The Full Soul

Prov 27:7 says, “The full soul loatheth an honeycomb; but to the hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet”.  

The prodigal son is a good illustration of this truth, Lk 15:11-17.  When he left home with his portion of goods, he was a full soul.  He loathed all the good food that was at his father’s house because he wanted what was in the far country.  After he wasted all of his substance, and started feeding swine, he came to himself.  He said, “I perish with hunger”.  He would have eaten the husks the swine ate.  He was a hungry soul.

He learned a valuable lesson in the school of hard knocks.  Solomon had written about this years before.  Ecc 4:6, “Better is an handful with quietness, than both the hands full with travail and vexation of spirit”.  The servants had it far better at his father’s house than he did in the pigsty.  Bitter things were starting to look very sweet to him.  He didn’t realize, before, just how good he had it at his father’s house.

Jesus had taught his disciples about this principle of a full soul versus a hungry soul in Lk 6.  He said, “Woe unto you that are full! for ye shall hunger”, Lk 6:25.  Did the prodigal son ever learn that this is true.  He also said, “Blessed are ye that hunger now: for ye shall be filled”, Lk 6:21.

Do you know what the problem with most Christians is today?  They are full of the pleasures of the world and so they loathe the honeycomb of the words of God.  The Psalmist wrote, “How sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth!”, Ps 119:103.  Of course you won’t desire these sweet words if you are a full soul, anymore than you would desire your favorite dessert after a full meal.

The words of God are sweet.  Ezekiel learned this in Ezek 2:8-3:3.  And John learned this in Rev 10:8-10.  Of course, they also learned that when you eat these sweet words, they make your spirit and belly bitter.  You lose your appetite for the worldly pleasures that had spoiled your appetite for God’s words.  After getting full on the words of God, you have as much appetite for worldly pleasures as the prodigal son did for the far country after he was broke.

Like the prodigal son, you don’t realize how good you have it at God’s table when you’re dining on good preaching and teaching.  You don’t appreciate how wonderfully filling and satisfying the words of God are unless you read them everyday.  You’re too full of the world.  And so the words of God seem loathsome to you.  But when you get hungry enough, you’ll find that even the bitter things in the Bible are sweet.

Why not push away from the worldly pleasures that are spoiling your appetite for the the words of God.  And start getting filled with the glorious things you receive when you dine on the wonderful words of life.

When you’re hungry for the words of God and you get full on the words of God, you lose your appetite for the things of the world.  Instead of being filled with the world you become:

  • Filled with all the fulness of God, EPh 3:19
  • Filled with the Spirit, Eph 5:18
  • Filed with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding, Col 1:9

I you’re a full soul who loathes the honeycomb of God’s words, starve your appetite for worldly pleasures.  Start waking up every morning hungry for God and God’s words.  Blessed are ye that hunger now: for ye shall be filled, Lk 6:21.

For more on this subject, see the lesson taught on Proverbs 27:7 titled, The Full Soul.