#proverbs25

Proverbs 25:1-28 (King James Version)

27 It is not good to eat too much honey, nor is it honorable to search out matters that are too deep. 28 Like a city whose walls are broken through is a person who lacks self-control.

Rules are not in place to harm you. Just as walls are put up around a city to protect that city, rules are put in place around us to protect us. Both walls and rules can feel limiting. Both walls and rules may keep us from going places and from doing things that we might enjoy. But both walls and rules also keep us from experiencing dangers that are better left unknown. Lack of self-control is like a city whose walls are broken (v28). Should you choose not to follow rules and just do whatever you want, you will open yourself to dangers that you need not be open to. But a lack of self-control is not just a danger. It’s actually an embarrassment. In the Old Testament, to a city whose walls were broken down, it was a disgrace upon that city. Nehemiah went to his homeland, Jerusalem, for the very fact that its walls had been torn down. They had been living in destruction for years. Nehemiah urged the people by saying, “Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, and we will no longer be in disgrace” (Nehemiah 2:17). The people of Jerusalem were embarrassed as a city. They were the laughing-stock of everyone around them. And they were vulnerable. At any moment, their world could come crashing down around them. That is the story of people who have no self-control. When I can’t control my tongue, I embarrass myself with stupid, unkind words. When I eat more than I should, I feel ashamed of my weight gain or my lack of good health (v27a). When I ignore my family or other responsibilities for lesser things, I embarrass my legacy as a husband and a father. No amount of embarrassment is something that you can’t come back from though. No lack of self control is unredeemable. Whatever thing you’ve felt shame over, whatever thing has brought you embarrassment, Jesus took on Himself on the cross. He suffered scorn for your shortcomings so that in Him you wouldn’t have to. If you’re living in embarrassment and shame today, confess that to Jesus. Let Him take on your shortcomings. He doesn’t want you to carry that burden!