Patience and Pride

Of all topics I'd like to speak on, Patience would be on the bottom of the list. But, they got me to speak on the subject anyway. A high school in St. Catharines (Ontario, Canada) gave me this very topic to speak on as part of a series on character traits.

The best thing is always to start digging in the word and to my great surprise I found something that was quite revealing to me. In Eccl. 7:8 it reads "patience is better than pride". Patience with Pride as its antithesis.

So you start asking questions Why not impatience? What has pride to do with patience? How do they relate to each other.
Patience in scripture has always to do with waiting on God. It's not about doing stuff with a calm serenity, or just doing them slow.
It has to do with trust in God. Believing that He knows best, does best and is the best. Despite the many questions one might have relying on Him for the outcome. That is patience and when one comes to a point where one is able to let go and to "just trust" one will see that trust reflected in the normal day to day stuff.

Pride is abut self-reliance. Thinking and believing one knows better than God and being irritated with God about stuff that one feels should not have happened, or should have happened differently. You won't find pride and arrogance, self-reliance and stubbornness on any list of virtues or character traits one is encouraged to pursue.
It's stuff one needs to get rid of.

So how am I doing when it comes to patience? While studying I came to realize that I've learned a few things about patience. I am able to let go and allow God to be God. I don't want to dictate God how He should rule my life or how I want Him to be. He just is. And that feels good.