“Have you found honey? Eat only as much as you need.
Lest you be filled with it and vomit.”
– Proverbs 25:16 –
I love to eat buah duku (a kind of tropical fruit). I can eat as much as 3kg all by myself in one sitting and I won’t get tired of eating them every day. However, too much of buah duku can be a bad thing. When I eat too much before bedtime, my stomach would hurt with cramps. Occasionally it gives me constipation. But I simply love buah duku so much that many times, I willingly endure the discomfort after my binge. I really like it!
Proverbs 25:16 indicates that too much of honey makes one vomit. There is a principle that applies here. Too much of the pleasures of life can make you sick. And we can have too much of a good thing.
There is nothing wrong with things that give us pleasure. In this verse, the thing that brings pleasure is honey. God intended for the things He created to bring us pleasure and enjoyment. The problem is not with the things, but our overindulgence in the things.
We live in a world of temptations and we are easily drawn to have more than what we need. It is important and wise for us to learn to be self-controlled and self-disciplined to pry ourselves from these dominating desires.
A greater life is one in which self-control and self-discipline is practiced; where we rule over our cravings and fleshy indulgences. We probably need to say ‘No’ to the number of hours we spend on Facebook and neglect other areas of importance in life. For some, you should have one piece of cake instead of three. For a handful, it is time to stop using your visa credit limit. For some ladies, before you pick up another pair of shoes or another handbag, ask if you really need it or just plainly want it.
Indeed! Contentment is an art to a much more life.
Proverbs 25:8 says: “Like a city whose walls are broken down is a man who lacks self control.”
What are those indulgent areas you need to say ‘NO’ to? They are road blocks to a much more life in Christ.
Ps Loh Li Li
