What does it take to be satisfied?  Is satisfaction even a good thing? Looking at the church there are three groups of people: 1) the Satisfied, 2) the Dissatisfied, and 3) the Unsatisfied.

Satisfied Christians think of themselves or the church where they worship as already arriving at perfection or at least being good enough.  They feel good about the amount of Bible knowledge they have. The satisfied feel like they know the answers to the most important questions. After all, they are not like other religious or non-religious people who do not know what God really wants, they attend the correct religious groups who long ago returned to what the Bible says.  Satisfied Christians believe their scholars of the past brought us to exactly where we need to be.  The satisfied study the past to confirm their satisfaction not to grow and to mature as Christians.  Satisfied Christians maintain the status quo.

Dissatisfied Christians complain — about everything!  Long sermons, short sermons, loud songs, soft songs, old songs, new songs, overheads, songbooks, and lighting.  They do not like the preacher, the elders, the deacons, or the fact that nobody talks to them.  The are dissatisfied that no one is doing enough for their children or their needs.  Dissatisfied Christians remain focused on themselves to the neglect of study, growth, and consequently, they miss out on the blessings of being part of a community.  They will move on to another congregation or religious group because, as sufferers of “Rolling Stone Syndrome” they “can’t get no satisfaction.”

Then there are Unsatisfied Christians.  I believe this is who we need to be.  We do not need to think that we are already there.  We are not fully Christlike as long as we still struggle in the flesh.  We cannot be satisfied that we are better than some or even most.  We cannot rest on the accomplishments and scholarship of those who went before us, what if they missed something?  When we remain unsatisfied we will do our best, “to present (ourselves) to God as one approved . . .” (2Tim 2:15). Unsatisfied Christians know that much of the world still needs Christ.  Unsatisfied Christians see the physical, emotional, and spiritual needs around them and will as slaves of the King of kings try to alleviate those needs to the best of their ability.  Unsatisfied Christians are tireless workers in the Kingdom of Christ.  The unsatisfied take initiative to fill the needs they see, they are always seeking to make themselves and their Christian family better.  As they do, they continue to make certain they remain faithful to God in all that they do.

I know that Paul speaks of being satisfied – “content”  in Philippians 4, but he speaks of contentment in physical life as he strives to live spiritually.  Just a chapter earlier Paul says he is unsatisfied, “Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. (Php 3:12-14)”

Get Unsatisfied and get busy.

-Scott