Patience vs Complacence

I've come to realize that there's a fine line between patience and complacence. It's an inner difference, and one not readily noticeable by those watching. Because it's such a subtle difference, many people mistake a complacent person for a patient one.

Here's an example: Three people have been working out in the heat all day and are now waiting for dinner. As it cooks on the stove, they can all smell the sweet aroma of an incredible meal. 

The first man sees the food cooking and continues to grumble and complain that it's not finished now. It's easy to see that this man's attitude is wrong. 

The second man, however, is more difficult. In an attempt to be content while waiting for dinner, he decides to ignore the food for a while. By suppressing his desire for what's coming, time begins to slip by almost unwittingly. From the outside, this man appears to be patient. But deep down he just doesn't care anymore. Complacence guises itself as patience. He no longer longs for the blessing ahead, but tries to forget about it until it comes. 

The third man exercises true patience. Seeing something good that is about to come, this man does not suppress the thought of it in his mind. Allowing full desire for the supper to remain, the third man affirms that it is worth waiting for. Because his hopes are held high, the waiting is really difficult and can be described as suffering...or even longsuffering. 

The second man avoids suffering, but his desire for dinner is inadvertently diminished. Not only does he enjoy dinner less than the third man when it finally comes, but a lack of future expectations may undermine his current actions. While it may seem crazy for someone to stop cooking dinner because they no longer desire dinner as much, we can imagine a Christian who stops bearing their cross because they don't desire heaven enough. 

We ought to be like the third man, embracing our present circumstances as God's will while fully desiring the blessing to come. When we look at the fallen world, and the depth of human hurt, and the effects of the curse, there ought to rise in us a deep discontent for the present state of things and yearning for God's renewal. These longings place value on what we long for and help us to endure. For how can we claim to prize something we are trying to ignore? 

(Romans 8:18-25)