Patience

Posted by joseph

"Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience." Colossians 3:12

No downtime. 24/7 availability. Zero errors. Absolute efficiency. Lightning-speed response time. These are the productivity or efficiency benchmarks of our age. Almost every industry in existence today embraces these slogans.

For example, with the advent of technology like the internet, 3G and WiFi, access to digital data is now possible anytime and anywhere. Videos can be viewed on demand. Retrieving information physically stored halfway across the globe can be done almost instantaneously.

The words “instant,” “on demand” and “immediate” reverberate across many product sales pitches as well. Diet plans which used to take several weeks can now be completed in days, albeit with possible disastrous health effects. Bachelor degrees which previously required between 3 to 4 years can now be obtained in as little as 18 months. Instead of waiting for the approximately 2-minutes for your computer to boot-up, you can now be up and online immediately with your iPad or tablet. Happily slaving away at the stove has been replaced with hurriedly preparing instant-cook ‘TV dinners.’ Owning a Blackberry or smartphone is almost synonymous with making oneself available or online 24 hours a day.

Supposedly, the rationale behind most of these technological breakthroughs is to give people what they need or want as quickly as possible to allow them to accomplish even more with the extra time gained from the improved productivity. “Do more in less time” is our slogan. “On demand” is our method. No waiting. No delays.

“Faster, faster, faster!” says the world. However, “Pant, pant, pant!” seems to be our reply. And as people become more accustomed to getting what they want instantaneously, it seems like they want things done even faster the next time round. And so the cycle continues.

Sadly, one effect of living life at such a breakneck pace is that impatience and burnout have now become normal and pervasive in our society. People have grown averse to waiting, being still, or being patient — be it in queues, customer service, purchases, relationships, and sometimes even life in general.

Yet the very Word of God itself instructs us to exercise patience! Patience… being still… waiting… forbearance… solitude… slowing down… The Bible has an abundance of instructions where patience is used in various meanings and contexts. There, we find that patience is not only limited to being kind enough to wait for one’s turn in the queue, or not getting annoyed with someone who shows up late for an appointment. The Biblical definition of patience is deeper than that. For example, patience is:

· A fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22)

· A characteristic of genuine love (1 Corinthians 13:5)

· Being gracious towards others’ faults and shortcomings (Ephesians 4:2)

· A virtue to be found in God’s chosen people (Colossians 3:12)

· Waiting upon God in the midst of suffering (James 5:7, 10)

From these verses, we learn that patience is a godly response to various trying circumstances, such as:

· Provocation from others, whether intentional or not

· Ill-treatment or suffering at the hands of other people for extended periods of time

· Irritating behavior or habits of colleagues, close friends, family or even church members

· Persevering through adverse circumstances, often beyond our control

· Periods of apparent silence from God where we are called upon to wait, perhaps even for years

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