How About A Little Fruit Salad?

M

y grandmother loved fruit salad. Every time we had a family gathering, we could always depend on her to provide one of her famous fruit salads.  That fruit salad was more popular than any of the desserts lined up on her counter and no family gathering was complete without it.  

I can remember standing in line behind my uncle, cousins, and other family members, waiting for my chance to dig into the fruit salad.  Although I worried it would all be gone by the time I reached the bowl, there always seemed to be an ample supply.  In fact, there was always some left over and we would take some home to eat later.

Not only was the fruit salad good by itself, but it was great over cake or ice cream.  Personally, I like it best over pound cake but I’ve been known to eat it over vanilla ice cream as well.  We just couldn’t get enough of it and the more we talked about it, the more we bragged on it, the more grandmother made.  And, of course, the more she made, the more we ate! In fact, we all asked for the recipe and we began making it for ourselves and for gatherings we attended.  No matter the occasion, that fruit salad was a hit every time and the bowl always came home empty!

Would it surprise you to know that the Scriptures have much to say about fruit salad?  Its true! This salad, like grandmother’s, is very popular and one that everyone loves to eat.  The recipe is very simple.  It has only one ingredient and everyone has it in the pantry!!  Interested? Let’s take a look at this very popular, very easy, but oh so dangerous fruit salad spoken of in the book of Proverbs!

In Proverbs 18:21, King Solomon gives the following recipe for fruit salad, “The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.”  Kinda makes you lose your appetite doesn’t it?  But Solomon is right on target.  Think about the number of conversations we hold on a daily basis. Now think how many of those conversations are spent discussing other people.  Ouch!!! Those raspberries are rather tart aren’t they?  How many times do we slander other people?  Watch out for those boysenberries (poison berries)!

But let’s be perfectly honest!  We seem to love the stuff because we keep dishing it up, don’t we?  We gather around water coolers, get on the phone, pass notes, hold discussions over lunch, or even take time away from our families to discuss other people’s problems or circumstances.  All the while we operate under the false assumption that if what we’re saying is true, it ain’t gossip! 

Rubbish! It is always gossip and what we are saying is rarely the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth! Solomon is very clear on this point.  Our tongues can bring life or death to another person or to ourselves.  We decide how they are to be used, to uplift or tear down.  But Solomon also gives us a sobering and solemn warning.  We better be able to eat what we’ve dished out on our plate.  The Scriptures are very clear, whatever we put on our plate we will have to eat!  Notice that the last part of the proverb is a promise.  We will eat whatever our tongues dish out.  The amount we eat is determined by our own tongues and most of us stay pretty hungry all the time!

So, the next time you eat fruit salad, stop and think for just a minute.  Do you love it enough to eat it all the time?  Given all the other things on the table to enjoy, would you simply settle for plate after plate of fruit salad?  I’d venture to guess the answer to those questions would be a no!  That being the case, ask yourself these questions:  How much fruit salad have I eaten today?  Do I really want another helping?   Only you can decide whether you will push away from the table or dish up more on your plate!  What will it be?