Many times, patience gets kind of a bad rep. People will say things like, "Don't pray for patience. God will just give you things to be patient about!" I'm not sure how I feel about that theologically. Scripture tells us that God is the giver of all good gifts (James 1:17). Not only that, we are assured that God is cannot be tempted and does not tempt anyone (James 1:13). Why would God give you things to make you suffer when you are asking for God's help? It really doesn't fit? No, when you ask for help, God provides help (Matthew 7:11, Luke 11:13).
Sometimes we struggle because we apply the wrong tool for the job, though. Sometimes we patiently wait for repayment when we are not going to get paid back - at least not in this life. Let me explain.
Whenever someone sins against us, they go into our debt. Let's say someone steals your Bible. What happens is that the thief sins. (Stealing is on the top ten list.) When he sins, he goes into your debt. He owes you your Bible back. The only way to relieve the pain of the burden, it seems, is to get your Bible back. Otherwise, we reason, I just have to be patient.
Someone sinning against you, however, is not an opportunity to be patient. That's like trying to use a fork lift when you were supposed to use the dumpster. A fork lift helps you carry a heavier burden. So, we pile one offense after another on the pallet and carry it around with our fork lift. When someone sins against you, however, God offers to take the burden from you. God's answer to the burden of sin is that you forgive the sinner. You stop expecting repayment for the debt. You had the I.O.U. over to Jesus. You let God take care of it - even if it will take until the next life before you see repayment. Then the burden is lifted and you stop feeling pain over that offense. As long as you hold on to the I.O.U., however, it will hurt. That's because you are fighting God.
Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, "Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?" Jesus answered, "I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times. "Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand bags of gold was brought to him. Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt. "At this the servant fell on his knees before him. 'Be patient with me,' he begged, 'and I will pay back everything.' The servant's master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go. "But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred silver coins. He grabbed him and began to choke him. 'Pay back what you owe me!' he demanded. "His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, 'Be patient with me, and I will pay it back.' "But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. When the other servants saw what had happened, they were outraged and went and told their master everything that had happened. "Then the master called the servant in. 'You wicked servant,' he said, 'I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. Shouldn't you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?' In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed. "This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart." (Matthew 18:21-35 NIV)
How about you? Have you ever used the wrong tool for the job? Have you ever tried to be patient when you should have tried forgiveness? Are you willing to trust God to get repayment for those debts against you?
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