I believe our culture has a crisis of patience. We have lost all patience. We have no room for it. Our lives are too hectic and too busy for patience. That's why baseball is not as popular as it once was. We like the football teams that run fast-offenses, we like basketball teams that are up-tempo. We want to see the fastest teams in the fastest sports. We nearly throw our phone out the window when it doesn't update our facebook app fast enough. We want speed. We want our food fast because we already going to have to drive fast to get to a quick meeting before we mow through a few reports. We have no patience to wait. I mean, is there anything that drives you more nuts than sitting in traffic or standing in line at Walmart?
Maybe it's because information is so fast now. We don't have to wait for the morning paper. Constant, up-to-date news is at our fingertips. And, we are bombarded in the media by over night successes, which makes us less patient. If he can reach the top of the pop charts at 14, why can't my baby girl? If that coach can win a championship in his second season, why can't my coach? If that guy can drop out and make ba-jillion dollars in one year, why can't I?
If I'm honest, I have not been a very patient person. I'm results oriented, with others and myself. I expect a lot out of myself and others. I'm always pushing and striving for the next step. But I am learning something. God is a slow cooker.
The thing about impatience is that we miss the beauty of the moment. I want to push my children to grow up, learn more, and develop more, but they will never be this age again. Never. I can't wait for my 2-year old to learn to potty. But when he does, he won't be 2 anymore. And there is something very fun about 2-year olds that is pure and innocent and happy. I want our church to make a dramatic impact in the community and for us to see exponential growth. It is growing, but if I always look ahead, I'm going to miss the fact that this is probably the smallest church I will ever pastor. We're only going to get bigger, and I will miss out on the days that I can have a relationship with nearly everyone in the seats on Sunday morning. Impatience makes us miss out on the present.
Impatience is really why do don't choose God's way. Impatience is really rooted in selfishness, which, I believe, is the root of most sins. We are impatient to do romantic relationships God's way because we want sexual satisfaction now. We are impatient to give to our church because we are looking at what it will mean to our current financial decisions rather than seeing the impact of a lifetime of committing to God's mission. We are impatient to quit harmful behaviors now because they are fun or make us feel better, not trusting God's steady plan for the best life we can have. Impatience looks ahead to what's next or what we think we deserve while patience looks at right now and what we've already been blessed with.
It is a hard lesson, but I'm learning patience. Proverbs 19:11 says, "A man's wisdom gives him patience." Wisdom breeds patience. When we're impatient, we're pretty much being stupid. Of course, there ain't no way to get patience than to just live it and wait it all out. There is no quick fix. However, when you rest in it, it's a beautiful thing, and you can enjoy the moment.
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