When To be Patient!

A lot of your life you spend waiting. As a little kid, I waited all my life to start school, then I couldn't wait until I got out of school, then I couldn't wait to fall in love, then I couldn't wait to get married, then I couldn't wait to have kids, ... we spend a lot of our lives waiting. There are many things in life that test our patience: freeways, supermarket lines, doctor's offices, irritating people. We hate to wait. We are the Now Generation.

I am a very patient except when I'm hungry. Then I lose my character. Have you noticed that the more expensive the restaurant the longer you wait? There are actually five different waits when you go to a restaurant. You wait to get a seat, then you wait to get the menu, then you wait to order, then you wait to get the food back, then you wait for the bill. And they have the audacity to call that guy the waiter!

We're going to look at “When to be Patient.” You need patience in every area of your life.

WHEN SHOULD I BE PATIENT?
There are three special times when you need patience:

1. When circumstances are uncontrollable

Have you figured out that a lot of life is beyond your control? You cannot keep your thumb on everything. Don't go into farming unless you've got patience. Part of the
job description of being a farmer is you do a lot of waiting: waiting to till, waiting to plant, waiting to prune... there are a lot of factors in waiting. Yet more than the factors of waiting on things to do are the factors that the farmer has no control over -- weather, rain, heat, the economy, labor practices... If you have a lot of faith you can be a farmer but if you don't have a lot of faith don't be a farmer, because it takes patience. You deal with a lot of uncontrollable factors -- circumstances -- in life.
Have you noticed that even when we realize a situation is beyond our control, we still try to control it? How do we do that? By worrying. We think (maybe subconsciously) that worry will control a situation. To worry about something you can change is foolish , to worry about something you can't change is useless. Either way you shouldn't worry. We need to have patience in uncontrollable circumstances.


2. When people are unchangeable

When people won't change. When they won't make a difference. Have you noticed that people resist change? When you make any little tiny suggestion, they resist you!
Do you have anybody in your life right now who refuses to change? Do you know how difficult it is to live with that kind of person? We need patience with people. Joyce Lander calls these \"irregular people\" -- they are people who only see their own way. They may never change. What are you going to do about it? Have patience.
The word \"patience\" in the Greek is the word \"macrothumos\" -- \"macro\" meaning \"long\" and \"thumos\" (from which we get the word \"thermometer\") meaning \"heat\". It literally means \"it takes a long time for you to get hot\". You've got a long fuse, you don't blow up, you don't get overheated with people. If you're going to be a success with people, you have to learn patience. If you're going to be successful parents, you have to have a long fuse. You don't get overheated.

3. When problems are unexplainable

The classic example is in verse 11 of Job in the Bible, \"You have heard of Job's perseverance ...\" Job played in the Super Bowl of suffering. He won the championship. He was the wealthiest man that ever lived. He had everything going for him. In a two-day period, everything fell part. He went bankrupt, his children were murdered, he got an incurable, deadly disease that was very painful. You think you've got problems, had a rough day! He lost his family, his friends, his finances. He was suffering materially, physically, socially -- every kind of way. One day his wife comes to him and says, \"Curse God and die!\" Now that's a support system! God allowed the devil to take away everything in his life except a nagging wife. The worst part of Job's suffering was that he had absolutely no idea why it was happening. For 37 chapters in the book of Job, God doesn't even talk to him and tell him why it's happening. There was no apparent reason for his misfortune. Of all people, Job had the privilege to say, \"Why me?\"
Life is not fair! That is true. No one ever said it would be fair. A lot of things in life just don't make sense. Maybe we'll never understand. Job didn't understand. In all of those unexplained problems, Job maintained his faith. Sometimes we just can't figure out our problems. When circumstances are uncontrollable, when people are unchangeable, and when problems are unexplainable you really need patience.

In today's fast-paced culture, can patience really still be something good? Modern times provides us with high speed Internet, the instant gratification of emails and the convenience of even shopping online. But these modern conveniences and the lifestyles have their price. The more we pack into our lives, the more we seem to be loosing patience in the process. Time has become so compact that we can feel every single second which ticks by. We`ve come to a point where at fitness centres you can surf on the net and pedal at the same time etc. Where technology was initialy ment as a time saver it has become a commodity or addiction encouraging the need for more. And where there is no time, there is no time to reflect or communicate with others. It is difficult to appreciate life when your mind is racing miles and years ahead. The experiences we make cannot have any connection with the inner emotional world, this makes any quality, lasting memories difficult and ultimately encourages Demenz. A typical symptom of demenz is anxiety and frustration. Although or great great grandparent had to work har and long they did not need regular holidays like we do today in order to recover from a stress filled and compact timetable.

Patience is a word which calls each one of us to calm down, wait before taking action and accept things which cannot be changed.
It is not some abstract ideal but a chance for each of to experience happiness on a long term basis. With patience we make more room to be free and make choices. We can become more sovereign and not loose control over what we do and what happens as a result. It is a necessary pre-requisit to become emotional and spiritualy mature. It is a pre-requisit to become a Jedi. It shifts our view into the future and makes us aware of what is actually going on at the moment.

Our multi-task and control culture sees patience, in its generosity of time, as being a waste of time. Patience cannot be confused however with the fear, innactivity or lack of disciplne as found in the docile. Patience is very much active. In its steadfastness lies its ability to feel compassion and tame anger. What we really value in life we take more time for and we become more effective in. A message for all bussinesses of the world. Quality time for quality work! Breathe when you breathe, \"look at the small print\" in life, appreciate the changes of the seasons, eat when it is dinner time... .

I couldn't agree more with Jon, especially on the part about the fitness/ineternet access on some bikes.

As society becomes more fast paced, because of all the demands on our time, patience has become something of a lost art-form. Probably something you will see them teaching at the Junior College sometime in the near future, along with the Rennaisance Period, and other things we think we don't need to experience anymore. Anyhow, all these demands that have placed on our lives, are put there by one person, and one person alone, ourselves. We rush, and hurry, and we go this way and that, and for what? All to pay homage to the Almighty.......Dollar that is!

We haven't taken time for ourselves or our families in who knows how long, so we forget how to go to the park, and feed the ducks, or watch the kids play on the playground.

I believe that it is most assuredly something that we need to work on, the patience thing, because with paitence comes stronger bonds in the long run, in family, and business matters of all types.

I agree Bishop Tom! Those three instances are times when it is most wise and practical to be patient!

Well, Masters Whiteman, Finch, and Shaun have pretty much said it all in three very outstanding post. Nothing I can really add, lol. Very informative and well thought out. Should be recommended reading for all Jedi as we too often forget.

Ohhh thanks.....I'm still waiting to have kids by the way...so don't get any ideas Bishop Serric! And Getting married....thats in a coupple months....so I'm really getting very excited!

Another great topic to resurrect! read and digest