Proverbs 12:14

Proverbs 12:14 "A man shall be satisfied with good by the fruit of his mouth: and the recompence of a man's hands shall be rendered unto him."

The average person spends most of their life PURSUING SATISFACTION and more specifically, pursuing it through external sources.  We wake up seeking satisfaction and we return to the same bed still craving it.  Most people pursue wealth assuming money is the greatest source of satisfaction.  After all, we assume money can purchase almost all other means to satisfaction.  Thinking food can bring satisfaction, money offers us the means to eat and drink whatever we want.  Thinking comfort satisfies, wealth can buy us beds, chairs, gadgets and amenities.  Assuming looking nice can bring satisfaction, money can buy us clothes, makeup and beauty services.  Believing being healthy can bring satisfaction, money can buy us vitamins, exercise equipment and good medical services.  Even when we assume romance can satisfy, we think money can attract potential companions as well as retain committed companions.  

And yet, rarely do we acknowledge the obvious.  Nothing external really satisfies the soul.  If it did, we wouldn’t want more of what we love.  If money truly satisfied us, we wouldn’t seek a raise.  If food really satisfied us, we wouldn’t want seconds.  If comfort brought genuine satisfaction, we wouldn’t need to sleep in.  If looking good or feeling good brought deep satisfaction, we wouldn’t need to post so many selfies.  If romance deeply satisfied us, we wouldn’t need others to keep telling us or to keep showing us that they love us.  This world is full of shiny faucets that promise a flow of satisfaction but only produce a thirst for more.  Amazon, Walmart, BestBuy, Home Depot and thousands more each offer a faucet of satisfaction that when drank, produce an addictive aftertaste for possessions.  Initially, we love what we purchased but eventually, discontent or regret settles in.  Olive Garden, Texas Roadhouse, Red Lobster, Cheesecake Factory and thousands more each offer an attractive faucet of satisfaction that when drank, produce an addictive aftertaste for food.  Initially, we savor what we ate but eventually, hunger or regret settles in.  Instagram, FaceBook, X and dozens more each offer a shiny faucet of social satisfaction that when consumed, produce an addictive aftertaste for more.  Initially, we enjoy what we posted or viewed but eventually, we crave reading more and we have an urge to post more.

Well before credit card debt, Uber Eats, QVC, Dating Apps and Amazon, Solomon learned that the faucets of this world just don’t satisfy.  In the book of Ecclesiastes, he tells us that he embarked on a journey to discover all that this world had to offer and he concluded this way saying, “I have seen ALL the works that are done under the sun; and, behold, ALL is VANITY and vexation of spirit” (Ecclesiastes 1:14).  Just prior to writing those words, he wrote these words in Ecclesiastes 1:8, “the eye is NOT SATISFIED with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing.”   In Ecclesiastes 5:10, he got very specific when he wrote, “he that loveth silver shall NOT BE SATISFIED with silver; nor he that loveth abundance with increase.” Solomon learned by observation and probably by experience that the spring of satisfaction is not found in some external source or far away destination.  Ultimately, he learned by Divine revelation that true satisfaction springs from within and that it springs only from virtue within the soul.
 
While it is the way of man to look for satisfaction from some external product or from some outside experience, it is the way of God to give us true satisfaction deep within our soul in the form of VIRTUE.  This proverb points to that spring of satisfaction that all are welcome to unleash when virtue is entertained and exercised.  While we hope food and drink will satisfy, God promises that wholesome speech SHALL SATISFY.  While we hope good health and a good marriage will satisfy, God promises that righteous words SHALL SATISFY.  While we assume having a good job or a nice house will satisfy, God promises that wise words SHALL SATISFY.  It’s madness but it’s true that mankind spends years and years seeking satisfaction through external sources when all the while, the true source of satisfaction lies dormant within him because virtue seems so unsatisfying.  When we speak with wisdom, there is a satisfaction that no job, restaurant or app can bring.  While hunger returns, a man can find satisfaction that lasts a lifetime when he takes the time to tell his children something wise.  While romance comes and goes, a woman can find satisfaction that lasts a lifetime when she responds kindly to her husband during a crisis.

We rarely think about how satisfying virtue can be when we embrace it.  When we righteously and sincerely ask for someone’s forgiveness, we never regret it.  That’s satisfaction!  When we lovingly and appropriately tell someone, “I forgive you,” we never regret it.  That’s satisfaction!  When we share the Gospel with someone in a wise and harmless way, we never regret it.  That’s satisfaction!  We so easily say things that we spend the rest of our life regretting and bemoaning but when we say virtuous things, we spend the rest of our life being satisfied by it.  Throughout the book of Proverbs, Solomon emphasized the satisfaction that virtue offers when we give it our tongue.  In Proverbs 15:23, he wrote, “A word spoken in due season, how good is it!”  In Proverbs 25:11, he said, “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver.”  For the virtuous, there is nothing more satisfying than just having a clean, productive, helpful and loving conversation with someone.  For the virtuous, there’s nothing as satisfying as sharing the Gospel with a lost soul or as providing Biblical insight to a confused soul.  For the virtuous, there’s nothing as satisfying as using their mouth to put a smile on a face or to bring some light to the darkness.

The second part of the proverb is intended to communicate the same truth.  When virtue is applied to a man’s hands, he will work for the glory of God and for the good of others.  Such work always pays off as God makes sure of it.  A man or woman who labors in virtue finds satisfaction in their labor grateful for the opportunity and confident that God will bless according to His mercy.  While the average man seeks external sources of satisfaction through products or even through working for money, the virtuous man already enjoys satisfaction while working with his hands.  Virtue helps us put our work in perspective and it helps us see the purpose for our labors.  Virtue reminds us Who we are ultimately working for and it also reminds us that God blesses diligent and considerate work.  Laziness brings no satisfaction – only regret.  No one feels good avoiding work or working poorly.  But when virtue is behind any labor, it brings lasting satisfaction.  Proverbs 13:19 reads, “The desire accomplished is SWEET to the SOUL.”

While the world around us promises satisfaction, the Bible points us to the only source where satisfaction is truly guaranteed – VIRTUE.  Don’t be fooled by the shiny faucets that everyone seems to be drinking from because they just won’t satisfy.  Choose virtue and when you do, a spring a satisfaction will burst open in your soul.  If you don’t believe me, just ask yourself when you’re the most satisfied and when you’re the most dissatisfied.  Surely, you’ll conclude that you’re the most satisfied when you’re virtuous and you’re the least satisfied when you’re not so virtuous.  You feel the best when you’re speaking kindly and working diligently.  You feel the worst when you’re gossiping, slandering, lying and being lazy.  When within you, VIRTUE is the Spring of Satisfaction that never runs dry.