Article February 9, 1924 Issue

The Value of Patience

JEANNETTE HANNAN SIMMONS

It may seem to the majority of men that patience is such an unimportant characteristic as not to require serious thought or attention. A little thinking, however, enables one to recognize that more or less difficult problems and unpleasant experiences could often have been averted, had patience been permitted to take the place of hasty or harsh words, irritability, or anger. How frequently, for instance, is patience required of the members of a household in order to preserve harmony, peace, and contentment! How many fireside heartaches could have been prevented through the exercise of the priceless virtue, patience!

Any student of Christian Science need only take up the Concordances to "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" and the other writings of Mary Baker Eddy, the revered Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, and study the references on the adjective "patient," the noun "patience," and the adverb "patiently," to see how necessary it is, if we wish to be really helpful workers for mankind, or, indeed, if we wish to be genuine Christian Scientists, to manifest patience constantly in our daily living. No virtue was more greatly needed, or more beautifully and continuously expressed throughout the earthly life of Jesus, "the model of infinite patience," as Mrs. Eddy says of him in "Christian Healing" (p. 2). And we may also see from these references how this virtue was constantly practiced in the trying ordeals of our Leader's earthly days.

A dictionary defines the adjective patient as, not easily provoked." This recalls to the thought of Bible students the use of the phrase just quoted from the thirteenth chapter of I Corinthians, where Paul uses it among other expressions in describing his conception of charity. The same thought of patience is brought out by our Leader on page 227 of "The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Miscellany" when she writes, "Charity is quite as rare as wisdom, but when charity does appear, it is known by its patience and endurance." Therefore, patience must be a quality which we, as Christian Scientists, cannot afford to pass lightly by. Self-examination is required to see how we are measuring up to these standards.

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