Love is Patient
Proverbs 14:29 and more. Patience IS a virtue. Why is it so hard for many of us to turn from hair-trigger anger to a loving, patient heart?
If there is anything I’ve learned during my month-long examination of the Seven Deadly Sins and the Seven Capital Virtues, it’s that I’m personally still a “work in progress”. Sure, I’ve managed to exorcise many of my personal demons in a number of areas, but there are still places where I have plenty of room for improvement.
One of those areas? Patience. Looking at our list of sins, the “opposing force” for patience is wrath. Yeah, one minute I can be full of love for everyone, enjoying God’s creation, and really feeling the Holy Spirit working in my heart… and then someone nearly smashes into my car and I get a little bit of the devil in me. 😈
Patience comes from the Latin patientia, as opposed to wrath (“ira”) from which we get the word “irate”. Patience is one of the Fruits of the Spirit listed in Galatians 5:22, and the virtue is scattered throughout the Old Testament:
“He who is slow to anger has great understanding, But he who is quick-tempered exalts folly.”
Proverbs 14:29 NASB1995
“A man’s discretion makes him slow to anger, And it is his glory to overlook a transgression.”
Proverbs 19:11 NASB1995
“The end of a matter is better than its beginning; Patience of spirit is better than haughtiness of spirit.”
Ecclesiastes 7:8 NASB1995
and in the New Testament:
“with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love,”
Ephesians 4:2 NASB1995
“This you know, my beloved brethren. But everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger;”
James 1:19 NASB1995
“Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant,”
1 Corinthians 13:4 NASB1995
and even in modern Christian commentary:
“Patience is not the ability to wait. Patience is to be calm no matter what happens, constantly take action to turn it to positive growth opportunities and have faith to believe that it will all work out in the end while you are waiting.”
Roy T. Bennett
Why is so hard for most of us humans (or maybe it’s just me…) to be patient and tolerant all the time? Satan does his best to find opportunities in those moments of stress to get us to hate each other. Cultivating the selfless, gentle, and all-encompassing love that Jesus shows is hard! Even our Savior showed a limit to his patience in Matthew 21:12-13 when he drove out those who bought and sold animals for sacrifice in the temple, or changed money from hard currency to the common coin used for a temple offering.
Jesus showed righteous anger to those who were desecrating the temple’s outer courts (the only place where Gentiles could gather) by using it as a place of commerce, as no prayer could take place with all of the commotion of buying and selling, wheeling and dealing. His message was and is for all nations, and the Gentiles were being specifically left out of seeking God.
Once Jesus cleaned out the “den of thieves”, He got back to the work of healing the blind and the lame, which demonstrated God’s power in terms of mercy and compassion to not only the Gentiles, but to the Jews of Jerusalem as well.
Being human, we are fallible and will get angry at those who endanger our lives or show a lack of love and compassion. Like Christ, we need to let go of the anger as quickly as possible and get back to the core value of showing God’s compassion and mercy to everyone. One way to do this to pray daily for God to mold us into the likeness of Jesus.
Heaven On Wheels Daily Prayer:
Lord, I often become oblivious to the world around me, focused on getting things done that benefit me while ignoring how the world is treating everyone else. That oblivion distracts me, keeps me self-centered, and sometimes makes me lose my patience with the rest of humanity. When I get caught up in myself, remind me that I need my family and friends, and they need me. Instead of showing anger and impatience, help me to demonstrate the love of Jesus to everyone. AMEN.
A message I need reminded of often!