Never Full!

“Hell and destruction are never full;
so the eyes of man are never satisfied” (Prov 27:20).

Some of you can eat an awful lot of food, which is fine, because you’re growing boys and girls. Your parents may think you never get enough to eat. It may seem that way, but sooner or later, you get full (although it may take several pizzas or burritos). This proverb compares things that are never full. Each part of the proverb personifies an inanimate object: death and our eyes.
The first part of the comparison says that hell and destruction are never full. The grave, or death, never has enough. There is never a time when Death says, “Enough people have died.” People are always dying—it’s one of the certitudes of life. Benjamin Franklin is famous for saying, “In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.” Just as death is never satisfied, so the eyes of man are never satisfied. Man’s desire to have things is never satisfied: he sees something, he wants it, and he tries to get it. When he finally gets it, he makes a disappointing discovery: it doesn’t satisfy. Have you ever been let down after waiting a long time for something? After days or weeks or months of excitement and buildup, finally realizing the goal can’t live up to the anticipation.
What our sinful hearts think will make us happy never satisfies. People suppose that the pleasure of a vacation, alcohol, food, music, or pornography, will make them happy. But as soon as they get back from vacation or sober up, they crave something more. It does not satisfy. Some people think that getting a possession or more money will fulfill them. It does not. Others think that if they can get in the right crowd, with cool friends, or some position of power, that will satisfy. All of these people learn the truth of this proverb the hard way: the eyes of man are never satisfied.