The Pitfalls of Impatience

The end of a matter is better than its beginning, and patience is better than pride. Do not be quickly provoked in your spirit, for anger resides in the lap of fools.

-Ecclesiastes 7: 8-9

The books of the Hebrew Bible known as Wisdom literature provide guidance on how to live well. They caution us many times about the importance of patience. Often they do this by warning about the pitfalls of impatience. Here, the author of Ecclesiastes cautions us that impatience is linked to pride and a quickness to anger that leads us to behave like fools.

Harsh words! But they remind us that Impatience isn’t harmless, as we might be tempted to tell ourselves. It rarely remains an internal emotional state. It often causes us to be unkind to others who seem in the way of what we need to get done. We may end up behaving rudely or saying something we regret.

So why do we get impatient? I think the tyranny of time in our culture is often at the root. We feel driven to be efficient and accomplish our list of tasks. God help us if anyone gets in the way! As I reflected on this, it struck me that impatience may be rooted in fear or anxiety. What will happen if I don’t get these things done? What will people think of me if I don’t perform? What will I think of myself?

Maybe the path to greater patience is not simply holding our breath and counting to 3 or 10--though I think that would help a lot of us--but more reflection on our anxieties and the stories we tell ourselves. Are there areas where you need to explore the anxiety that causes you to be impatient? How realistic are these fears? What might help you let go and know that God sees you and knows you--even the impatient, sometimes foolish you--and loves you.

-David Neumann