“I can’t get no satisfaction”

Mick Jagger said it well. It’s the anthem of mankind. Why is it so? One reason that comes to mind is unmet expectations. We expect certain things and when they don’t come about, we are left dissatisfied. Last week we considered the “Manifold wisdom of God.” We found that Proverbs 10-29 covered all kinds of topics; finances, relationships, career, happiness, emotions, parenting, women, and the list goes on.  

A genius of the Word of God is that it brings up all these real-life topics. If we invested ourselves in reading it and meditating with our friends we would have thought through and talked through the stuff that is most important to us.

I think that often the reason we experience unmet expectations is that they have not been stated or carefully examined. We sometimes just assume certain behaviors of others. We assume they will meet our expectations. And often they don’t have that outcome in mind at all. If we had read God’s Word on the topic and talked about it with Him and others, then we would be prepared to make our expectations known. Further, when we have gained God’s wisdom we might learn that our expectations are out of line and then tweak them accordingly.

I am constantly amazed at men that expect certain things from their wives, which are unbiblical as well as uncommunicated. I am amazed at women that idolize things other than Jesus and put ridiculous pressure on their husbands. By the way, I also amaze myself with my own misguided thoughts and actions.

We've got thousands of years of tried and true wisdom from God, communicated by his wise people. Let’s take it seriously and put it to work. Let’s read and meditate, discuss and wrestle with the real stuff of life.

Enjoy!

---