Too Much Honey

The Bible often uses honey as an analogy. Typically it is a symbol of prosperity; several times it is even used as a picture of God’s Word. One chapter in Proverbs, however, references honey twice, but in a very different way. Proverbs 25:16 says, “Have you found honey? Eat only as much as you need, lest you be filled with it and vomit.” But the verse I really want to focus on comes later. Verse twenty-seven tells us, “It is not good to eat much honey; so to seek one’s own glory is not glory.”

These verses, placed so conveniently close together in the text, have got me thinking. How much of a good thing is too much? Clearly, the Bible is teaching here that indulgence results in our own downfall. Like an overabundance of honey, seeking our own glory destroys the thing we were out to get.

But there’s more to it than that. In the original Hebrew, the word for “seek” doesn’t mean simply “seek;” it has connotations that can make it mean “examine,” “study,” or “number.” So the writer is not merely warning against someone who is only out to get more glory, but he is also saying that we should not spend too much time thinking about their own “glory” or taking stock of their own accomplishments.

When we eat too much honey we get sick to our stomachs. That is the same effect that besets our souls when we think more of ourselves than we ought. So often we seek our own glory. We become caught up in our image or reputation. We refuse to be fools for Christ, forgetting that the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing. We lap up honey like it was water, and it has made us sick. It is time to finally stop researching ourselves. Enough is enough. There is one Glory, and it is God alone. If we seek any glory but His, we are looking to be filled by something that is actually causing the problem. We are getting sick off of honey.

Let the Dead Bury Their Own

How easy it is to become distracted from doing the work God has set before us. The gospels of Mathew and Luke share a very brief story that emphasizes the importance of remaining focused on following Christ.

In Matthew 8:21-22 we see the story of a man who would follow Christ. But he asks the Savior if he may first go and bury his father. Jesus answered, “Follow Me, and let the dead bury their own dead.” Luke chapter 9 tells much the same story in verses 59 and 60, but records Jesus’ response as, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and preach the kingdom of God.”

Christ’s response to the man is something many of us would do well to remember. The things of this world can only end in death. Even things that aren’t bad often bring no benefit except in what happens between here and the grave. Christ is trying to get this young follower to shift his focus to what happens after the grave. So many of the things in this life are not worth worrying about, and would take care of themselves if we focus on following Christ and proclaiming His kingdom.

So, let the dead bury their own. Let the things of this world worry about themselves. And follow Christ.

Head to the Window

Around the turn of the 18th century there was a poet named William Blake; from the time of his childhood, he claimed to experience visions. When Blake was a boy, he claimed to have a vision to which he clung so surely that even his parents began to stop doubting the truth in what he said. In it he claimed that he saw God “put His head to the window” and gaze into his house.

Whether or not you give credence to the thought of a vision, the idea caught my attention. I have often thought of God watching my life and wondered what He thought of it, as if He were a critic watching a movie or reading a book. I imagined His response in the sad moments; I pictured times when He called the angels over to watch a part He knew was going to be good.

The idea may seem strange, I know, but it reminds me of Proverbs 15:3; “The eyes of the LORD are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good.”

So, however you choose to remember it, keep this in mind: He is watching. What does He see?