Read 1 PETER 2:1–3

Babies love to put everything in their mouths—toys, books, even their own feet! As they are just becoming aware of their senses, babies use their sense of taste to explore the world around them. In addition, a baby’s mouth has more nerve endings per square inch than any other body part, so mouthing objects is the best way for a baby to discover how things feel. This normal developmental milestone usually ends by age three.

Scripture uses the metaphor of taste often to describe our experience of God. The psalmist says, “Taste and see that LORD is good” (Ps. 34:8), and “How sweet are your words to my taste” (Ps. 119:103). The prophet Ezekiel was instructed to eat the scroll of the Lord (Ezek. 3:3), an image repeated in Revelation 10:10. And the book of Hebrews also describes tasting the goodness of God (Heb. 6:4–5). Taste indicates an intimate experience beyond the senses of seeing or hearing.

Peter says that we have had that kind of experience with God’s goodness! We can attest, in a deep and powerful way, that His love and salvation transform and sustain us. These first verses of chapter 2 are connected to Peter’s exhortation in the previous chapter about how we relate to God and others. God’s goodness to us should motivate us to reject habits and practices that destroy community. This list—malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander— describes the deadly poison that can infect relationships when we are seeking our own status and advantage (v. 1).

Instead, we should imbibe “pure spiritual milk” (v. 2). The contrast here is between purity and deceit and between nourishment and destruction. We have already tasted God’s goodness, and now we should continue to drink from His wells of truth so that we can thrive in community and grow in grace.

APPLY THE WORD

Sins like envy and deceit can creep into our lives quietly. We resent the gifts or success of others; we try to present ourselves as better than we are. Proper humility is key: we must remember that our salvation depends on God’s goodness to us, not on our own status. Ask God to root out these sins and give you a renewed taste for His good gifts.

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