"Man will live by every word that comes forth from the mouth of God" (Mt 4,4 ; Dt 8,3)
It was written about the manna that, if one gathered it in the way God commanded, it was satisfying, but if one wanted to gather it contrary to the manner set by God, it would no longer be life-giving . . . The Word of God is our manna and God's Word, coming to us, brings salvation to some and punishment to others. Hence, it seems to me, the Lord and Savior who is “the living Word of God" (1Pt 1:23) declared: "For judgement I came into this world, that those who do not see may see and those who see should become blind" (Jn 9:39). How much better it would have been for some people not to have heard God's word at all than to hear it with evil dispositions or with hypocrisy!...
It is truly better, more right and perfect, that the hearer of God's word should listen to it with a heart that is good and simple, upright and well-prepared, that it may bear fruit and grow as in good soil. . . I am saying these things as a rebuke to my own self as much as for my hearers. For I too am one of those who listen to the word of God.
St. Clement of Alexandria