Satisfaction

Recently i went on a canoe trip on an Estonian river with 45 kids. I noticed one fellow had quite a bit of artwork tattooed over his body. On his upper chest was tattooed this statement:

'Satisfaction is the death of desire'.


I thought it was an interesting statement, but i started wondering if i agree with it. In many Christian circles, we talk about dying to the flesh, or putting to death our fleshly desires. This tattooed statement at first seemed to prescribe to this thought. But is dying to desire really from where we gain satisfaction?

We can have many desires, some good, some not so good. Desire in itself isn't bad. I suppose it all depends on where the desire come from. God has placed desires in our hearts, good desires and hope. Selfish desires are the ones that never satisfy even if they are fulfilled. But when a good desire, hope or goal is not fulfilled, it can be devastating. Proverbs says 'hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life'.

A tree of life. Hmmm,.. maybe we shouldn't be so quick to kill our desires. If it's a tree, it must have roots, a trunk, branches and leaves. A desire can be good a fruitful if it's rooted in good soil, stands firm in storms and reaches out to give shade and shelter to others. It's leaves are green, and perhaps this tree of desire will give fruit in it's season. We are so fast to cut off the branches, or even cut and kill the tree of desire, thinking it would be pleasing to God, or perhaps as a defensive move to avoid disappointment and brokenness.

With death of desire, one may ultimately not only to the flesh, but to life. For many it become a loss of reason to live.

So it's true, a fulfilled desire does bring satisfaction and life, especially when it's unselfish and a God given desire. But a selfish desire can never satisfy, at least not for long, whether it's fulfilled or not.