It was back in 1872 when the poet Violet Fane wrote in her poems book From Dawn to Noon, “All things come to those who wait.” That kind of thinking is not going to fly in our world today. We live in a hurry up, fast paced society which is not how it used to be. Many of you can remember time before the microwave. Remember back to January 1952 and Swanson’s “fast time saving TV dinners”. First you removed them from the freezer to thaw (20 Minutes). Then it took 10 minutes to preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Then cook the fast TV dinners for 25 minutes. Total time around 55 minutes. Today many microwave frozen dinners are from freezer to table in 8-12 minutes. People today thrive on instant gratification we have learned to be impatient—we just don’t like to wait for things. Whether it’s a video that just won’t buffer, we lose our patience when we aren’t granted the instant gratification we desire. We can’t live without our Keurig instant coffee, our high-speed internet, and cell phones.
Faster and faster computers—no matter the cost—instant banking–and of course fast food. The millennial generation especially struggles with this, because they have grown up in a world filled with technology that caters to and sustains that desire. All these technological advances have robbed many of us of our patience—and literally decreased our ability to withstand waiting. Sometimes, it feels torturous having our patience tested, having to wait in line at the grocery store. We expect, no we demand immediacy because we are used to it—we’ve been conditioned.
In this 5th chapter of James, he turns to the issue of patience—with the idea that we are serving God—the journey may be long—but we are to establish ourselves—preparing ourselves for the journey. Understanding that James is not talking about controlling yourself at the grocery store when the line is long—or behind the wheel when the car in front of you is driving slower than you want to go. Rather James is looking at the Christian’s ability to endure suffering—and the afflictions and the difficulties of life. It was in chapter one where James wrote, “count it all joy when you fall into various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces [a]patience” (vs.2-3), and I believe that he is connecting to that with these final thoughts.