Proverbs 19:11 (NIV)
A man's wisdom gives him patience; it is to
his glory to overlook an offense.
“Patience is the
companion of wisdom” (St. Augustine).
Proverbs 19:11 declares that wisdom gives patience. Wisdom and patience go together. You really cannot have one without the
other. Think about someone you believe
is wise. Is not that person also patient? Or, think of someone you believe has
patience. Does not that patience make
you believe that person is wise? Is it
possible to be wise, but not patient? Is
it possible to be patient, but not wise?
Is it possible to have either without great faith? Think about it.
Patience mainly
comes from enduring trials in life.
James 1:3 says that trials/troubles test your faith and this will give
you patience. If you too think of
yourself as impatient then perhaps you too have not suffered enough. Oh, you think you have, but perhaps not
really. Have you had faced near death
experience? Have you experienced the
death of a close loved one? Have you
lost everything and had to start over?
Have you suffered one major disappointment or failure after another? These questions relate to harsh examples of
trials people face in life that, in turn, develop patience. James 1:4 says that patience will make you
perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
Wow, that’s quite a promise.
The specific
patience that this proverb is referring to is the kind of patience that enables
you to control your temper. The Hebrew
word used for patience here is “aph” that means, interestingly, “nostril, nose,
face”. When you get angry and lose your
temper, think about what happens to your face.
It gets red and nostrils flare due to vasoconstriction of your facial
blood capillaries. Wisdom enables you to
control that temper and tendency to get angry.
And what makes you angry, what tests your patience? What is the Bible saying here? It’s when you are offended. It’s when someone sins against you. It’s when someone curses you, gets angry at
you, lies to you, treats you terribly, ignores you and does not do what you
ask………whatever might cause you to lose control of yourself.
Wisdom will
enable you to develop patience so that you are not so easily offended. Where does wisdom come from? Again, refer to James, this time James 1:5: “If you lack wisdom, ask God for it”. Think about it. If someone offends you, if someone commits a
transgression against you, your human reaction is going to be anything but
wisdom and patience. But, if you ask God
to give you wisdom, what happens?
Something supernatural happens such that you do not react impatiently
and say or do something that you will later regret. Both wisdom and patience are
supernatural---spiritual---gifts from God and the fallen human beings do not
naturally have these gifts. They come
from God and it takes time for these spiritual gifts to become part of your
Christian personality.
The next time you say to yourself, “I wish
I had more patience”, remember to ask God for the wisdom that enables you to
learn patience. Note that you do not ask
for patience from God, you ask for wisdom.
Also remember that it takes faith to ask for wisdom because James 1:6
says that you must ask for wisdom in faith without any doubting. May you have the faith to ask for wisdom and
may the wisdom you receive produce a divine patience that makes you a beautiful
person to those around you. Indeed, it
is to your glory—your beautiful inner character that faith and wisdom
produce—when you are patient and overlook an offense.
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