If you can’t get no satisfaction…you might be hungry!

Probing Proverbs 10:2-3 Tainted wealth has no lasting value, but right living can save your life. The Lord will not let the godly go hungry, but he refuses to satisfy the craving of the wicked.

The first portion is pretty cut and dry – the issue is the eternal perspective versus the temporal one. Wealth that comes the wrong way has NO eternal value! Sadly, more times than not, it also causes more damage than good even in the temporal sense. 

How many sad stories have we heard of people that have all the money we all “think” we wish we had, yet their life is a disaster or even cut short from self inflicted death…be it drugs, fast cars, or just sloppy living. If we remember that the word “save” in its essence means, “deliver” it will help us with this context. Not every deliverance has to do with eternal destination. Many times the words, “saved” and “salvation” have to do with deliverance from a particular situation, such as Paul praying for salvation from prison. In this case the issue is “life”. When we live “right” it will deliver our life from being something vain and wasted. Whether rich or poor, our life will have purpose and a sense of destiny.

The next phrase is more difficult to understand. Again, too many believers just read passages like this and pass it by because the questions that come are far too uncomfortable for a dwarfed faith. God, however is not afraid of such questions when asked in reverence and with authentic sincerity trying to understand Spiritual principles. 

If fact, He delights in this because He created us to be this way! So let’s take the plunge, and not fear the Truth! For me, this portion of Scripture screams contradiction! I know of godly people that have gone hungry…in fact some have sacrificed their lives to minister to others. The Burnham’s were missionaries in the Philippines when they were kidnapped. If you watched their pictures over that year, it was clear that Martin was not eating in comparison to his wife. They were both godly, but Martin was starving himself driven by his love for his wife. Gracia shares in her book how Martin kept giving much of his food to her. Martin did not die from that, it was a bullet that took him home, but he was hungry. Contrarily, I have seen very evil people seemingly get everything they desire in this life. So how can this Scripture be true? No Scripture is ever shared in a vacuum; there is always context! Part of context is proper defining of issues. We must remember that when Scripture employs a word, it’s meaning comes forth from the immediate context and the context of the entire Scripture. For example, the word “life” in Scripture does not mean mere existence, unless the direct context is using it as a way of saying that someone physically died. In most cases the word “life” carries with it the idea of quality. So in this passage the two key words are “hungry” and “satisfy” and we must consider their meanings from scripture. Jesus made it clear that hunger is not based solely on food:

John 4:31–34  Meanwhile the disciples were urging Him, saying, “Rabbi, eat.”  But He said to them, “I have food to eat that you do not know about.” So the disciples were saying to one another, “No one brought Him anything to eat, did he?” Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to accomplish His work.

Matthew 4:4 But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.’ ”

The word satisfy in Scripture is clearly based on humans having their most felt needs met, not just their surface ones.   

Psalm 65:4 How blessed is the one whom You choose and bring near to You To dwell in Your courts. We will be satisfied with the goodness of Your house, Your holy temple.

Ecclesiastes 1:8 Everything is wearisome beyond description. No matter how much we see, we are never satisfied. No matter how much we hear, we are not content.

Ecclesiastes 5:10 He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves abundance with its income. This too is vanity.

Ecclesiastes 6:7 All a man’s labor is for his mouth and yet the appetite is not satisfied.

Understanding that, this passage not only is true, it makes sense. The “godly” will be filled within the inner man, even if their stomach is not!

Most times God does supply the food needed to His children, but He always fills their heart and life with the joy and peace a relationship with Him brings! Although the wicked may heap material things into their lives, God will never allow them to sense an inner satisfaction. By the way, before you judge God harsh, realize that in reality what He is doing is merciful. A person that is satisfied has no need in life. If God allows the wicked to experience that, they will remain in their lost condition. God loves humans too much to allow them to just “cruise” into hell! He knows that the lack of satisfaction will keep them searching for something more. 

Some will come to the understanding that it is not “something” they are looking for, but “Someone”! God is merciful and gracious.

Matthew 16:26 And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul?

What about you? What brings you inner satisfaction? Are you constantly hungry even though your stomach is full? Spend some time in meditation asking yourself where you are with your Creator…do you understand His love for you? If so, how are you living? If not, are you willing to find out?