Saying 9

Do not eat the food of a begrudging host,
    do not crave his delicacies;
for he is the kind of person
    who is always thinking about the cost.
“Eat and drink,” he says to you,
    but his heart is not with you.
You will vomit up the little you have eaten
    and will have wasted your compliments.

Proverbs 23:6-8

“Begrudging” is an interesting word in the first line; the King James uses the expression “an evil eye”. What we have here is a host who is offering up a menu of delights resentfully, either because the host feels he has no other choice, or because he has a serious ulterior motive (or both).

Have you ever found yourself in this position? I know that I have been.  It was a business lunch in the most expensive place in town where the other guy pulled out all the stops, money was no object: He needed me and seemed to think I would be bought with a nice meal. Happily, I saw through it, and it didn’t work; I didn’t get involved with the guy, who shortly thereafter was in serious trouble with the Feds…

That’s what comes to mind for me when I read this, you may have your own adventure that comes to mind for you…