Abundant Food

Proverbs 18:17-21

Solomon was well on the road with the wisdom God had given to him. Proverbs reflect for us his unequivocal understanding. Yet, the peculiar winding of these verses also reflects Solomon’s own twists and turns along his journey during points of key decision-making.

Having wisdom doesn’t make you wise. When God walked in the garden of Eden with Adam and Eve, talking and making plans, still Adam and Eve were swayed by an influencing voice told them they didn’t have the very best, and that there was another way.

God doesn’t make wise mankind; it is up to us to choose. Again and again, through great and small decision, our ‘choices’ are set before us. At the core, compassion’s reward of abundance and grace stares us down, but most time goes overlooked because it seems so small.

The influence of our decisions, both large and small adds up to the treasure we either use for glory of our King, or will sit decaying, being mused over again…for a day that never comes.

Why did Eve ever listen to the serpent in the garden of Eden?

Was it perhaps that what once drew her into God’s discussions had now become too complex? I feel that pain, the times around us are saturated with multiplicity. There will always be another question or issue to be examined. Questioning is important, but in the end, what is fed on becomes the nutrients and fuel. For Eve, it was an agreement with God’s enemy, for Solomon, a pact with his own comfort.

Proverbs 18:17-19, “The first one to plead his cause seems right, until his neighbor comes and examines him. Casting lots causes contentions to cease and keeps the mighty apart. A brother offended is harder to win than a strong city, and contentions are like the bars of a castle.

Solomon’s contentions and examination by others encased him in a prison. The choice to build out a kingdom for himself took first place. The place of longing in his heart and selfish desires outweighed the glorious abundance of wisdom given him long ago.

Whatever is abundant, despite the richness of God’s gifts to us will not be enough to keep a deceptive heart from going in its own direction. Wherever we turn to, becomes our refuge.

When we choose to abandon our own refuge of contention, then we can truly be free to receive the God-sized compensation package. Solomon was not ready – neither was Eve.

 Are we?

Are we willing to hear the residue that our heart is speaking to us?  That which still remains in abundance, though truth after truth has been planted within us.

Like Solomon, Proverbs 18:20-21, “A man’s stomach shall be satisfied from the fruit of his mouth; from the produce of his lips he shall be filled. Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit.”

We will have to make space for truth today, even in the midst of worldwide contentions.

The truth cannot be trapped but can be easily dismissed and ignored.

We has humans are easily ensnared and turn away, unwilling to examine our own bias, and become influenced in the direction of another’s voice. Whatever fills our mouth and thoughts will come to rest into our entire being, as we digest the whole enchilada.

We say we want to ‘know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge’ but ultimately, that means learning to feed on a relationship with God and His ‘good’ food, even when we may not see the outcome.

The consideration of a unique way and ultimate downfall of Solomon was the fuel that drove him towards a self-serving legacy, and not the fulfillment of God’s agenda to bring restoration to those that surrounded him.

God’s treasure will reproduce a crop; that’s a principle is called, sowing and reaping. It’s universal and has with it a reward to harvest in whatever fuel you and I are feeding on. Make no mistake, what we nurture becomes our nature.