... and put a knife to your throat if you are given to gluttony. – Proverbs 23:2

Today’s Scripture Reading (April 16, 2013): Proverbs 23

Louie Giglio of the Passion movement and Pastor of Passion City Church gave a series of messages on the stories of the lost in Luke 15. The series was called “Prodigals” and it was given in September of 2012. During the intro of one of the sermons, Louie describes emotionally what it was that the younger son did to his father in “The Story of the Lost Son.” Giglio says that the younger son basically flipped his middle finger up at the most powerful man in his circle of influence. His exact words were “give me my share of the inheritance.” Even now I am not sure that such words spoken to our living (and healthy) parents would bring a positive response. But in the story, and to the surprise of all of Jesus’ audience, the father acquiesces and gives the son his inheritance. And then the son goes out and spends the money trying to feed all of his appetites -  until one morning he wakes up and the money is completely gone. It is at this point that the son begins to try to figure out a plan to come back to the father.

In the “real world” that would be an impossible task. And it is to that “real world” that this proverb speaks into. The phrase “put a knife to your throat” is an Eastern figure of speech for “curbing your appetites.” According to the proverb, when you are in the presence of power, be careful about your desires. But the phrase also leaves us with the idea that if we do not “put a knife to our throat” we may quickly find that someone else will. And it would be a mistake to limit this proverb to people of power. In all of our relationships, it is our appetites that will constantly get us into trouble. In the end, it is our appetites that will give everyone around us the clear message that we are only interested in ourselves – and that selfish attitude disqualifies us from all other relationships.

In the story of the prodigal son, the ending is different than anyone expected. As the lost son moved toward the father, the father ran toward his son. It was an unheard of response. Fathers did not run – it just was not respectable for a man of wealth to run. And part of the problem was that a man would have to pick up his robes and show his legs in order to run – and in that culture that action was immodest. But to the father, nothing else mattered but the son. What the son deserved was a knife – what he received was an undeserved and unrestrained love.

The story was supposed to be an introduction into the character of God. Too often we think that our appetites have forever separated us from God. We have refused to place a knife at our throats – and so God has placed his knife at our throats. We are finished. But the story of the prodigal son does not allow for that conclusion. In our real world, God runs for us with arms wide open in acceptance - rather than with a knife pointed at us to give us exactly what it is that we have earned.

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Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Proverbs 24