Psalm 19, part 4

The Word of God offers more satisfaction than possessions or pleasure.  So our deepest desire is satisfied as we gain Him through it.

More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb. (v.10)

Sometimes I don't desire to read the Bible.  Is that okay to say (and still be a pastor-type)?  Most of the time, I do anyway.  And on the backside of my encounter with the Scripture is a type of satisfaction.  Not the kind of self-satisfaction that delights in the self-righteousness and self-discipline and screams, "Look at me!"  It's a different kind of satisfaction.  It's a kind of satisfaction that enlarges the soul more than any activity I would replace it with could ever do.  Even when it's dry and dusty (which happens sometimes too), I know there is soul-enlarging goodness happening.

That's the power of the Scripture that gives us God.  It trumps the gold of materialism and the honey of hedonism.  It gives me the one thing my soul longs for.  The one thing I was made for.  It gives me God.  

And part of what it shapes in me is perspective.  The Bible, in enlarging the soul and defeating the trite (though powerful) desires of the flesh, gives me a sense of what's real.  It helps me see what's true.  It "gives light to the eyes" so I'm not guessing in the dark.  By it, I see the rest of the world and can keep it in perspective (thank you, CS Lewis).