June 27

Jun 27 - Today from Proverbs 27 we look at verse 7
"He who is full loathes honey, but to the hungry even what is bitter tastes sweet."

An insight on the paradox of human nature. One would think that a person who got everything he wanted when he wanted it would be a very grateful person indeed. And one would believe that a person who had just enough to live on would be bitter and ungrateful. But the truth is, that as a rule, just the opposite is true. It is a malady we have come to know as 'spoiled'. To spoil something is to impair its quality. "Oh, now you've spoiled the surprise." How many times have you heard that? Someone tipped off the recipient of the surprise, and it no longer had the intended impact - it was quality impaired.
One quality God desires in man is that of gratitude. Why would we think a loving God, who desires His people to be a quality people, would give us everything we want when we want it? Because we somehow equate that with love. But that's just not true. Love learns to withhold so that the object of love learns appreciation and gratitude. Wisdom prays the little prayer of Proverbs 30:7-9 often, because wisdom knows that when we have too much we 'disown' God and say "Who is the Lord?" We become ungrateful, spoiled brats.
Even wisdom stumbles when it is spoiled. The wisest natural man who ever lived was King Solomon. By his wisdom he attained great wealth and power. He had everything a man could possibly want, and more. Eventually he 'disowned God'. There was no gratitude, no awe for the God who gave him the gift of wisdom. He brought idols into the temple, and built other temples for the foreign gods his wives worshipped. Why? Because he could do anything he wanted. Solomon literally had all the wealth of the world at his disposal, and he became quality impaired.
I cannot point a finger at Solomon. I have to wrestle with my own heart. I have traveled to some of the most impoverished places in the world. I have seen people bow before me for giving them a bar of soap, or a box of crackers. I have seen people weep and kiss the Bible that I had just handed them as though it were the most precious thing in the world. I remember a trip to the slums of Addis Ababa in Ethiopia. We witnessed a child picking up dog entrails out of the gutter to bring home for dinner (the better part of the dog was butchered by an older man). We saw and worked with people who lived on the edge of starvation. They were so poor - and so very grateful. On the flight home I picked up a copy of USA Today. The headlines were about the record gross receipts that the Batman movie had taken in that weekend. I suddenly held America in contempt. They were spending millions to see some Hollywood trash while children were eating dog entrails - or less. It takes awhile to work through cynicism after such an experience. I guess one never really gets over it. Eventually I acclimate myself back into my culture, and then I come to realize that I am quality impaired. I live far above the standard of living of most of the world. Yet, I can quickly complain about the most trivial matters. I become ungrateful. If I don't practice my disciplines, I can even build temples to the gods of this world.
Gratitude gives. Grateful people help other people. Grateful people are quality people. I want to be grateful.
"Thank you Father for not giving me everything I want. Forgive me for being so ungrateful. Grant me grace to be a blessing to the poor and disenfranchised. Help me to keep my values in order - not just in my knowing, but also in my doing. Amen"