Satiated or satisfied?

Two words of the title come from the same Latin root: satis,m enough. In one dictionary the former means "[provided] with more than enough, so as to weary or disgust"; while the latter denotes that we have had our "needs, expectations, wishes, or desires" fulfilled, and that we have been made "free from doubt or anxiety."

So these two terms have veered from their common source. They are now at opposite poles of the moral compass. The difference between them has grown profound. Clearly, only one of the two states these terms represents can be considered good.

To have our needs met, our fear assuaged, to be loved, is true satisfaction, and is good. But who hasn't felt, vicariously or otherwise, the emptiness of cloying satiety, the result of seeking gratification in mere eating, drinking, sexual stimulation, grabbing for power? Where is more reliable satisfaction to be found? Is there a good thing somewhere of which it is impossible to get too much?

"I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness," n1 the Psalmist said to God. God, being omnipotent Spirit, is at once the source of right desire and the fulfiller of it. The Bible has many spiritual promises such as the following: "Thou openest thine hand, and satisfiest the desire of every living thing." n2

n1 Psalms 17:15;

n2 145:16;

The way to more consistent satisfaction lies in our coming to know God better. That word "awake" in the first Bible verse above gives the key. Our deep need is to awake to our real status as sons and daughters of Truth, God. We are His spiritual ideas, complete now; the whole, harmonious images of His Love, eternally satisfied. God is infinite good, so His offspring, man, reflects infinite fulfillment. Since the wisdom of the Father is perfect, his abudance never cloys, but is perfectly, eternally matched to need.

Basically, Christian healing is accomplished by a recognition of -- an awakening to -- man's eternal completeness, his satisfaction. That pure ideal of man is shown in Christ Jesus' works of healing.

Jesus' healing vision is explained in Christian Science. The deepest yearning of mankind, this Science explains, is for a fuller understanding of God and the real man. Writes Mary Baker Eddy: n3 "A mortal, corporeal, or infinite conception of God cannot embrace the glories of limitless, incorporeal Life and Love. Hence the unsatisfied human craving for something better, higher, holier, than is afforded by a material belief in a physical God and man."n4

n3 Mrs. Eddy is the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science;

n4 Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures,m p. 258;

The understanding that God is the source of all true satisfaction begins loosening the foundation of false sensual beliefs, such as smoking, alcoholism, drug addiction, and adultery. An insatiable mortal is a crude effigy, counterfeiting our real being. Claiming our eternal freedom from dissatisfaction of any kind purifies our desires, and we begin to eliminate lack in our lives -- whether lack of self-control, of money, of right companionship, or of health. And as we yield to the power of divine Love, our character is regenerated, and we reflect more kindness and peace. We find true satisfaction. Mrs. Eddy states, "All men shall be satisfied when they 'awake in His likeness,' and they never should be until then.' n5

n5 Miscellaneous Writings,m p. 358.

In doing a bit of dictionary research for this article, I discovered an interesting sidelight. The root of satism also yields the word sadm . Isn't that the emotion we must ultimately encounter when laboring under the unillumined belief that we're mortals who require more matter to be satisfied? But even this gloom is readily pierced by the sunlight of the truths of God and man. Accepting the scientific truth of our spiritual satisfaction is the way to heal the sadness and throw off the chains of any material dependency. DAILY BIBLE VERSE Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labour for that which satisfieth not? hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good. Isaiah 55:1,2