Scripture as Honey: The Reshaping of Desire

On February 24, 1920, the German Workers’ Party laid out a 25-point agenda in Munich. To appeal to both the working class and devoutly religious German Christians, they detached modern Christianity from its Jewish roots. This ideology would eventually fuel what became known as Positive Christianity—a movement that curated a Bible around hatred for the Jews.

In Hitler’s day, the Bible was used as a weapon for oppression.

Mother Teresa was once asked when she began her work of relief and care for abandoned children. Her answer: “On the day I discovered I had a Hitler inside me.” She recognized that the same impulse to harbor bitterness, hatred, and resentment existed in her heart too.

The Bible can be used for whatever end you have in mind—weapon of oppression or instrument of transformation. Whatever you have in you, the Bible will bring to the surface.

Sweeter Than Honey

In Psalm 119, the Psalmist says Scripture is “sweeter than honey to my mouth.” That’s a poetic way of saying, “I’m finding more tangible joy and delight in reading the Scriptures than in the best things this world has to offer.”

David writes this as king. More than all the pleasures the world could offer royalty, Scripture is what captures his delight.

Most of us aren’t experiencing that when we read the Bible. We feel confusion, boredom, pain, conviction, shame. So what are we missing? What does David get about the Bible that we don’t?

To answer that, we need to understand two things: desire and meditation.

The Problem of Desire

Philosopher James K.A. Smith argues that more than our thoughts, habits, or behaviors, it’s our desires that actually shape who we are. “Our wants and longings and desires are at the core of our identity,” he writes. “Discipleship is a way to curate your heart, to be attentive to and intentional about what you love.”

Before we’re creatures of habit or thought, we are creatures of desire. All of us are seeking something to satisfy our deepest longings.

Traditionally, when it comes to desire, there seem to be only two options:

Indulgence. Culture tells us to unashamedly pursue our desires to the point of complete satisfaction. Your goal is happiness—maximize pleasure, minimize pain. If your desires don’t hurt others, indulge freely. This is the mantra of the secular West, and it has seeped into the American church as much as into non-Christian culture.

Suppression. Throughout church history, Christians have adopted the opposite approach—abstain from the very things that tempt us. Starve the flesh by cutting off all sources of earthly delight until we cringe at the concept of desire itself.

But that seems at odds with the biblical story. The Garden was made literally for delight—good food, communion, God’s presence. When sin enters, the serpent doesn’t introduce desire to taint what was good. The serpent distorts their desires by turning them away from God and toward themselves.

The problem, according to the Bible, is not desire. It’s what we aim our desire at.

C.S. Lewis writes: “Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.”

What Do You Want?

Throughout the gospels, one of Jesus’ favorite questions before healing someone is: “What do you want?”

It’s the same question Jesus asks us every time we open the Bible: What do you want me to do for you? What’s at the end of your desire?

Why does Jesus want our love, not just our obedience? Because it’s not white-knuckled obedience through gritted teeth that brings healing. It’s loving communion with God himself. It’s the reshaping of our desires through the Spirit.

What if following Jesus is less about believing the right things and more about finding the deepest satisfaction for your soul in communion with the God who made you for Him?

The Power of Meditation

Look at the progression in Psalm 119: Meditation → Desire → Lifestyle.

The Psalmist finds delight in Scripture that completely changes how he thinks and lives. But he doesn’t get there by gritting his teeth and getting his act together. It’s desire formed by meditation.

The word “meditate” is the Hebrew word hagah—literally meaning to moan, growl, utter, or speak. It’s a word-picture describing the sound a lion makes while gnawing on a bone. Chewing on it, returning to it, savoring it.

The Bible was literally designed for meditation—for the slow, daily, steady reshaping of your desires.

Ancient Jews would read stories, prophecies, and poems and hold them in their minds. Mull them over throughout the day. Return to these passages repeatedly. And slowly, over time, they change.

How to Practice

There’s a time-tested approach called Lectio Divina—divine reading. Three basic movements:

1. Read. Pay attention to words, ideas, or phrases that stand out.
2. Reflect. Go back to those words and sit with them. Ponder. Savor. Pray them back to God.
3. Respond. Is there an invitation to live out? Something new about God to believe? A sin to confess?

If this becomes your regular posture, then over time—after months, even years—Scripture becomes sweeter than honey. Not that every page is an emotional high, but you begin to crave it.

Here’s what happens: Your thoughts align with God’s. Your desires reshape to align with God’s. Your heart changes. What you think about changes. What you want changes.

What desires are shaping your day? What do you want Jesus to do for you? Are you ready to let Him redirect your deepest longings?

What if communion with God through Scripture could become sweeter and more enticing than anything else this world has to offer?