If you have found honey, eat only enough for you,
lest you have your fill of it and vomit it.
I wish I could make this proverb real in my life. Don't get me wrong, I have no trouble finding honey ... my wife makes it for me all the time. I have trouble with the second statement Solomon has listed for us: "Eat only what you need ..."! The conflict between need and want is like a unmarked country crossroad intersection to me ... something is going to crash sooner or later. Solomon is waring us that there is nothing wrong with honey (insert any other word here for something good). When we find it, however, the responsibility to God actually begins. We are not to indulge to the point that we have consumed in excess and are forced to vomit. It is so easy in a world full of "good" things to over indulge in them. Have you found "TV" shows, or a show, “good?” Consume only what you "need." Have you found any “good” social activities? Indulge in only what you "need." Have you found something that feels like a great“hug” in your life? Hug only what you “need.” The temptation to over indulge in good things is so strong that Solomon decided to give us a warning. The flesh wants what the flesh wants. We all have to have the Spirit's ministry in our life in order to produce the fruit of self-control. Self-control is a fruit of the Spirit, not of our flesh. We can't muster self-control. To avoid over-eating; over-drinking; over-talking; over-indulging; over-relationing; or overdoing of any type of thing, we need the Spirit's ministry through the eyes of faith to assist us. If not, we will find some way to over-consume and find ourselves vomiting along the road of life.
This proverbs, said another way, might read like this:
"Have you found a cupcake? Eat only what you need (probably none then)
That you not have it in excess and not be able to button your pants."
You could also substitute cupcake for "steak" or, "beer" or, "chocolate." However, you probably can't make the truth of the verse come alive today if you replace honey with "salad", or, "vegetables" or, "fruit’ or, “selflessness.” From what we know about Solomon, his times were quit prosperous and certainly filled with celebration. There was little or no war in Solomon's day, so he would have had plenty of opportunity to sit down to a fine banquet with more than just honey. The feasting for the royal court might have been, and probably was, quite elaborate. Solomon had plenty of time to over-indulge. Here he warns himself and others not to do so. Honey was a very familiar and popular food product of the day. The food product was not the enemy. The enemy is the appetite and the craving to over-indulge. In the garden of Eden, Eve was tempted to eat the forbidden fruit because, according to the Serpent, it promised to deliver something she desired. So, too, does honey (and the other food, or item, mentioned above). We must remember that Solomon is writing about wisdom in this book. He is telling us that those who have wisdom (a reverence FOR and the fear OF the Lord), will know how, why and will have the strength to refuse too much honey (however you define it). The self-control needed to avoid over-indulgent behavior is not found in will-power, but in God's power. The Fruit of the Spirit includes self-control. Wisdom is the ability to revere God, who in-turn equips us via the Spirit to not over-indulge. Solomon is telling us if we don't allow the Spirit to control the cravings of our body we will end up simply vomiting out what we have consumed. Like the Garden of Eden, food promises something it can't deliver. Only God can satisfy the craving and provide self-control of the appetite.
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