Proverbs 23:19-21 Wise Words 15
Food and drink are essential to life. But too much of either will cause you great problems. Drink doesn’t have to be alcoholic to be bad for you either.
Our authors are speaking of excesses today. They are using wine, fermented drink, in their reference. The gluttony seems to be directed at meat, but I can tell you that it can rise from any food that is consumed in mass quantities at a single setting.
I started thinking about the wine here. I was wondering if wine was all the Israelites drank. Then I remembered the stories from the wilderness. Twice in the wilderness, God gave the people water from a stone. I also doubt that they could have picked grapes, pressed them, let them sit, and bottled their product along the way. There are several other mentions of water to drink. Two of them, that I know of, are from David’s adventures. First; his request for a drink of water from the well in Bethlehem. Second; the water jug at Saul’s head when David snuck into the camp and stole it along with Saul’s spear.
Milk is also mentioned as a drink to consume. Reference to not boiling a kid in its mother’s milk would be an indication that they in fact used the milk of goats. Paul spoke of young Christians as children needing to drink milk.
I’m pretty certain that the Israelites also drank fruit juice that was unfermented. What they drank on a daily basis seem pretty varied. That makes our author’s direction not to become a drunkard easier to understand in the context. Not everyone drank wine. And certainly not everyone who drank wine drank to excess. Those that did on a frequent or continual basis were the “drunkards” spoken of. Those were the people whose life was in ruins because of their behavior. That still applies today. Excess drink leads to a ruined life.
Drink was not the only thing mentioned here that ruined lives. “Gluttony of meat” is considered just as destructive. Medical science has found that continual consumption of some meats contributes greatly to heart disease. Most likely true then as well. God gave His people rules that they might not understand at the time, but were essential to their health.
When I eat a heavy meal, it tends to make me tired. This may be what the author was referencing. Someone who continually ate large quantities would be tired a lot. Not only that, but their weight would skyrocket. It takes a lot more energy to move a body that is extremely overweight than one that is of average weight. This causes one to be more tired. And the more you ‘rest’ the weaker your muscles become. You reach a point where any exertion is too tiring.
Meat is not the only culprit of gluttony today. Anything can be eaten to an excess. Sweets and salty foods are high on that list. (They figure prominently on mine too.) It is even possible to eat too much ‘healthy’ food. No matter what we consume, it needs to be done for the nourishment of the body, not for the pleasure of indulging. Some eat out of emotional hunger. Food is a comfort but it is also destructive.
Always seeking food is as destructive as always seeking drink. They both consume the person’s life and bring it to ruin. Letting either become first in your life pushes God out of His rightful place. This also includes being so consumed with NOT eating or drinking that everything else is pushed away. Food & drink have a place. Don’t let them take God’s.
Father God, help me keep food especially in its place. Don’t let it rule my life or my thinking. Help me walk in a healthy balance with food and drink. Thank You for bringing me back from the brink of disaster in this area. It’s not so easy when the very thing that nourishes my body is the thing I have the most trouble with. It’s not like alcohol, where one can choose to abstain. I HAVE to eat to survive. But I DON’T have to give it power over me! Help me remember this Father in the hard times.
