Cleansing the Palate

In Boethius’s timeless work The Consolation of Philosophy, Lady Philosophy reminds the imprisoned and despairing author that life’s bitter experiences often pave the way for deeper sweetness. She speaks of remedies that may taste bitter at first but prove nourishing to the soul. This idea echoes through ancient wisdom: bitterness sharpens our appreciation for what is truly sweet.

Scripture takes this further, linking humility directly to honor. As Proverbs declares:


Humility acts like a cleanser of the palate. It clears away the residue of pride, self-sufficiency, and entitlement, allowing us to savor honor properly—and to attribute it rightly to its ultimate source: The Almighty.

A few centuries before Boethius, King David lived this truth in one of the darkest moments of his life.

As David fled Jerusalem during his son Absalom’s rebellion—betrayed by his own flesh and blood, stripped of his throne—a man named Shimei emerged from the shadows. A relative of the deposed King Saul, Shimei saw his chance for revenge. He followed David along the road, cursing him vehemently, throwing stones, and kicking up dust at the king and his entourage.

One of David’s loyal warriors, Abishai, had seen enough. “Why should this dead dog curse my lord the king?” he fumed. “Let me go over and take off his head!”

But David restrained him with words of profound humility and faith:


David refused to silence the curses by force. Instead, he received them as possibly permitted by God Himself—for discipline, for refinement, or simply as part of the bitter cup he had to drink. He submitted to the humiliation, trusting that the Lord could transform even venomous words into future blessing.

And indeed, God did repay David with good. Absalom’s rebellion collapsed, David returned to his throne, and his kingdom was restored. The bitterness of that roadside cursing prepared the way for a sweeter restoration—one David could enjoy with a cleansed heart, free from vengeance and full of gratitude to God.

We often resist humiliation, seeing it only as injustice or attack. Like Abishai, our instinct is to strike back, defend our honor, and silence the critics. But David’s example—and the wisdom of Boethius and Proverbs—invites us to pause.

What if the stones thrown at us today are clearing the way for honor tomorrow? What if the curses we endure are cleansing our palate, removing the dulling effects of pride so that God’s eventual vindication tastes all the sweeter?

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In our own lives—whether facing betrayal, public criticism, failure, or undeserved scorn—humility opens the door. It teaches us to say, with David, “Let it be; perhaps the Lord will turn this to good.”