Beware the Second Step

(Pro 23:1 KJV)  When thou sittest to eat with a ruler, consider diligently what is before thee:

As I began reading this chapter my first thought was that I will never “dine” (3898b) with any “ruler” (4910).  As I kept reading another thought jumped out at me,

(Pro 23:6 NAS77) Do not eat the bread of a selfish man, Or desire his delicacies;

I am sure that I know some selfish men and there is a chance I will eat with them.  Then I had a third that tried to wake me up,

(Pro 23:9 NAS77) Do not speak in the hearing of a fool, For he will despise the wisdom of your words.

I know I come in constant contact with fools.  By definition they are people who have no fear of the Lord and those people run just about everything.

Yet we survive.  We are so used to going through our day without thinking.  Did you seriously plan out every move when you took your shower this morning or were you on autopilot?  Or we get to thinking about something and miss the obvious.  Have you every driven past your turn-off because you were in the middle of a great story.  As kids we used to get hilarious when my dad did it.

We can get so carried away with these warnings that we become total bores, but it might do us a bit of good to consider the ideas.  We have all been in situations where we are offered some treat and feel compelled by courtesy to partake.  That is understandable in most situations but then we go on and have a second helping, so to speak.

So?  Everyone around you does not have your best interest at heart.  They may even think they are doing it for you but often they do it in such a way as to build their ego more than your character.  Take the desert but don’t fall for the idea that this one time won’t go straight to your waist.