Just Like Honey

“Pleasant words are like a honeycomb,
Sweetness to the soul
and health to the bones.”
Proverbs 16:24 (NKJV)

King  Solomon, well  known for his uncommon  wisdom, displayed it in impressive ways.  For instance, long before our modern  nutritionists began touting the benefits of honey in the diet, Solomon saw both physical and spiritual value in the sweetener.

Honey and its use has been around for centuries.  The Greeks, Chinese, Egyptians, and the Babylonians found good use for honey, and today we do too.  We use it in delicious baked goods and to add a  light sweetness to our favorite tea, and, metaphorically,   that special quality of honey can add sweetness to our words. But many times, instead of having a pleasant flavor, as the proverb says, our words  become unpleasant and prooduce bitterness and hard feelings, bringing out an unhealthy element in  our  interactions with others.

Parents used to say to their squabbling children, “If you can’t say  something nice, don’t say anything.” This admonition is  needed today when milions of users are on social media communicating, shooting words like offensive weapons aimed at hurting people they can’t see. Their words lack the sweetness of honey. And the pity is that they don’t seem to care because the rude behavior keeps happening without any change for the better in sight.

Honey has a number of useful applications for how we interact with one another. Honey is said to have healing properties when it is applied  topically. Our words, like honey,  can have a  healing effect  on someone who is stressed and beaten down by life’s challenges. In such a situation, the only way that we may be able to  help the individual is through  pleasant, soothing words. Also, honey is a natural food, not processed. It is authentic. Genuine words have their own sweetness  when they’re  said kindly to someone who has hurt us  or with whom we may have a  disagreement. Such words make a difference in the way the individual reacts.  Moreover, genuineness in our words matters when we are  showing  forgiveness or are accepting it.  With their pleasant flavor, the  words that come from our heart  go to the soul of the hearer  and create a beneficial and sweet effect.

Honey has never gone out of fashion. As the wise man  Solomon advises, let’s put  the plesantness  of honey into our words so that we can sweeten the lives of  the people with whom we interact.

PRAYER: Father, give us your grace in our hearts so that our lips will always be touched with the flavor of pleasant words.

Always,

Judith

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“A word fitly spoken is like
apples of gold
in pictures of silver.” 
Proverbs 25:11