got fruit? got patience?
August 1, 2021
Did you hear the story of the lonely man who thought life would be less lonely if he bought a pet? He went to the pet store in search of an unusual pet and decided upon a centipede. When he brought the centipede home, in his little white box which served as a house, the owner asked the centipede, “Would you like to go out and have dinner with me?” There was no answer from the pet, so a few minutes later the owner asked again, “How about going out to dinner with me?” Still no answer. After a few more minutes, the owner decided to ask one more time, “Hey, in there! Would you like to go with me to have dinner?” Finally, the little centipede’s voice came of the box and said, “Patience, man! I heard you the first time. I’m putting on my shoes!”
“Patience, man!” This phrase is synonymous with saying, “Wait!”, and it is a phrase that I have not always enjoyed hearing. Waiting is not my strong suit. Waiting in traffic, waiting in long lines of any kind, waiting at a doctor’s office, waiting to receive my tax return, uncovers my impatience.
Patience is a challenging virtue, especially when it involves waiting, and many of us struggle with it. I was reminded of the importance of patient waiting while watching Jeopardy lately, as the search for Alex Trebek’s successor is ongoing. During many episodes of the show, I noticed several contestants who lacked patience. In order to be able to answer a question in the show, contestants have to patiently wait for the host to finish asking the question before the contestant can push their button to answer. If they impatiently push the button, before the host is finished speaking, they are briefly locked out from answering. This can be a costly setback in the contest to win.
This lockout reminds me of Proverbs 18: 13:
“If one gives an answer before he hears, it is his folly and shame.”
When we are engaged in a conversation with someone else, it can be costly to be too quick to speak. According to this proverb, answering someone, before they have finished speaking, can create a folly (lack of good sense) and shame (a painful feeling of humiliation). This can be a costly setback in the attempt to connect with another person.
“Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience,”
Colossians 3: 12
So how are you doing? got fruit? got patience?