once again, honours are inherently good. It is a blessing to be recognised, appreciated and honoured, but these things should be regarded simply as gifts and blessings rather than constantly sought. Keeping everything in proportion is crucial to the enjoyment of life and the writer of the Proverbs is clear that this only happens when God is put in his rightful place. When we live a life which is shaped by our love for him and our longing for his wisdom and truth, everything else will fall into its place. The moment God is dislodged from that place, problems will occur. This happens so easily and can creep up on us with incredible subtlety. It may be our work which suddenly overwhelms every part of our life, or sport or a hobby or our garden. All of these things are splendid when they are in their right place, but when they overwhelm every other part of life, they can all too easily become destructive. We need to continually review our priorities to ensure that we don’t allow good things to become destructive. Question What are the really good things in your life and in what ways could they get out of proportion? Prayer Lord God, help me to treasure every gift that you give me and not abuse them. Amen