Take the Bitter with the Sweet

Proverbs 27:7
He who is full loathes honey, but to the hungry even what is bitter tastes sweet.

When I was a child, seldom did I remember being bored. Every few minutes my children come to me and bemoan how bored they are. They have television, basketball goal, toys, and video games. How can these kids be bored?! Too much honey!

We live in a dying era of overconsumption. We consumed so much that we couldn’t appreciate how sweet life really is. Growing up poor allowed me to really taste the sweetness in my bitterness. We would ride our bikes through the country roads smelling the flowers, eating wild blackberries, and tasting honeysuckles. How sweet those days were!

We’ve got to get to a place where we can appreciate the sweetness of life. The way we do that is by not being so full. When you are full you get sick of more honey and can’t appreciate the sweetness in life but when you are hungry even what is bitter tastes sweet. When I travel to Africa the people are so sweet, they have a 1/3 of what we have but there Joy is off the charts. They have learned to appreciate the little things that God grants them and find sweetness in what we would call bitter.

This recession has forced all of us to appreciate what we have even the bitter. We appreciate having groceries even though we can’t afford to go out to eat. We appreciate having a ride to work even though our car is down. We appreciate having our family together even though we don’t have our own home. We’ve learned how to take the bitter with the sweet.

We were talking about the acquired tastes of turnip greens the other day at lunch. Mayor Deberry was explaining to Derwin Sisnett from New York why Southerners like Turnip Greens. Derwin said they were too bitter. Mayor Deberry said, “yes they are bitter but when you cook them you have to add some sugar.” Black folks ate greens because we had to nobody else wanted them because they were bitter but because we were hungry we just added some sugar. When you are hungry enough even bitter moments become sweet. When we struggle we don’t become bitter we become better. When you are hungry you can make bitter moments into something sweet. Most of the successful people I know became successful and found their sweet spot because they were hungry.

Today learn how to take the bitter with the sweet:

1. Instead of complaining about something being bitter add some sugar to it. Sweeten up your environment with your attitude today. You get more flies with sugar than you do with vinegar.

2. Appreciate what is free; there is honey to taste when you are freed up to appreciate the simple things.

3. Maybe you need to fast so you can appreciate the taste of what you already have.

4. Don’t over consume, give some away so life can be sweeter, not bitter.

Dear God, how sweet it is to be loved by you! I’ve got so much to thank you for, so many blessings and so many open doors. I’m not getting bitter I’m getting better. Oh taste and see that the Lord is Good. God you get sweeter and sweeter as the days go by. I love you Lord.

In Jesus Name,

Amen