Sweet words

In light of my recent book release, Eating Your Words, I thought I'd post this entry from 2010.

"How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!" Psalm 119:103

Is the word of God sweet to me? I wonder, especially when I see so much evidence to the contrary in my life. Socrates said (and I'm paraphrasing from a translation here) that if a man really had understanding and wisdom--really had it in his heart and soul-- he would be a good man.

Just having knowledge doesn't make a person good, obviously. And we all know that knowledge does not equate to understanding and wisdom. But I do tend to think that a wise person will live by the wisdom he or she possesses-- else he or she would not be wise. So there is at least some truth in what Socrates says, despite his ignorance of Christ in whom all the treasures of wisdom are found (Colossians 2:3).

Socrates aside, if we have Christ in whom all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are found, are we any wiser? I mean, practically speaking, are we--you and I-- living lives governed by the possession of, by being possessed by, the one who is wisdom? Is his word honey on our tongue?

I wonder sometimes if we see God's word as if it were the festering quail that the Israelites greedily ate up when God sent them this "meat" in response to their whining. Like them, we love the benefits and blessing... but sometimes we aren't so interested in the blesser. We certainly aren't interested in his commandments, testimonies, and precepts which lead to life and wisdom (see Psalm 119:97-104).

What are we eating? Honey or quail?