Daily Devotional
Betty Miller shares her daily
devotionals which are based on the book of Proverbs in the Bible.
The Wisdom
of God
Verses for the Day:
6 Eat thou not the
bread of him that hath an evil eye, neither desire thou his dainty meats:
7 For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee;
but his heart is not with thee.
8 The morsel which thou hast eaten shalt thou vomit up, and lose thy sweet
words.
Proverbs 23:6-8 (AMP):
6 Eat not the bread of him who has a hard, grudging, and envious eye, neither
desire his dainty foods;
7 For as he thinks in his
heart, so is he. As one who reckons, he says to you, eat and drink, yet his heart
is not with you (but is grudging the cost).
8 The morsel which you have eaten you will vomit up, and your complimentary
words will be wasted.
Thoughts for the Day:
Much advice from
the book of Proverbs is directed to establishing the proper relationships
by avoiding evil associations. Verse 6 tells us that if we know a man who
has money to buy expensive food for the purpose of manipulating and using
people, we should avoid this man's company, because he is a man who has an "evil eye." This simply means the man is only interested in
"eyeing" people for an evil purpose. This kind of person will use entertainment
to entice people for the purpose of gaining what they want, whether it be sex,
power, position, or money. A person who has an evil eye can be male or female,
and the Bible warns us, not only are we not to eat with them, but we are not to
desire their dainty foods either. The temptation of lusting after food and
entertainment is also found in the New Testament. We are not to love the things
in this world with a lustful eye and impure desire.
1 John 2:15-17:
15 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love
the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the
eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.
17 And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will
of God abideth for ever.
Verse 7
makes a profound statement that says, "as a man thinks in his heart, so is that
man." The Words of Jesus verify this, as He told us, it is not the things
that man puts in his mouth that defile him, but the things that are in his
heart.
Matthew
15:16-20:
16 And Jesus said, Are ye also yet without understanding?
17 Do not ye yet understand, that whatsoever entereth in at the mouth goeth into
the belly, and is cast out into the draught?
18 But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart;
and they defile the man.
19 For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries,
fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies:
20 These are the things which defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands
defileth not a man.
Continuing with
verse 7 of our study, we are told that a person with an "evil eye" may offer
you gourmet food; however, even with all the entertaining and exchange of
"sweet words of compliments," this person's heart is not with you. He is
only doing it for a selfish and evil motive, while actually grudging the fact
that he is spending money on you.
Verse 8
then goes on to say that this kind of meal will end up making you sick, and all
the seemingly "good time" and "sweet words" will have been in vain.
We are warned not to get trapped into circumstances like this, that we will end
up regretting.
Prayer for the Day:
Dear Heavenly Father,
I am grateful that You have given us so much wise advice in this amazing book of
Proverbs. Lord, thank You for pointing out things that would cause
problems for our lives. Give me discernment to know when someone comes
into my life who has an "evil eye," so that I will not fall into a trap set by a
manipulator. Lord, I will pray for them to be set free, but I do not want
to keep company with this kind of person. Lord, also remove lust, and anything else
in my heart that is evil, so that I do not yield to the temptation of the lust
of the eyes, nor the lust of the flesh. Put Your holy and righteous desires in
my heart so that I might please You. I ask this in the name of Jesus.
Amen.
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