At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore (Ps. 16: 11)
“As he that taketh away a garment in cold weather, and as vinegar upon nitre, so is he that singeth songs to an heavy heart” (Proverbs 25:20).
“Like one who takes away a garment in cold weather, and like vinegar on soda, is one who sings songs to a heavy heart” (Proverbs 25:20).
In this fallen world, it turns out that certain things are unwelcome. You brought potato salad to the picnic, but then the wasps found it. You pull into your favorite restaurant only to discover that they are closed on Mondays now. You take a busted product back to the store only to find out that “lifetime guarantee” was referring to the lifetime of the product. The sum of everything is that we were not put into this world for pleasure alone.
Scriptures gives us a few examples of this same thing. The weather is cold, and you have a good coat, one that protects you from the cold, and then some person takes it away from you. That’s no good. That’s unwelcome. But then the problem can be ratcheted up to the next level—when vinegar is put on soda, you get yourself a reaction. That’s how elementary school kids make volcanoes for their science fair projects . . . baking soda and vinegar will give you a volcano in similitude.
We then come to the target of these comparisons. Out-of-place cheerfulness is a nuisance, a pebble in the shoe, a cockroach in the spaghetti. A word fitly spoken is like beautiful jewelry (Prov. 25:11). And a cheerful word, a singing encouragement, when it is offered in a cumbersome and clunky way, is . . . a baking soda volcano.
Nobody needs it. Nobody wants it. It would be far better to tip toe away. Not all those who believe they have the gift of encouragement actually have the gift of encouragement. If a friend of yours is down, and you are tempted to act like you are in a musical . . . give it a second thought.
