No Need to Hurry

Everyone knows that it never pays to be in a hurry. Since you were a child you’ve heard, “Haste makes waste.” You know how feeling rushed leads to careless mistakes: keys dropped, papers torn, fenders dented. You get a little bit behind, start running a little late, and soon you find yourself hurtling headlong, out of control, breathless through the moments of your days.

Saint Jerome is reported to have said, “Haste is of the devil.” Undoubtedly, you have experienced the graceless, chaotic torment that grows in the rush to get more done in less time. Centuries later Carl Jung added his opinion, “Hurry is not of the devil, hurry is the devil.”

Paul tells the church in Corinth, “Love is patient” (1 Corinthians 13:4). Of course, that is not all he says about love; but Paul knows that patience is a vital element in showing others the kind of love God has shown us. Paul reminds the Romans that God has shown patience since the time he entered into a special relationship with Abraham—a patience that has endured one offense after another (Romans 9). Indeed, God’s patience is a revelation of the way God’s justice and his grace work together to teach us about his love.

Let me ask you to imagine what would happen if you began to reflect that kind of patience to those around you. How would it change the nature of your relationship with your children? How would it alter your conversations with your spouse? What about your interactions at work? On the way to work? When you are shopping?

Patience doesn’t give up on getting anything accomplished. It is not fatalism; but it is the willingness to give yourself and others time to grow into the people God longs for them to be. It is a perseverance that works toward seeing God’s will become reality.

I pray that day by day the church may become a community of believers who are committed to showing the combination of mercy and determination through which people may experience the enduring love of God. I hope you’ll take the time to let this characteristic of God’s love grow in your life.

There’s no need to hurry.