It is not good to eat much honey.
Natural desires running too far
Man is a creature of manifold desires. These desires may be divided into two grand classes--
1. Those that can never go too far. Such are the desires for knowledge, holiness, assimilation to God.
2. Those that often run too far. Such are the desires for wealth; the desire for power, which often runs into tyranny; the desire for pleasure, which often runs into licentiousness. Here is running too far--
I. The desire for animal pleasure. “It is not good to eat much honey.” It is not good for the body. It is not good for the intellect. The rise of the animal is the fall of the mental. It is not good for the soul. The pampering of the senses is the death of the soul. “It is not good to eat much honey.” Here we have running too far--
II. The desire for human praise. “ So for men to search their own glory is not glory.” The word “not” which is here in italics, is not in the original; it has been supplied by our translators. In doing so they have evidently expressed the idea intended. A desire for the praise of our fellow-men is natural, innocent, and useful. It is very true that the praise of corrupt society is seldom of much worth, and often indeed contemptible. There are men whose desire for human praise becomes a passion; popularity is the god at whose shrine they are always paying their devotions. Be master of your desires. (D. Thomas, D.D.)
Pleasure and glory
The ordinary mind consents to this statement unwillingly. There is a natural reluctance to stop short in the pursuit of enjoyment. What glory can there be in getting a man to limit his own glory?
I. Our best interests are not served by living chiefly on earthly pleasures. Our highest being cannot be nourished by giving the chief place to earthly distinction and attainments. Life is not intended to be made up entirely of bank holidays and national festivals. Observe the point of emphasis in this verse. “It is not good to eat much honey.” A little is all very well. The question of recreation and amusement resolves itself into a question about the desires and impulses which are allowed to rule men’s lives. Let a man understand his true position He is face to face with a long history of good and evil principles working on the one hand sublimity, and on the other disaster, in the lives of millions. He has to take his place--carefully discovering his right place--in a world that is darkened by the shadow of the crime and ignorance of ages, and torn to the heart’s depth by the cruel wails of passion, and avarice, and remorse.
II. God has something better for us to do, and something nobler for us to enjoy. He has called to us to seek the knowledge of Himself; to grow up into this knowledge of Himself; and to use the knowledge of Him, as it comes to us, for the benefit of the world. Learn to think soberly and proportionately of all the pleasures and distinctions of this life; ever having “respect unto the recompense of the reward.” (W. H. Jackson.)