Proverbs 13:4 — Satisfaction

A sluggard’s appetite is never filled,
    but the desires of the diligent are fully satisfied.

Summary: Another proverb with multiple layers of meaning. 

This proverb has a strange appeal for me. Here, Solomon takes two kinds of people and points to an interesting difference between them.

The first kind is the “sluggard.” The sluggard is someone who does little or nothing with their time and energy. They spend their days lazing around, unable to muster the ambition to do the smallest constructive thing. The second kind of person is “diligent.” This person is the opposite of the sluggard. They are always at work doing something constructive. The diligent person does not waste time being lazy. There are too many things to do!

Both kinds of people have appetites. Solomon does not specify what the appetite is for. It could be food, it could be power, it could be other things. It is enough to know that there are things they want. And then, Solomon makes an interesting claim: the appetite of the sluggard is never filled, but the desires of the diligent are fully satisfied.

Hmmm…

What is going on here?

We might conclude that the diligent are satisfied because they work hard and the sluggard is never filled because they never try. There is some truth in this and it makes sense. But is it all there is?

Another way of looking at this proverb is through the lens of the mind. The sluggard sees an infinite number of “wants” in their mind’s eye. They spend their time imagining all the things they could do “if only…” Their wants exceed the ability of all mankind to satisfy them. They excel at wanting that which they cannot have.

The diligent, on the other hand, want what they believe they can achieve with their own hands. They understand the limits of diligence and they calibrate their desires accordingly. Every day the diligent test the limits of what they can do, and every day they stretch those limits a little more. When they achieve a goal, they are satisfied because they know what it cost to get what they want.

Is there a spiritual component to this as well?

Yes, I think a third layer of meaning can be found in the spiritual realm. God’s people are not sluggards. God’s people are like their Maker. We are made in the image of the Master Creator, and so we strive to create, and when we do, we are satisfied.

Once again, Solomon has offered up an intellectual delight that is more than meets the eye. Layer upon layer of delightful insight wrapped up in the pages of a book almost three thousand years old.

Application: Do a self-check: Are you craving something you don’t have or are your desires “fully satisfied?” 

Food for Thought: Is there hope for the sluggard, and if so, what is it?