Whoever is patient has great understanding, but one who is quick-tempered displays folly. Proverbs 14:29
“Be patient,” he said, “and understanding, and you will rule over every evil work and do all that is righteous. For if you are patient, the Holy Spirit that dwells in you will be pure and will not be overshadowed by another, evil spirit; but dwelling in a broad place it will rejoice and be glad with the vessel it inhabits, and it will serve God with great cheerfulness, flourishing in itself. But if any irascibility should enter in, immediately the Holy Spirit, which is sensitive, feels cramped; and not having a pure place it seeks to leave. For it is suffocated by the evil spirit, not having a place to serve the Lord as it wishes, being polluted by the irascibility. For the Lord dwells in patience, but the devil in irascibility.”
The Shepherd of Hermas 33-1-3, Commandment V (c. A.D. 70-140) as reported by Bart Ehrman in Lost Scriptures: Books That Did Not Make It Into The New Testament (New York: Oxford University Press, 2003) 268.
I needed this commandment today. It’s a great reminder of the spiritual and significant impact of patience. The opposite is irascibility. If that word sounds difficult, I admit that I had to look it up too.
Irascibility is that ugly trait we exhibit when we lose our patience. We let our frustration get the best of us, and in so doing, we fail to accomplish the good we aim to do. Notice the impact on our generosity.
If we aim to serve generously, it will put us in contact with immature people who may not listen very well. We get to be patient so that we can guide them rightly in the way they should go.
If we want to give generously, we may hope for or even expect a certain response or rate of growth. We must be patient, realizing how patient God has been with us in our slowness.
Holy Spirit, produce the fruit of patience in our lives. Help us not harbor a spirit of irascibility lest it crowd you out and hinder the good we aim to do. Hear our prayer Father and make it so in the name, Jesus. Amen.