The Peril of Excess: When Natural Desires Run Too Far

Man is a creature of manifold desires, which divide into two classes: those that cannot exceed—the desire for knowledge, holiness, and assimilation to Elohim—and those that often run to excess: wealth, power (which becomes tyranny), and pleasure (which becomes licentiousness).

Consider the desire for animal pleasure. "It is not good to eat much honey," Solomon warns. Excess in bodily gratification harms the body, dulls the intellect, and deadens the soul. The ascendancy of animal appetite marks the decline of mental vigor; the pampering of the senses effects the death of the spirit.

Equal peril attends the desire for human praise. The second half of Proverbs 25:27 reads, "So for men to search their own glory is not glory." A measure of regard for fellow-men's esteem is natural and innocent. Yet many make popularity their shrine, devotion their altar, until the praise of corrupt society becomes their consuming passion.

Observe the verse's precise emphasis: "It is not good to eat much honey"—much, not some. Recreation and amusement become dangerous only when they rule men's lives. The question resolves itself thus: which desires will govern you? A man must understand his true position—face to face with a long history of both sublimity and disaster wrought by these competing principles. He must discover his right place in a world darkened by the shadow of these contending forces, and master his desires accordingly.