Proverbs 25:16: Overindulgence

"If you have found honey, eat only enough for you, lest you have your fill of it and vomit it." Proverbs 25:16

What is your absolute favorite dessert? Seriously, think about it for a moment. If you could have an endless supply of one dessert item, what would it be? Perhaps your favorite brand of chocolate ice cream, your mom's homemade apple pie, or perhaps cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory. Alright, got it? Good. Don't forget it.

Today, we turn to Proverbs 25:16 to learn a lesson about overindulgence. In this proverb, Solomon gives us some wise words about honey that end up being great words to apply to our entire lives. Honey, as Solomon says, is a beautiful and wonderful thing. We ought to enjoy it. However, he encourages us to eat only enough for ourselves, lest we eat to much and end up vomiting it up later. In other words, enjoy honey for what its worth, but don't enjoy it too much, because if you do, it surely won't be enjoyable anymore.

Alright, remember your favorite dessert? Awesome. Say after dinner tonight, I promised to bring you not one, not two, not three, but five servings of your absolute favorite dessert. Now, here's the question I have for you: would you eat it all? Perhaps some of you would, but you know that in the end, there would be consequences. About five minutes after eating, your stomach wouldn't feel so great. You would get up to move, but it would be painful. Later in the evening, you would probably be spending more than an average stay in your local restroom, and tomorrow morning the number on the scale wouldn't be very pleasant.

Do you get the picture here? What both Solomon is trying to say and what I am trying to get at in my analogy is just what the old adage says: too much of a good thing is a bad thing. So often, we think that the more and more good that we can obtain, the more and more happy we will be. Yet, so often, our stomach starts to churn and we suddenly realize that there surely can be too much of even our favorite things.

So, what's the point this morning? Are we still talking about ice cream and apple pie, or something else? Well, what I am trying to point out to you this morning (through the means of honey and our favorite desserts), that so often we are prone to overindulgence. The Lord has made many good things, including family, friends, food, sex, entertainment (yes, including Netflix), and many more. Although the Lord has given us the delight and even commandment to enjoy these things, we must do so sparingly. If we overindulge in these great pleasures the Lord has given us, instead of worshiping God, we will soon worship things. Surely this is a great trap to fall into, and one that we ought to be careful of.

So, I encourage you today: Put down the chocolate cake after one serving. Turn Netflix off after the episode ends. Don't let family time get in the way of personal devotion time. Don't overindulge. And always rember: too much of a good thing is a bad thing.