Squabbles over gender equality and gender superiority are nothing new. I learned as a child a little rhyme, "Patience is a virtue, possess it if you can: Often in a woman, but never in a man!" Depending who used it and their strength of feeling, those adverbs 'often' and 'never' could be exchanged for 'seldom' and 'always' to reverse the meaning completely. My cousin and I would argue to and fro about this, until our attention was diverted by one wise mother or the other. As an adult, I don't believe patience is gender-specific, but it is one of the facets of the 'fruit of the Spirit' that Paul lists in Galatians 5:22 (sometimes disguised as 'long-suffering' or 'forbearance').
Although it's elusive, patience is essential in many areas of life. I understand, for example, that the early opening of the oven door to see whether the cake is cooked can lead to its ruin and, in carpentry, cutting the wood without careful measurement and marking is equally disastrous. I once had a friend whose decorating skills were in great demand; he always said that a good job was 90% preparation and 10% application.
The same is true in politics, it seems. One of our leaders has repeatedly stated his aim to 'get Brexit done' so that attention can be focused on matters that are vital to our nation's livelihood. Many sources agree, however, that parliamentary approval of a deal will be not the end, but the beginning of several more years of negotiation to secure trade deals to replace those we will abandon.
When encouraging me to be patient, my father used to say that on his school exercise books was written, "If a job is worth doing, it's worth doing well." Another of our leaders seems to have used the same books. He advocates (another) re-negotiation. When asked for his personal view, he seems to evade the question and argue that the reason for doing this is simply that 'it's what the people want'... or at least what they wanted a few years ago.
If you read 1 Samuel, chapter 8 (it's not that long), you will see that the people of Israel asked Samuel to give them a king. In his wisdom, Samuel knew this would be a bad move but, after prayer, words of caution and more prayer, he gave in and did what they wanted. It didn't end well. In the centuries that followed, one disaster seems to have followed another and the one thing that was missing was what the people had given up ... following God's ways.
I've recently been reading from the penultimate book of the Old Testament and discovered this verse. "Then I broke my second staff called Union, breaking the family bond between Judah and Israel." (Zechariah 11:14). This was part of one of the prophet's many visions of the future. A few lines further on, I read of "a [foolish] shepherd over the land who will not care for the lost, or seek the young, or heal the injured, or feed the healthy, but will eat the meat of the choice sheep, tearing off their hooves." (v.16).
It seemed to me that the first of these parallels Brexit, breaking the family bond between this country and the rest of Europe, and the second underlines the way that our country has been neglected by its 'shepherd' as those in authority have focused all attention on Brexit, to the exclusion of wise government in many areas.
I'm reminded of my father once more and on this occasion, as a comparatively uneducated man, of his correct use of the subjunctive. I had done something wrong and was being interrogated as to my reasons for this. Trying to pass the blame onto someone else, I pleaded, "... because (my friend) told me to." My father dismissed my excuse, "And I suppose if he were to tell you to jump in the Mere, you'd do that, too?" (The Mere was the lake in the middle of our town, in which many have drowned over the years.) My defence having failed, I was duly punished.
So, what do we learn from all this? Two things, I suggest. Firstly, if we really want Brexit, we have to be patient and realise that it won't 'get done' quickly, but will mean many more years' uncertainty in addition to the last three-and-a-half. Secondly, that 'what the people want' is not sufficient justification for poor judgement on the part of government. St Paul wrote, "I will show you the most excellent way." (1 Cor. 12:31). In the often-quoted chapter that follows, he defines the meaning of love. Two verses jump out. "love is patient, love is kind ... it does not dishonour others, it is not self-seeking" (1 Cor. 13:4-5).
Zechariah's 'foolish shepherd' met an unpleasant end because of his irresponsible conduct; Samuel saw the hazards involved in giving the people what they wanted. If we get what (it appears that) we want, it may well not be to our advantage. Applying these truths to our individual lives, the moral seems to be 'have patience, seek what God wants.' Maybe we should ask ourselves where we lack patience.
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