Satisfaction

The Rolling Stones immortalized the words, "I can't get no satisfaction" to a generation of boomers. Or perhaps the words of John Mellencamp, "I ain't never satisfied." This dissatisfaction finds it's roots long before that time though. In the Old Testament the LORD brings the people of Israel out of exile in Egypt, rescues them from slavery and death at the hands of pharoah by parting the Red Sea to let them pass. They are a few days in the desert, on their way to the promised land, and they begin to gripe about the situation to Moses. They are not happy with how things are going and kvetch about their circumstances. They want to go back to Egypt and return to their former situation as slaves. There is no popular rush of worship and adoration for this God who has rescued them to remind them of who their god is, no initiative even to make Moses president or prime minister. Only complaint about the unknown journey on which they have been dispatched. The lack of appreciation is duly noted by the LORD who suggests that perhaps an appropriate measure for this lack of gratitude would be annihilation. Moses bargains for the life of his people God relents in part.

 

The sea parts and freedom beckons as the water swirls above them. Fear and awe in equal measure well up in the throats of the people. Behind them Pharoah's army approaches. Their choice is to take the parting sea road or face the army. What would you do? You would run like hell for the parting sea road and not look back, is my guess, and exactly what they did. And as the last one stepped into freedom the sea roared back and the army of Pharoah perished in it. Wonder and awe? Did you see that? What just happened?

At that moment one's mind snaps closed. Who can begin to comprehend this? Some power beyond comprehension has intervened to save me? How can that be? O.K. let's just move on and pretend like this didn't happen. Denial is a river in Egypt! Whatever just happened is better forgotten because whose mind can grasp this reality. It's like superman swoops down and the sea parts and the bad guys die. Come on, we know better than that. Anyway, what kind of freedom is this, we're hungry, tired, thirsty, scared and uncomfortable. Man, Egypt is starting to look better.

Dissatisfaction is familiar. It is easier to grasp than a parting sea, than God, than even superman. Dissatisfaction is the fuel of the world. It drives our search for more, better, bigger. Dissatisfaction puts our fate back into our own hands and negates the possibility of a power beyond us. Dissatisfaction drives us forward. Dissatisfaction takes the place of God.

What a wonderful gift to have those moments of wonder and awe, to unlock a world where not only Santa Claus but an eternal presence visited us. What a wonderful and incomprehensible gift.

Satisfaction. Is it the result of memory or appreciation or is it a gift of knowing that even in the times when everything is going wrong there is the possibility of something more?