God’s Perspective on Healthy Desserts

What does God’s Word say about sweets?

“My son, eat thou honey, because it is good.” Proverbs 24:13

We’re told in God’s Word that eating sweet foods, specifically honey, is not only permissible, but good! However, in verses that follow, we are warned not to eat too much.

“Hast thou found honey? Eat so much as is sufficient for thee, lest thou be filled

therewith, and vomit it.” Proverbs 26:16

“It is not good to eat much honey.” Proverbs 25:27

Medical science has now discovered that an excess of sugar has many harmful effects including
suppressing the immune system. For more information regarding the harmful effects of sugar,
see “Sweet Tooth, Bitter Harvest: The Sugar and Diabetes Story,” chapter 8 in Proof Positive by
Neil Nedley, MD.

An additional verse that mentions honey in the Bible addresses it in a very interesting way, one that touches the experience of many of us, I believe. It refers to the use of sugary foods as comfort foods, when we attempt to use food to fill that longing that only God can fill.

“The full soul loatheth an honeycomb: but to the hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet.”

Proverbs 27:7

When we are in right relationship with God, allowing Jesus Christ to heal us and make us whole and complete in Him, we don’t crave foods that are so concentrated as the honeycomb. But, when our souls are empty and longing for God, things which are not in our best interest (bitter things), seem sweet, or appealing and attractive. When God is not filling us, we are often drawn to those things, whether food or something else, that provide a temporary “fix,” but leave us more destitute than before.

Does the Bible provide the remedy as well as the diagnosis? In Psalms 107:9 we read, “For He satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness.” And in John 6:35, Jesus says, “I am the bread of life: he that cometh to Me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.”

As we study God’s Word and allow Jesus to fill our hungry souls with His love, He will teach us how to care for our bodies and give us a sincere desire to honor Him in our
lifestyle. For indeed,

“Your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit which is in you. For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.”

I Corinthians 6:19, 20