DO NOT EAT THIS
Proverbs 23:6-8 NKJV
6 Do not eat the bread of a miser,
Nor desire his delicacies;
7 For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.
"Eat and drink!" he says to you,
But his heart is not with you.
8 The morsel you have eaten, you will vomit up,
And waste your pleasant words.
Don't you just love food proverbs, especially right around Thanksgiving? Here is another warning about food, but once again, it's not the quality of the food; it's the person you are sharing food with.
The New Kings James says not to eat the food of a miser. A note in my margin says that miser literally means one who has an evil eye. What does that mean? Other translations list miser as one who is stingy, selfish, or a begrudging host. It is interesting to note that a stingy, selfish person is equated with one with an evil eye. Just sayin.
The real problem here is that as this person thinks in their heart, is the way they really are. Heaven places a great emphasis on the heart. What someone thinks inwardly is their true self. We know that heart is not referring to the blood pump but to the inner life of a person. This is the person who is saying eat and drink, but his heart is not with you. We can fake a smile or say nice things, but what are the thoughts of our heart?
I imagine most all of us have been in a situation where someone was saying something nice, but their heart was not in it. Maybe this has been your experience with holiday meals. The real lesson is recognizing that it's what is in the heart that matters most. The proverbs say that poor quality food where there is love is better than excellent food and hate or conflict.
It's a given that we cannot control other people or make them do the right thing. But another big takeaway from this proverb is the necessity of checking our heart and clearing our heart towards other people. The mark of a genuine person is that what you see and hear is congruent with what is their true attitude of heart.
I grew up in the South with very Southern parents. There is such a thing as Southern Hospitality. And for the most part, people where I grew up presented the image of kind and gracious. But often, it was not what was in them. Oh, we would be nice and sweet to your face and say kind things. But as soon as you were out of range, what we really thought would come out. As I have said for years, where I grew up in the South, we would wait until you were gone to talk about you. We may have spared someone the awkwardness of hearing our real opinions, but it did not make our unkind words right.
As believers, we are to be people who speak truth in our hearts and truth with our words. The Scriptures tell us to speak the truth in love. Sometimes, the truth in love will sting, but our heart's intent is only to help, not to hurt. Praying for people and forgiving people is a great way to keep our heart clear. So, when we say have another helping of pie, we mean it.
PRAYER
Lord may the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight.