Friday Reading: Proverbs 25:16
Key Verse: Proverbs 25:16
16 Have you found honey? Eat only as much as is enough for you, lest you be filled with it and vomit it.
Devotion:
The previous chapter tells us how we should eat honey because it is good to have a good thing going on to say that the gaining of wisdom is always a good thing. Then here we read that it is not good to eat too much in case we vomit it up. Therein is the truth; too much of anything is often a bad thing even when you are getting something good. No matter how good we think our brains are – and scientists still struggle to figure out how they can make a computer that is as good as our brains – there is a finite limit to them.
Let us take a test at school to illustrate this... If we have a test coming up we could cram as much as we can just before the test and then spew out verbatim all that we have crammed, or we could learn things over time and then apply our knowledge at the time of the test. Cramming allowed us to store a lot of information that we were able to recall at short notice and write down in the hopes that we pass the test. Learning over time however had given us the wisdom to understand what we were learning about so that we were able to apply our newfound knowledge in the proper manner. Soon after the test we would probably forget most of that which we had crammed, but remember much of that that we had learned over time.
God needs us to know the truth but He also wants us to remember and understand that truth. If we just cram we will be able to pass on that crammed information for a short while but we will not really apply it to our own lives or to situations around us. Good and steady studying will give us the understanding that God wants us to have because we will then be able to take that knowledge and pass it on to those around us. Each time I get up to teach people I realise just how much more there is to learn about God. His ways are infinite but He still wants us to know enough so that we can be useful servants for Him. We need to take time to take all that information in so that we will remember it, apply it and stick to it in our own lives as well as with those around us.
Points to Ponder:
What is your favourite pick-me-up food?
Are you feeding on God’s Word?
Key Verse: Proverbs 25:16
16 Have you found honey? Eat only as much as is enough for you, lest you be filled with it and vomit it.
Devotion:
The previous chapter tells us how we should eat honey because it is good to have a good thing going on to say that the gaining of wisdom is always a good thing. Then here we read that it is not good to eat too much in case we vomit it up. Therein is the truth; too much of anything is often a bad thing even when you are getting something good. No matter how good we think our brains are – and scientists still struggle to figure out how they can make a computer that is as good as our brains – there is a finite limit to them.
Let us take a test at school to illustrate this... If we have a test coming up we could cram as much as we can just before the test and then spew out verbatim all that we have crammed, or we could learn things over time and then apply our knowledge at the time of the test. Cramming allowed us to store a lot of information that we were able to recall at short notice and write down in the hopes that we pass the test. Learning over time however had given us the wisdom to understand what we were learning about so that we were able to apply our newfound knowledge in the proper manner. Soon after the test we would probably forget most of that which we had crammed, but remember much of that that we had learned over time.
God needs us to know the truth but He also wants us to remember and understand that truth. If we just cram we will be able to pass on that crammed information for a short while but we will not really apply it to our own lives or to situations around us. Good and steady studying will give us the understanding that God wants us to have because we will then be able to take that knowledge and pass it on to those around us. Each time I get up to teach people I realise just how much more there is to learn about God. His ways are infinite but He still wants us to know enough so that we can be useful servants for Him. We need to take time to take all that information in so that we will remember it, apply it and stick to it in our own lives as well as with those around us.
Points to Ponder:
What is your favourite pick-me-up food?
Are you feeding on God’s Word?