"Eat honey, dear child—it’s good for you —
and delicacies that melt in your mouth."
Proverbs 24:13 [ESV]
The proverb above is the first half of a metaphorical comparison with wisdom. Here is the second half:
“Likewise knowledge,
and wisdom for your soul—
Get that and your future’s secured,
your hope is on solid rock."
Proverbs 24:13 [ESV]
Gaining wisdom is energising and delightful, and then it leads to rewarding prosperity. Honey was a common food in Israel during Solomon’s reign, who was the author of this passage. Eaten in right amounts, it was invigorating and delicious.
Have you experienced the sweet exhilaration and pleasure of honey? Or much rather, do you know the reviving delight of wisdom? (I have my moments, but they are few and far between!) Once you have tasted honey, other artificial sweeteners are easily detected as a poor substitute. Once you learn God’s wisdom, even the world’s best ideas are bland or bitter to your heart and mind, for they are far inferior by comparison. Many of us rely on the things of the world to bring satisfaction to our lives, but as C S Lewis, famous for his Narnia books, put it:
"We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased."
Dawn Milward
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