“If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat;
if he is thirsty, give him water to drink.
22 In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head,
and the Lord will reward you.
23 Like a north wind that brings unexpected rain
is a sly tongue – which provokes a horrified look.
24 Better to live on a corner of the roof than share a house with a quarrelsome wife.
25 Like cold water to a weary soul is good news from a distant land.
26 Like a muddied spring or a polluted well
are the righteous who give way to the wicked.
27 It is not good to eat too much honey, nor is it honourable to search out matters that are too deep
28 Like a city whose walls are broken through
is a person who lacks self-control.”
An older version of the NIV expresses verse 27 in this way:
“It is not good to eat too much honey, nor is it honourable to seek one’s own honour.”
It could, I think, be argued that the ‘selfie’ is a major metaphor for our times.
Jesus, however, calls us to a counter-cultural way: to the path of ‘downward mobility’ (See Phil.2:1-
11). He did not selfishly cling to His rights as God, but selflessly laid them down for others. He did not
seek His own honour, but look at the honour He was given.
“A great man is always willing to be little.” Ralph Waldo Emerson