Do Not Be Deceived. Seek Godly Relationships.

Proverbs 23:6-8 (King James Version)

6Eat thou not the bread of him that hath an evil eye, neither desire thou his dainty meats:
7For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee.
8The morsel which thou hast eaten shalt thou vomit up, and lose thy sweet words.

Proverbs 23:6-8 (The Message)

6-8 Don't accept a meal from a tightwad;
don't expect anything special.
He'll be as stingy with you as he is with himself;
he'll say, "Eat! Drink!" but won't mean a word of it.
His miserly serving will turn your stomach
when you realize the meal's a sham.

Word in Action:

Stop being so naïve. Do not be so quick to enter into relationship covenants without truly considering the condition of the other person’s heart.

God promises to give wisdom freely to all who ask. He promises to equip us with everything we need so that we don’t fall victim to the wiles of the devil. He instructs us to be wise even when we are being gentle. So why do believers “find ourselves” in harmful or unfruitful relationships? I believe it is simply because we choose to enter them.

Proverbs 23:7 is such a powerful verse because it reminds us that sometimes the true intentions of the heart are not in agreement with the intentions that are spoken. Think of it this way, we do not generally get food poisoning by digesting large amounts of food that disagree with our taste buds. If we don’t like the taste, we probably will stop eating the food dish long before we digest enough for it to be harmful. Food poisoning usually results from taking in large amounts of food that appeal to the senses but interfere with the function of the body. If we are not wise in how we choose to intake or digest the artificially sweetened words prepared by a “smooth talker” with a “dirty kitchen” (i.e. a heart with bad intentions), we run the risk of becoming emotionally food poisoned (e.g., heartbroken, disappointed, angry, frustrated, sad, etc.).

Often it is more important to emphasize character analysis than speech analysis. The servant is not greater than the master. Jesus himself mentions that He has people who verbally claim to love Him but in actuality, their hearts are far from Him. God has the wisdom to recognize people who are truly committed to Him versus those who simply pay Him lip service. As His children, we can access that same trait of wisdom. Pray for discernment so that you no longer seek after and/or accept things that are pleasing to your senses but harmful to your function – which is to glorify God.

Allow God to restore you and show you how to be in healthy relationships. Receive healing for your heart. Be delivered from the sickening words that have settled in your heart. God's love is the best medicine.

Declaration of Faith:

The Lord has given me wisdom so that I do not have to be deceived. He's given me His love so that I can be healed.

Song of Praise: