Satisfaction Guaranteed or Your Money Back
I went to a workshop recently. I filled out a survey at the end of the workshop to give feedback. The survey asked about my level of satisfaction with the workshop. Can one say they were really satisfied with a workshop that was six of the most boring hours I have ever spent in my life?
How would one express satisfaction with a required workshop? What was my level of satisfaction?
The material was helpful. The presentation was painful. What was my level of satisfaction?
It dawned on me that perhaps my friend David was insightful.
He wrote: “We all tend to share in a big, bad personal problem. It’s one that doesn’t get much press or pulpit time. Yet this problem is a huge interrupter of our personal spiritual journey. If you have this problem, you won’t be concerned that you have this problem precisely because you have the problem. The problem is personal spiritual self-satisfaction.
We’re all too satisfied with who we are, where we are, and what we’re doing. We’re satisfied with a little bit of biblical literacy. We’re satisfied with occasional moments of ministry. We’re satisfied with manageable debt that allows us to put a few coins in the plate. We’re satisfied with a bit of a grasp on the theology of Scripture. We’re satisfied with faithful attendance at the weekend services of our churches. We’re satisfied with quick morning devotions. We’re satisfied with a little ministry experience. We’re satisfied that we don’t act out most of our lust and we don’t communicate most of our envy. We’re satisfied that in our disappointment with God, we don’t walk away. We’re satisfied that we can harness a good bit of our fear of man. We’re satisfied to use most of our material resources to make and keep ourselves comfortable. We’re satisfied to be mere consumers of the work of the church ran than committed participants in it. We’re satisfied with hearts that occasionally wander and with thoughts that contradict what the Bible says is good and true. We’re satisfied with the amount of conflict we have in our lives. We’re satisfied.
None of us is yet a grace graduate, but we are satisfied. We give evidence that we still need to grow but we’re satisfied. And because we are satisfied, we are resistant to the grace that is our only hope. Here is what you and I need to remember: we serve a dissatisfied Redeemer. He knows we still need the transforming work of His powerful grace.”
What is YOUR level of satisfaction?