The Illusion of Security

It is not good to eat much honey,

Nor is it glory to search out one’s own glory.”

~Proverbs 25:27~

The majority of proverbs consist of two parallel lines that are in some way connected to one another. Most of the time, the second line complements, completes, or contrasts the first line, in order to bring further enlightenment to the truth that is embedded in the saying.

In the proverb above, the conjunction “nor” between the first and second parts indicates that the idea in the second line is a continuation of the idea began in the first line, and the idea is of a similar nature. (Perhaps this falls under the “completion” category). The “nor” seems to say, “Hey, pay attention! This line is saying the same thing as the one before it, but in a different way.”

At first reading of this, I was a bit confused. What is the connection between these two seemingly unrelated concepts? What do you think?

I think that this proverb, in both of its parts, boils down to one issue: security.

As modern Americans, we have a multitude of sources from which we draw security. This might be because we have so many more things to be secure from than people of the past did.

We need to be financially secure.

Although this has probably been a common desire throughout history, we feel the drive now more than ever: ours is a time when “financially secure” means that we have enough money for two cars, a 52-inch screen, and a cell phone plan that covers the entire family (who needs merely food and shelter? That’s passé. Maslow needs to update his hierarchy).

We need to be physically secure.

I would wager that the standard for what is preferable in a person’s appearance has gone up a bit over the years. Several hundred years ago, it was considered attractive for a woman to be a bit overweight; that meant that she was eating well, and thus, was financially secure. Now, if a girl isn’t skinny as a rail with Jillian Michaels abs, she just isn’t quite pulling her weight. Or rather, she’s pulling a bit too much. And is it really practical for a man not to be able to touch his elbows together because his pecks are so big? Perhaps not, but all of the “amazing muscle pictures” on the internet try to sway men that this is indeed desirable.

We also need to be socially secure.

Sure, Victorian England was probably brimming with thousands of Mr. and Mrs. Bennetts who were overly concerned about their daughter’s love lives and how they affected the family reputation, but today, this same frantic search for social affirmation is perpetuated in hundreds of brand new arenas. “Why didn’t that group invite me to the movie?” “What did he mean by that text? – Does this mean it’s over?” “Why didn’t she ‘like’ my new profile picture? She’s supposed to be my girlfriend!” Facebook alone is probably the breeding-grounds for more unhealthy psychological dependencies than all that Victorian England had to offer during its 64-year span. There’s no telling how many teenagers, twenty-somethings, or baby-boomers across the world are sitting on the edge of their computer chair, anxiously awaiting a “poke” or an instant message from the one they adore. Those who may not be romantically inclined are still hypnotized by the ol’ Facebook because they feel the need to know what’s going on in everyone’s life. To be ignorant of the most (and I mean MOST) current events in the lives of their friends would be a social misstep worthy of exclusion from every future event in the social sector.

The thing is, Facebook addicts aren’t addicted to Facebook. They’re addicted to the potential affirmation they might gain from it. They’re addicted to the security it gives them.

In all of these things, we seek for security. Financially, we want enough to know that if something happened, we’d have a nice cushion to fall back on. Physically, we want assurance that if we happen to meet Mr. or Mrs. Right today, we’ll be in tip-top shape to impress them far beyond what they’d be capable of rejecting. Socially, we simply want affirmation from those whom we let define our self-worth. It’s funny, 2,500 years ago, the book of Proverbs warns against this.

“It is not good to eat much honey, nor is it glory to search out one’s own glory.”

I think the clues to this proverb can be found earlier in chapter 25.

Regarding honey, verse 16 says, “Have you found honey? Eat only what you need, that you not have it in excess and vomit it.” This illuminates the statement in verse 25: “It is not good to eat much honey.”

How often in our lives do we find a good thing and, nervous that this good might not come round again, gather up as much as possible, hoarding so that we might never have to experience want? What if we were content with our daily bread? Taking this in a literal sense, what if we did not give in to all-you-can-eat Americanism and we only ate what we needed each meal, rather than what would stuff us to the point of physical discomfort? In a metaphorical sense, what if we were content with our daily bread regarding finances and social standing? What if we trusted God to provide for each need as those needs arise?

Verse 2 brings light to the statement, “nor is it glory to search out one’s own glory.” It does this by providing a new perspective on “glory”: “It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, but the glory of kings is to search out a matter.” What is glorious for a king to do? To search out the matters that God has concealed! In His all-powerful wisdom, He has hidden mysteries in Himself – mysteries of knowledge, conduct, love, and faithfulness – and He desires men to seek them out, and, yes, to find them. Meanwhile, we humans run around the face of the earth searching out our own glory, trying to establish our greatness in the eyes of others. As Proverbs says, this is not glory at all.

Perhaps Achilles got what he wanted. His name is remembered; he succeeded in promoting his own glory. But does it have any measureable impact on a person’s life today? No. We use his name to denote weakness, in the phrase “Achilles’ heel.” That’s about it. And at all our striving, God is in the heavens, shaking His head, because He knows that we fade like flowers.

Maybe what we’re really doing when we seek our own glory is, we’re eating too much honey. When we strive to establish ourselves and build our own kingdom, we’re hoarding for security. We are trying to build up defenses that protect us from any and all situations or circumstances that might offend us, deprive us, or challenge our greatness and our reputation. And in our striving, we miss the point: if we build our own defenses, they will fall as surely as we will fade. If our foundation for security and self-worth is based upon ourselves, we will certainly be disappointed.

This is why Proverbs 25:27 says, “It is not good to eat much honey, nor is it glory to search out one’s own glory.”

It all boils down to the age-old question, on whom does your dependence lie? The Achilles’ heel of humanity has been to depend on ourselves and to find security in seeking out our own glory. This will never bring success or fulfillment. The liberating, beautiful truth for Christ-followers, though, is that we are set free from the grain of the world. We don’t have to seek our own glory in order to be secure, for we have a King who loves us as we are. Because of this, we can be a people who do not hoard for ourselves, but who rather seek out the glory of the King. Our hope is found in Christ alone, and His foundation never fails. If we forsake our search for our own glory – if we abandon our honey-hoarding – I think we’ll be free to search out His glory.

And I think we’ll find the security we’ve looked for all along.  

This article was written by Jonathan Sites, an Evangel University graduate who is passionate about sharing his faith with others.  If you would like to be featured on Faith and Finance, find out more here.

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