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Ew


As vinegar to the teeth and smoke to the eyes, so are sluggards to those who send them. (Proverbs 10: 26)

                You might like vinegar. I think it’s a great cleaning ingredient, and good for both hair and skin applied topically, but it’s not something I want to put in my mouth. So when commentaries and other translations talk about “as vinegar sets one’s teeth on edge,” I can doubly understand. People who can’t be bothered to do their job well leave a bad – no, a horrible taste in one’s mouth. I also learned today that people who eat a lot of vinegar are as much as 85% more likely to develop tooth decay because vinegar eats away tooth enamel, especially in young folks. So lazy workers not only leave a bad taste in one’s mouth but also gives one an ugly smile and rotten mouth. 
                You might also like a campfire or a fire in your hearth. When we were camping, we used to be told to enter the campsite through the smoke, to drive the bugs away rather than bring them in to bother everyone else. I’m not sure how effective that was, because other bugs could approach from another direction. Maybe the idea was that the scent of the smoke clung to you and the bugs left you alone for that reason. In any case, smoke, like vinegar, isn’t pleasant, whether to the eyes or the nose.  It makes your eyes water, which means it makes you cry – just like the person who can’t be bothered to do what you send them to do. 
                So now for the obvious, uncomfortable question. Am I vinegar to someone’s teeth or smoke to their eyes? When am I a sluggard? I know one time – when the thing I’m sent to do is for me.

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