Remember Veruca Salt from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory? She sang: “I want a party with roomfuls of laughter, Ten thousand tons of ice cream, And if I don’t get the things I am after, I’m going to scream! I want the works,
I want the whole works!
Presents and prizes and sweets and surprises in all shapes and sizes, And now! I don’t care how, I want it now!”
Didn’t she get what was coming to her and isn’t this “Veruca Complex” very evident in our culture today?
In a recent sermon on patience, the speaker told of a study conducted at Stanford University in the 1960’s where the professor conducted an experiment to test the willpower of four-year-olds. He brought them into a room one at time and placed a large marshmallow in front of them, explaining that they could eat it right away, or if they waited for 15 minutes they could have two marshmallows. He then left the children alone and watched what happened. Some of the children ate the marshmallow immediately. Some could wait only a few minutes before giving in to temptation. Only 30 percent were able to wait. As time went on, he kept track of the children and began to notice that the children who could not wait, struggled later in life and had more behavioral problems.
I often find myself judging this ‘Now Generation’ and blaming them for pretty much all of the awful things we encounter in our culture today—our country’s massive debt, unemployment, high divorce rate and so on.
This week while cynically pondering on these things, I also began to reflect on the Savior’s teachings “Judge not, that ye be not judged….and why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?” Matthew 7. I began to wonder if the same could be said about me. I must admit that, like Veruca Salt, there are some things that ‘I want now’!
I really don’t want to be like Veruca. I don’t want to be what’s wrong with our culture today. I want to be more like Christ. He was just the opposite. He embodied patience, charity and love. He taught that we must be less cynical and more charitable. He taught that “charity suffereth long, and is kind,” 1 Corinthians 13.
I want to follow His teachings, but being patient is hard! Being charitable is even harder. I believe, however, that for those of us struggling, we can develop and cultivate patience in our lives.
A recent article online suggested five ways to improve patience in your life—it may be worth a read (Five Tricks to Becoming a More Patient Person, Huffington Post). First, practice gratitude. Second, be mindful of what is making you feel rushed. Third, make yourself wait. Fourth, embrace the uncomfortable. Fifth, do a little deep breathing. Finally, I might add that if you truly want to change—don’t forget about the power of prayer.
I invite you to join with me this week to practice more patience as we strive to be more like Him.
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