Title

Too Much of a Good Thing

Scripture
Have you found honey? Eat only as much as you need, lest you be filled with it and vomit.
(Proverbs 25:16)
Devotional
Moderation is a key to integrity, honor and character. Excess in any of these realms will always be attributed to the flesh. We serve a God of symmetry and stability. Solomon, in all his wisdom, said it this way, “Do not be overly righteous, nor be overly wise: Why should you destroy yourself?”(1) How, we may ask, can one be overly righteous? The answer is found in mankind’s overindulgent self-righteousness, not godly righteousness. God has intended for His creation to be balanced in worship, work and faith. None can stand-alone. Each needs the other. “Faith without works is dead.”(2) All worship without faithful obedience does not bring God honor. All work without worship does not bring Him glory. Let us likewise remember that God gives His beloved rest.(3) Let us therefore seek godly balance: faith, work, worship and rest - just the right amount of honey.

(1) Ecclesiastes 7:16, (2) James 2:26, (3) Psalm 127:2
Text For The Day
Proverbs 25:16: Have you found honey? Eat only as much as you need, lest you be filled with it and vomit.
Thought For The Day
“Paradoxically, what propels people toward atheism is above all a sense of revulsion against the excesses and failures of organized religion.” Alister McGrath, “The Twilight of Atheism,” Christianity Today (March, 2006).
Questions To Ponder
Morning Study Guide
Defining:  “Paradox,”: A self-contradiction. Example: “‘I always lie” is a paradox because if it is true it must be false.”
 
Referencing: “So I have come down to deliver them from the power of the Egyptians, and to bring them up from that land to a good and spacious land, to a land flowing with milk and honey,” Exodus 3:8.
 
Applying: Do good for the sake of good and be righteous for righteousness’ sake. You cannot be flamboyant in these.