Sweet!

     "Kind words are like honey--sweet to the taste and good for your health." (Proverbs 16:24)  Awwww.  Isn't that just a really nice idea?  You say kind words and they taste sweet like honey.  And not only are they sweet to the speaker, they are sweet to the hearer!
      Oh!  And another thought!  Have you ever had allergy issues?  Well did you know that eating honey that was made in your own geographical region can actually help control those allergies?  You know what that made me think of?  "Like apples of gold in settings of silver is a word spoken in right circumstances." (Proverbs 25:11)
     Now you may be thinking I'm a little off my rocker about now.  But just think for a minute.  Local honey, honey from the right place, can make you healthier.  That means that honey from another region, while it might be sweet, probably isn't going to make you well.  Okay so now let's think about that in terms of words.  If we say something in the wrong place at the wrong time, even if it's sweet, well it's just not a good idea and doesn't help a thing.  But saying the right words at the right time are like a beautiful ornament of golden apples in a silver setting.....shiny and something to treasure.
     "Never eat more honey than you need; too much may make you vomit." (Proverbs 25:16)  Wait a minute.  Didn't we just read that honey was good for our health?  So now, still in Proverbs, we're reading that it can make us sick!  So, if we put it in terms of words like we just read, is this saying that too many good or 'sweet' words can make us sick?
     Consider this.  A 50 year old woman answers the phone at work.  On the other end, a 20 year old is calling for some information but is constantly referring to  the 50 year old as honey, sweetie.....you get the idea.  By the time the phone call ends, the 50 year old will probably be sick of all the 'sweet talk' and have to wipe the honey off the phone before hanging it up or the next call might get a bit sticky.  Besides the fact that the 20 year old carried on way too much in a effort to be nice but really was disrespectful.
     Or how about someone who 'sugar coats'?  Those words may sound good at first.  But what about when you bite into that, what appears to be sugar cookie, and find there was a worm in the middle?
     So just what is our lesson here?  My thoughts go back to part of a song I learned as a child..... "Oh be careful little mouth what you say.  Oh be careful little mouth what you say!"  Remember that one?   One day we will be held accountable for our words (Matthew 12:36).  With that in mind, I hope you have a sweet day!  But not 'too' sweet. :)