Instant Gratification

We live in a world where time is in short supply. People need instant delivery to their wants and desires. Fast food, instant shopping, instant messaging, instant food, everything needs to be off the shelf and quick. Slow cookers are special and even hone cooked food is a luxury! 

LIFE is short on time and short on patience.

The fourth fruit of the Spirit listed in Galatians 5:22 is translated as “longsuffering,” or in modern vernacular, “patience.” This concept has become completely foreign to our modern culture. But is it part of our Christian ethos? We are not saying we should not use "instant services". What we are saying is that we should not let it become our character. Why? For an answer we will draw from a spiritual website named Life, Hope and Truth where a writer named Tom shares his thoughts. He says -

"Patience is a part of God’s nature and character, and something He wants us to be developing as well....

David wrote about the need to “wait on the LORD” numerous times in the Psalms.

It seems he saw that need in himself, because God doesn’t always work as quickly as he (or we) would like! It often requires patience to wait until we see what He is going to do!

Are you and I patient enough? Probably not—so how can we learn to grow in patience? Here are a few thoughts:

1. Seek to have more empathy.

When we become impatient with people, it can be helpful to try to put ourselves in their shoes. The ability to think outside of ourselves and our immediate needs or wants—to consider what the people around us are facing—is important.

It helps us understand them a little better, and perhaps give them the benefit of the doubt. It helps us be a bit more patient with them.

2. Consider God’s level of patience with us.

This is kind of scary to consider, but how patient has God been with you and me?

How many times have we failed to grow, learn and overcome as we should have?

How many times have we come to Him asking for repentance and forgiveness—and He has willingly, lovingly and patiently granted our requests?

3. Look for the lessons in trials.

Remembering that God is always in charge, and there is always something to learn from our trials makes them easier to deal with. And it helps us grow in patience".

Joyce Meyer, a Christian author and speaker writes -

“Patience is not simply the ability to wait—it’s how we behave while we’re waiting.”

The Stanford marshmallow experiment was a study on delayed gratification in 1972 led by psychologist Walter Mischel, a professor at Stanford University In this study, a child was offered a choice between one small but immediate reward, or two small rewards if they waited for a period of time. During this time, the researcher left the child in a room with a single marshmallow for about 15 minutes and then returned. If they did not eat the marshmallow, the reward was either another marshmallow or pretzel stick, depending on the child's preference. In follow-up studies, the researchers found that children who were able to wait longer for the preferred rewards tended to have better life outcomes.