All the words of my mouth are just;
none of them is crooked or perverse.
To the discerning all of them are right;
they are upright to those who have found knowledge.
Summary: Can we “taste” spiritual truth? In a very real sense, yes we can. To be able to discern truth from a lie we need to use wisdom. Fortunately for us, wisdom is ready and willing to help.
In our last mediation, “Taste Tester,” we touched on the concept of perceiving truth as a taste. This idea is worth expanding on for another three minutes.
Tastebuds send information to the brain like any other sensory organ. The difference is that tastebuds react directly on their own.
If you have seen the movie, “Oh Brother Where Art Thou,” you will remember the scene where Everett and Delmar are eating a picnic lunch under a tree with Big Dan. Big Dan, a man with an eye for money, breaks a branch off of the tree and clobbers Delmar with it. When he comes up to Everett, Everett’s eyes “see” that Big Dan is about to take a swing at him, too. Unfortunately for Everett, his brain couldn’t process what his sight was telling him. If Everett’s tongue had been in charge, he never would have been clubbed in the head. The tongue does not wait for the brain to react to taste information.
Now, here’s the point:
Our spiritual tongue works the same way. Spiritually, we can “taste” whether something is right or wrong, good or bad. Psalm 34:8 says, “Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.” (Peter echoes this in 1 Peter 2:3) The tongue knows what is good and bad. It doesn’t have to ask.
But wait a minute! Don’t our tastes change as we get older?
For most of us, yes. When I was little, I didn’t like eating peas. Now I love them. That seems like a big change to me. Some foods I am picky about. Others, not so much. Still, I wonder what it would be like to train my sense of smell and taste the way a wine taster does. Could that open up a whole new door of understanding for me? How would my tastes change if I retrained them?
As citizens of a secular world, each of us can only judge spiritual things from our personal point of view. When we come to God’s Word, we are exposed to God’s truth (2 Timothy 3:16). When we invite Jesus into our hearts, we are spiritually reborn, i.e. – made new (John 3: 3-5). It is this newly born spirit within us that cries out for spiritual food (1 Peter 2:2). The food it desires is God’s Word (Hebrews 5:14).
Consumed in this way, God’s Word tastes different from anything we have ever tasted before. At first, it is enough to delight in this new taste. But over time, we need meatier food. Chewing on Proverbs allows us to refine our spiritual tastebuds. In time, we learn to recognize the difference between what is just and what is perverse.
Application: Continue to taste the Lord through his Word every day.
Food for Thought: Our tastebuds mature as we get older. What does it mean if our spiritual tastes lead to conflict rather than unity?
The idea of spiritual taste is a new way of thinking for me about my walk with the Lord. If I liken it to physical taste, the idea of preference comes in. These preferences are based on my life experience and just some plain on natural “leanings” (lol). I think my spiritual taste is also influenced by my life experience and some natural leanings, so it is personalized to me, a part of my personal relationship with God. I tend to focus on and ask for what is on my heart. I believe that is a part of God’s design for our lives.
Matthew 7:7 “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.”
What does it mean if our spiritual tastes lead to conflict rather than unity?
I believe it means we (or me) are too focused on the desires of our heart and not on God’s desires for our heart.
Philippians 2:1-4 “Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.”
Chris,
Well said! The Philippians passage you mention addresses the question of conflict well. As to our personal “taste,” you bring up some good points about how we are created and made to be individuals.
Long yet very good
Thanks, Jim!
It is tough condensing 10,000 words of thought into 3 minutes! I’ll try and do better. 🙂
Sometimes it takes four minutes 😊. It is still worth it.
The extra minute gives us time to savor the devotion
LOL! 🙂
If our lives our consistently marked by dissension and division, something is wrong. If the fruit of the tree is bad there is an issue. If we are walking in the Spirit the fruit will be good. If not, we need to do some personal inspection to evaluate if maybe the carnal nature is getting the best of us. Galatians 5: 16 – 26.
There are no conficts in the Trinity. God is not in conflict with Christ, and Christ is not in conflict with God, and Christ is not in conflict with the Spirit, and the Spirit is not in conflict with Christ. Our Triune God has one will and one design.
All who have given themselves to Christ are called to allow this inward change to be outwardly seen as we interact with others. His humility, meekness, and long-suffering allows Him to patiently exercise self control, demonstrate His love toward others, and is the image of our Triune God as we unite and become one body.
Ephesians 4:1-6, 11-13, John 13:35, Psalm 133:1,1 Corinthians 12
As Believers, we have to call conflict what it is, a spiritual problem.
Allowing the forces of satan to influence our flesh. Giving sinful desires priority and power over the Holy Spirit in us will destroy unity and result in conflict.
To counter this we must wake up and remain alert, call on the power of Christ to illuminate and judge our selfish motives. Turn away from the world, and give total allegiance to God, as we humbly seek His grace. Submit to God, resist the devil, and in God’s presence repent of all our sins, stop judging others and submit to God’s Word
James 4:1-12
Ron,
It is interesting to think of worldly conflict as a “spiritual problem.” Yet, I have to agree with you. At the root of all problems is our separation from God. As we allow God into our lives, our personal desires of the flesh are subordinated to God’s presence. In the blinding light of his love there is no room for pettiness.
🤗