"As vinegar to the teeth and smoke to the eyes,
so are sluggards to those who send them."
- Proverbs 10:26 (NIV)
This verse spoke to me because I had been slacking off on a few of my tasks lately. I just kept thinking of this verse over and over. As I continued to think about this, I realized that I did not want to cause any of my superiors to have any sour taste in their mouths from my doing. So, I prayed that God would help me to excel in all my tasks so that my superiors would have the taste of milk and honey instead. I want my efforts to shine with excellence from my hands. I hope that I can continue to work every effort in the right spirit but I know there will be times when I need to remind myself of this verse.
One other thing. I have been described as a person who likes extreme flavors in food. I have also been described as a person who has burned off all of my taste buds. One reason for these comments is that I am a person who thoroughly enjoys a good hot sauce. Most of the hot sauces that I eat contain vinegar as the primary ingredient. So, I was thinking. Did Solomon just not like hot sauce? I actually love the taste of vinegar when mixed with peppers. I also enjoy balsamic vinegar on my salads. Vinegar is a good thing!
But, even though some of us like using vinegar in our foods, that does not change the meaning of this verse. I can only imagine how vinegar was viewed in those days. Maybe I'll just remember the second part of that because I absolutely hate having smoke in my eyes. It dries out my contacts and makes my eyes burn. Yes, that would be a better description for this chili head to use.
