“Son, eat honey; it is good … Too much honey is bad for you, and so is trying to win too much praise.” Proverbs 24:13; 25:27, GNT

 

My family and friends like to pull my leg because of my love for honey. Wherever I go, I like to buy some honey from that region. Growing up near the Orange River, in the small town of Groblershoop, it was the highlight of the year when my dad and I drove to old man Compaan, so that he could fill our green and pink tin with golden honeycombs made from lucerne flowers. I could hardly wait to get home to taste this heavenly golden sweetness.

 

According to the proverb, honey is good for you. We all know that honey has high nutritional value and it can be used to heal wounds. It is good against some allergies and for a sore throat, there is nothing more soothing than a teaspoon of honey. However, too much is certainly bad for you. I learnt that lesson very early in my life. Overindulgence leads to a very sore tummy.

 

Self-esteem is also very good. One needs to have a good image of oneself, otherwise other people might not think much of you. However, the proverb says “too much honey is bad for you, and so is trying to win too much praise”. To think too much of yourself, does not leave much room for other people to think something of you. That does not mean that I may not try to reach the top of the ladder in my career or the branch of the sport in which I participate. How I reach the top of the ladder is what really counts.

 

To try to win too much praise means to pursue the top spot, regardless of how it may affect other people. The Bible tells us in many passages that the Lord needs us to be humble. We do not have to be cringing before other people, but we have to be humble all the time. Some honey is good, too much gives you tummy ache. Self-esteem is good, but too much makes us unbearable to other people and we will, probably, miss God’s purpose for our lives.

 

Prayer: Lord, please help us to understand that it is good to have self-esteem, but please keep us from trying to become too important. Amen