You Catch More Flies with Honey

One of my daddy’s favorite sayings was “You catch more flies with honey than vinegar!” Even though my daddy has been gone for over twenty-five years, I can still hear that in my head. It is ever present in my conversations with others. When I answer the phone or someone comes to my office, this saying flits across my mind.

I didn’t always appreciate this saying. Usually my daddy used it after I was selfish or unkind to one of my brothers or to a friend.

It now helps me when I catch myself feeling taken advantage of or starting to get angry. If you are like me, I don’t like myself when I get testy or angry. I feel regret and ashamed of my behavior.

The Bible says it this way, “Kind words are like honey – sweet to the soul and healthy for the body.” (Proverbs 16:24)

Not only are these “kind words” sweet to another person’s soul, but to mine as well. When I can humbly push away my own pride and my own vindication and just seek God in a situation, He helps me to use kind words.

The Book of Proverbs has a lot to say about our words. Here are just a couple more that speak to me. “Kind words soothe angry feelings, harsh words stir them up.” (Proverbs 15:1) When I’m not abiding and attuned to the Lord, things can sneak up on me and I can use harsh words.

Perhaps you have personally experienced this, but at least I know everyone has witnessed how words can crush another person. Proverbs puts it this way, “The soothing tongue is a tree of life, but a perverse tongue crushes the spirit.” Makes me think if I bring life to others, or crush their spirit.

This next verse hits home. You see when I was a child I had a hot temper. It can still flare up, but God has really helped me in this area. Perhaps that is why my daddy almost daily said, “You catch more flies with honey than vinegar.” Proverbs 15:18 puts it this way, “A hot-tempered person stirs up conflict, but the one who is patient calms a quarrel.”