Satisfaction
What would it take to satisfy you? More money? A better job? More leisure time? A happier family? Freedom to choose? Most of us can think of at least one thing. I suppose some of us can think of several things. Today we're going to take a serious look at satisfaction and how to find it.
If you were to look in a dictionary, and even in your own normal use of the word, you'd find satisfaction is connected with the ideas of fulfilment, gratification, debts settled, accounts squared, duties discharged, a sense of rest and contentment. God designed us to long for this condition and because it was God's idea, true satisfaction can only be found in the way of life He designed for us to have – in holiness.
Now let me introduce the impostor. There is something that masquerades as satisfaction. It looks like satisfaction, it is sold as satisfaction, we often accept it as satisfaction, but it is a fake. It is PLEASURE. Pleasure is connected with enjoyable sensations and emotions, delights, gratification, amusement, and indulgence. In some ways, pleasure is quite similar to satisfaction, but no matter how pleasant pleasure is, it isn't satisfaction.
We know that there is a difference because those who have made it their business to fill their lives with pleasures, in honest moments, will tell you they are not satisfied. Solomon, a Hebrew king who lived and reigned about 3,000 years ago, gave eloquent witness to this in the book of Ecclesiastes. Listen to what he wrote:
|
I made my works great, I built myself
houses, and planted myself vineyards. I made myself gardens and
orchards, and I planted all kinds of fruit trees in them. I made myself
water pools from which to water the growing trees of the grove. I
acquired male and female servants, and had servants born in my house.
Yes, I had greater possessions of herds and flocks than all who were in
Jerusalem before me. |
This man was truly unique. In terms of intellect, he was the top of the heap. In terms of wealth, he had the most ever. In terms of entertainment, he had his own in-house nightclub show – comedians and musicians. In terms of leisure, he had enough servants to do everything that might be considered work. In terms of possessions, he had the biggest and best herds, orchards, gardens and vineyards. In terms of fame, he was the greatest celebrity of his time. In terms of mood-enhancing substances, he gratified his flesh with wine. In terms of sex, he could have a different partner every day for about three years before repeating. In terms of indulgence, whatever he saw that he wanted, he got. He did not restrain himself from any pleasure at all that he could imagine.
Amazing that one man could be an example in all of these areas: intellect, wealth, entertainment, leisure, possessions, fame, drugs, sex, and indulgence in general. Most of us would think that we would be satisfied with sufficient (if not excess) in just one or two of these areas. To find Solomon's own assessment of all of this pleasure we'll read on:
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Then I looked on all the works that my hands had done And on the labour in which I had toiled; And indeed all was vanity and grasping for the wind. There was no profit under the sun. [Ecclesiastes 2:11] |
But all around us, we are confronted with the message that if you could just have enough pleasure you would be satisfied. All you need is enough beer, enough money, enough cars, enough houses, enough sex, enough health, enough education, enough leisure time, enough activity, enough rest, enough respect and renown.
Pleasure cannot be the road to satisfaction because pleasure stimulates desire rather than giving fulfilment. In fact, many things that are promoted as pleasures are addictive. There are all kinds of people who started to smoke, use drugs, engage in sex outside of marriage, pursue personal financial freedom, and amusements of every kind, who now can't enjoy those very things because they are enslaved by them. The drive to have them has taken over their lives to such an extent that they are now needs to meet instead of pleasures to enjoy. You may, of course, fatigue yourself with pleasurable sensations or pursuits, but don't confuse that with satisfaction. Solomon proves that one can totally devote his life to the pursuit of pleasure and still come up short – be dissatisfied. God does have a way for us to find satisfaction. He calls us to holiness! Maybe that doesn't sound very "pleasant." But remember, we just spent several minutes coming to the understanding that pleasure does not satisfy. Given this fact we should be prepared to look elsewhere. The satisfaction that God offers is not dependant on pleasure.
We can ...
- live in a happy family or have no family at all,
- have a good job or an unpleasant one,
- be well- or poorly-educated,
- be rich or poor,
- be ill or well,
...and still have the deep inner satisfaction which we all long for.
Holiness is not about our circumstances. It is about our response to our circumstances. This is true for God as well – the sin, and selfishness, and pleasure-seeking of humanity does not affect God's holiness. He responds righteously - and with grace - at all times. Now for most of us, the concern is HOW.
How do we get this all in place in our lives. We recognize the futility of the way we have been living. We're victims of the philosophical snake-oil salesmen. We've bought a spiritual system that doesn't work and can't work. But HOW do we change that? HOW do we get on board with God? HOW can sinful, selfish, pleasure-driven creatures like us be holy?
I don't want to sound simplistic, but it is fairly simple. It goes like this.
- We need to be willing to admit that our lives are not working. Let's face it, if I buy a lawn mower with no blade, it doesn't matter how hard and long I push the thing over the grass, it's not going to do the job. We need to confess that our philosophical assumptions about what will really satisfy us are just plain useless. It doesn't matter how sincere we are or how hard we work, we will never find the satisfaction we're looking for.
- We need to understand that God's standard of holiness is impossibly high. Most of us sense this intuitively. The very word scares most of us from even trying and that's good. What do you do when you can't do something on your own? You call for help. Recognizing what God expects of you should make you want to do that. You are called to holiness and you're never going to be able to pull it off.
- We need to call on the Lord Jesus Christ for that help we need. Why? Because He is the only One who has ever truly satisfied God's standard of holiness. He is God and so is able to do that, but He is also man and so could stand in for us to take the punishment of our sin. He actually died a horrible physical death in our place, but that's not all. He also gives us His righteousness. He takes over our bankrupt spiritual account and then gives us his PIN number – full access to his account of righteousness.
- We need to make a decision. This is a matter of the will. Sentimental feelings are as unhelpful as steely-eyed intellect. We have to decide to abandon the way we have been living to pursue the way God wants us to live. Will we have to get a new job, new house, new family, new everything to do that? No. This decision is about our responses to our circumstances, not to the circumstances themselves. They may change, but they may not.
- We need to understand what has just happened. If you have done those things as I walked you through them, you need to know that now you are what the Bible calls a saint. As a believer something has changed inside you that you may not even be aware of yet. God has given you his Spirit. He is the key to your ability to successfully follow God's way of holiness. As you become more and more intimate with God's Spirit, He will show you the way. He will show you the attitudes, the actions, the words, even the thoughts that will promote holiness in your life and bring that deep satisfaction that you're looking for.
You'll also find a strange new connection with others who have already started on this way. The Bible calls it fellowship. Even people you don't know very well will start to seem like family. God will use them in your life as well to point you along the way.
One last thing to mention, the Bible will start to make sense to you. It won't happen overnight, but little by little the lights will come on. Things that you thought were hard or unbelievable will start to become significant, not just as ideas, but as motivators in your life.
It is very easy to become entangled with the pursuit of pleasure and lose the satisfaction God intends for you to enjoy. If you're fed up with the shallow pleasures that promise so much and deliver so little. Take God at his word. Confess your disillusion and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ today.
Ron Hughes
© February 2003
