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VS. March 18, 2025 Devotional

by David Joynt on March 18, 2025


PROVERBS 25:16 | 16 If you have found honey, eat only enough for you, or else, having too much, you will vomit it.

 

Gluttony is harmful to health. If you are like me my desire always outruns my capacity, when it comes to food. Fullness felt does not always mean consumption stopped. This proverb, about finding a honeycomb and eating to the point of vomiting, is a graphic reminder of this. In the ancient world there were additional reasons for over-indulgence, since there was no refrigeration and foods could easily spoil. Feasting often meant binge-eating. In our culture we have such variety and abundance, and so many dining and delivery options, that though we can preserve food for tomorrow, it can be hard to be restrained today.

 

On a side note, the Romans celebrated over-indulgence and would regurgitate on purpose so they could eat all over again!

 

How healthy are your pleasures?

 

 

Gracious God,

Help me limit my consumption to what is good for my health, energy, and well-being. May my pleasure honor you and your gifts.

Amen.

 

About the Author
David Joynt

Dave Joynt began his service as a pastor at Valley Presbyterian Church in Paradise Valley, Arizona in September 2014. This meant a move away from the Northeast, where he has a long history, growing up in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania and then serving congregations in Delaware and New Jersey for a total of 23 years.

Dave was nurtured in a great church in Bethlehem where his parents, Anne and Carey, served as elders. He graduated in classics from Lehigh University where his Father taught, and then from Oxford, where he met his wife Julia. Ordained in 1988, he completed a Ph.D. from Princeton Theological Seminary in 1993.

He and Julia have a son, Tristan, and a daughter, Madeleine.

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