A Taste For Ambition

Read Proverbs 25

It’s not good to eat too much honey, and it’s not good to seek honors for yourself.

Proverbs 25:27

Eating too much honey is not sweet. This simile in Proverbs 25:27 compares honey with pride. This comparison is notable because it highlights the tendency for people to overindulge themselves on pleasurable things. In this case, it is specifically self-glorification. The proverb teaches the usage of appropriate boundaries, marking anything past that as “too much.”

Dwelling on things that glorify ourselves is like craving delicious food. We crave it, so we indulge. The craving is satisfied, but we continue to hoard the food, consuming more than we can contain. Soon the tastiness of the indulgence diminishes. It is no longer as good as the first bite, becoming exactly the opposite: disgusting.

The purpose of this proverb is to spare us the disgust. Most people who get sick from overeating come to detest the food and avoid it altogether. Understandably, it is desirable to take credit for our work. Too much of a good thing, however, swiftly becomes idolatry.

A WORD FOR TODAY

Beware of too much of a good thing.

Today, Lord, help me to crave your Word.