PROVERBS 14:29 - "A patient person shows great understanding, but a quick-tempered one promotes foolishness.”
Le’Veon Bell, an ex-NFL player, was at one point considered one of the leagues best running backs. Although he was fast, strong, and had amazing agility – the skillset that set him apart from others was his ability to be patient. He was well-known to wait patiently for his blockers to do their job which in turn allowed wider running gaps, giving him greater visibility and discernment on the direction he should run as the play developed. Although life is much harder, much longer, and much more complicated than football – I believe Le’Veon’s patience speaks volumes to us in this crazy game call we call life.
In a world full of instant gratification and information, learning to live a little more patiently seems a bit counterintuitive. But if we really study the life of Jesus, one thing you’ll notice time after time is that He was the epitome of patience. He was patient with His disciples; He was patient with His enemies; and He was even patient with His ministry from when He began until He laid down His own life (John 10:17-18). Furthermore, Peter tells us in 2 Peter 3:9 that even in our foolery, God is patient with us as all of His people come into the kingdom of God through faith in Jesus.
Ironically, many of us will ask God for wisdom, but neglect to seek Him for patience as well. With God, this is a both/and not an either/or equation – meaning you can’t have one without the other. As our scripture says, it’s the practicing of patience that paints a picture of your wisdom. To put it another way, exercising the fruit of the Spirit of patience is a visible indicator that we know Jesus, who is our wisdom (1 Corinthians 1:30).
It’s this type of patience that keeps us from sinful actions. It’s this type of patience that helps us to process things through God’s unchanging word opposed to our fragile emotions. It’s this type of patience that allows us to see things for what they truly are.
However, the underlying question here is: Do you possess this type of patience and wisdom? Or do you allow circumstances and emotions to dictate your life? Does your patience with people allow you to overlook a wrong done or do you operate in a childish tit-for-tat mindset?
As the old saying goes “show me your friends and I’ll show you your future.” Well, show me your patience and I’ll know your level of prudence.
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