TANSTAAFL

(Proverbs 23:3 KJV)  Be not desirous of his dainties: for they are deceitful meat.

What is wrong with “dainties" (delicacies NASB) (4303)?  It is synonymous with deceit to the Hebrews, yet it is different from the word commonly used that way.  We find this idea repeated in verse 6.  Outside of Proverbs it is only used when the goat stew was prepared to taste like wild game.  If you look at Genesis 27 you see references to “savory meat.”  This is the word for delicacies.  It was a dish prepared for the specific purpose of deceiving Isaac into blessing Jacob.

We have built in desires for the delicacies of life.  There is something in us that wants to believe certain things.  We want to believe that politicians really care about us.  We want to believe that because something says “fat free food” it will not make us gain weight.  We want to believe that because we are saved by grace it doesn’t matter how we live.

Satan knows this.  Satan’s servants know this.  And they take advantage of it.  All of this refers back to the "ruler" of verse one.  This means people who are seeking to control our physical lives and some who want to control our spiritual destiny.  Beware.  There is a saying that I think was originated by Robert Heinlein, a science fiction writer (who pushed incest regularly in his writing, so I am not recommending his novels), TANSTAAFL.  You may have seen it and wondered “What?”  It means, “There ain’t no such thing as a free lunch.”  Another popular saying is “If something looks too good to be true, it probably is.” 

Gifts can be “deceptive” (3577).  “Beware of Greeks bearing gifts.”  Actually this is not saying that “delicacies” can be “deceptive”, it is saying they are deceptive.  This seems to be the day for quotes.  Remember, “No pain, no gain.”  Or, if I remember it correctly from my junior high German, “Ohne Fleis, kein Preis.”  This is true in spite of grace.  Grace does not mean that there is not effort in the spiritual life, it means that ultimately salvation is a gift since there is nothing we can do to cancel the penalty of sin.

So?  We live in a world that is trying to drag us down.  Don’t let it happen.  Stay awake.  Let the mouse be the one caught by his lust for that good looking cheese on that little piece of wood.  Don’t just think twice.  Pray twice.  It may make the difference between the Wedding Feast of the Lamb and an eternal hot foot.