Perception #40

"WHY WAIT?"

by Norman Bales

Near the escalator a local department store posted the following sign:

WHY WAIT
ENJOY IT NOW
GIVE YOURSELF CREDIT

I can think of no indicator, which more accurately gauges the mentality of modern society than that little sign. We live in a day of "instant" everything. A quick check of our pantry at home indicates that we have, among other things, instant breakfast, instant oatmeal, instant mashed potatoes and quick Cream O'Wheat.

I'm not planning to remove pre-cooked foods from our pantry and I'm not trying to say that you ought to cut up your department store credit cards. I am concerned, however, when we want instant solutions to everything. If we have a problem in the home we expect the Lord to clear it up immediately even if the problem has been building up over a period of years. If we are sick, we want instant relief from pain. We expect someone to give us a crash course that will make us instant soul winners. We bring in a fireball to speak on the bus ministry and expect it to double in size in two weeks. We feel frustrated if the church doesn't double in membership in a year. Some of us carry great burdens of guilt if we don't make all these things happen and make them happen now.

If we listen to God, we will often hear Him say, "Wait!" "Wait on the Lord; be of good courage and He shall strengthen thee, wait I say on the Lord" (Psalm 27:14).

Moses had an instant solution to the Egyptian slavery problem when he was forty years old. He doubled up his fist and killed one of the slave drivers. But God couldn't use an impetuous man like that to free his people. He required him to wait another forty years when he would learn to depend on the Lord. The media manipulators from Madison Avenue may be saturating you with "now" but if you listen to God, you'll learn that sometimes He says "Wait."

Norman's e-mail address is: nlbales@allaboutfamilies.org

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