My Dog Has A Choker Collar, Should I?

Proverbs 23:1-2 When you sit down to eat with a ruler, observe carefully what is before you, 2 and put a knife to your throat if you are given to appetite.


If you read yesterdays post, you remember that we were discussing the subject of self-control. Did you determine whether the wall around your life was solid or broken down? And if it was mostly solid, but had some penetrations, holes, or other imperfections in your wall? Today I wanted to bring out three principles that I find in Proverbs 23.


The first principle is anytime you are going to eat, sit down. This may sound strange at first, but how much food do you consume while you are standing in the kitchen, or walking back and forth from your office cubical? You walk by a bowl of chips, or a dish of candy that sits on the counter, and take little grabs here and there. All of these little "grazings" add up. You will not be able to adhere very well to the second principle if you do not have all of your choices before you first. If you are going to grab a handful of snacks as you walk by a dish; bring the handful to your chair, sit down, place it before you, then eat. That way you will be able to apply the second principle before the food enters your mouth. The picture in the text is a person who has first sat down to a table, and is awaiting the meal to be served. 


The second principle is that once you have sat down, observe carefully the food that is before you. This requires you to think before you shovel. We are to think before something comes out of our mouth, and think before something goes into it. This is the hugest thing for me. I can act without thinking. I can even act, while consciously thinking about not thinking, crazy as that may sound. It is wanting to eat something you know that you shouldn't, but not wanting to be stopped, or bothered by your conscience. We are to observe very carefully the food that is in front of us. 


The third principle is to alway carry a hunting knife sheathed to your side. Just kidding! But what a hunting knife to your throat would do is prevent you from swallowing the food. I think the principle is for you and I to take whatever necessary precautions (minor to extreme) to keep from shoveling too much food down our throats. The problem with gluttony is that we are desiring a created thing above the Creator of all things. The Creator of all things has spoken to us in His Word. And He has told us Who He wants reflected in each of our lives. He wants us to show by our eating, that He is more to be desired than gold, silver or food.