Sweet as Honey

My son, eat honey, for it is good, Yes, the honey from the comb is sweet to your taste; Know that wisdom is thus for your soul; If you find it, then there will be a future, And your hope will not be cut off. (Proverbs 24:13-14 NAS)

Honey is known to provide many benefits. Besides being a natural sweetener, it is said to offer antiseptic, antioxidant and cleansing properties for our body and health, according to an article at Benefits-of-Honey.com. For thousands of years, its healing attributes have been used to cure ailments and diseases as well as correct health disorders. Honey is nature’s energy booster, a natural source of carbohydrates which provide strength and energy to our bodies. It is known for instantly boosting performance, endurance, and reducing muscle fatigue. Unlike refined sugar, it keeps the body’s sugar levels somewhat constant because the fructose in honey is absorbed at a slower rate to give sustained energy.

Some possible effective healing properties of honey mentioned in an article at WebMD.com on Find a Vitamin and Supplement include promoting the healing of cough, wound healing and burns. Taking a small amount of honey at bedtime helps reduce the number of coughing spells, especially in children age 2 and older. Several clinical trials and case reports indicate the use of honey or honey-soaked dressings for certain types of wounds, abrasions, burns, cuts, among others.

Honey, however, is not for everybody. Even though it is natural, for dieters or people with diabetes, honey is no better than ordinary white or brown sugar. This is according to dietitian Toby Smithson, RD, CDE, a spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association and founder of the web site, Diabetes Everyday, cited in an article ‘Medicinal Uses of Honey’ by Julie Edgar at WebMD.com.

Like honey that is sweet to the taste, the Bible describes the words of God as sweeter than honey to our mouths (Psalm 119:103). It is like wisdom which is good for the soul; if we find it, then there will be a future for us, and our hope will not be cut off (Proverbs 24:13-14). Just as honey yields many benefits, so it is with God’s word and wisdom. By studying the word of God, we gain wisdom, and in so doing, we receive strength and spiritual health. Like nature’s energy booster, we who hope in the LORD will gain new strength, mounting up with wings like eagles, run and not get tired, walk and not become weary (Isaiah 40:31).

Not all of us who have tasted the kindness of the Lord however will grow in respect to salvation, if we fail to put aside malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander (1 Peter 2:1-3). Just as honey is harmful to dieters or people with diabetes, so food gained by fraud although may taste sweet, the end is a mouth full of gravel (Proverbs 20:17). Stolen water may taste sweet and food eaten in secret pleasant, but little do we know we are dining alongside the dead, those who are destined for the depths of hell (Proverbs 9:17-18).

Let us therefore diligently in all wisdom study the word of God that we may regain our spiritual health and experience the sweet taste of God’s lovingkindness. Put away dishonest gains which although may taste sweet for a moment, but its end shall be like the venom of cobras within our stomachs (Job 20:12-14). Even though we may not be an overseer or a leader in the faith, as followers of Christ, we are all entrusted with God’s work, and should therefore remain blameless and not pursue after sordid gain (Titus 1:7). Take control of our future now and forsake our sinful nature that our hope in Christ may not be cut off (Proverbs 24:14)!

Dear Lord, thank You for granting us wisdom through the study of Your word. Your word O God is sweet to our taste, sweeter than honey to our mouths! Guide us therefore Lord in Your word by Your Spirit that we may not waver nor seek dishonest gain, but diligently pursue wisdom and put aside all malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy and slander. Grant healing from all our health disorders Lord, both physically and spiritually, that we may with renewed strength run and not get tired, walk and not become weary.