I find it a dangerous thing to go grocery shopping when I’m hungry. I find myself tempted to buy food that under normal circumstances would not appeal to me at all. I am not alone, according to King Solomon: “One who is full loathes honey, but to one who is hungry everything bitter is sweet” (Proverbs 27:7).

This same principle can be applied to our pursuit of purity. There is a real danger in going through our days spiritually hungry because we have not fed well upon the word of God.

If we are going to make any meaningful attempt at maintaining our purity, it is imperative that we not only read God’s word; we must also cherish it. Solomon—the king of Israel to whom God gave wisdom that surpassed anyone else’s (1 Kings 3:3-14)—uses language that gets at the notion of cherishing God’s word when he tells his son to “keep” his words, to “treasure” them, to keep them “as the apple of [his] eye,” to “bind” them, and to “write” them on his heart.

To relate to God’s word this way requires us to get beyond using the Bible merely as a textbook to study, a book of proof texts for arguments, or a promise book to which we occasionally turn. Cherishing God’s word requires us to seek the perspective of the psalmist who, distancing himself from the proud and the scoffers of his day, says of the man who is walking with God, “His delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night” (Psalm 1:2).

There is a direct correlation between delighting in God’s word—allowing it to control and guide our lives—and maintaining a zeal for purity. If we fail to cherish Scripture, the question is not if we will stumble in the matter of purity but when.

Every one of us can keep our way pure by hiding God’s word in our hearts (Psalm 119:9). Do you have a plan for memorizing Scripture? Let me challenge you to make a commitment to memorize a verse of the Bible, whether it’s every other day, every day, every week, or whatever it might be. Make a plan, and stick with it.

Feast on God’s word and be satisfied. Cherish the Scriptures and be pure.