Q: The Urantia Book gives specific examples of the dangers of being impatient. Where does the line go between being inactive or impatient?

A:  That is a good question, and thanks for writing…

As you observed, The Urantia Book does give several examples of the dangers of impatience. I will list them here, for the benefit of other readers:

Impatience is a spirit poison; anger is like a stone hurled into a hornet’s nest. (48:7.20)

Most of the liberties which Lucifer sought he already had; others he was to receive in the future. All these precious endowments were lost by giving way to impatience and yielding to a desire to possess what one craves now and to possess it in defiance of all obligation to respect the rights and liberties of all other beings composing the universe of universes. Ethical obligations are innate, divine, and universal. (54:4.4)

The “golden age” is a myth, but Eden was a fact, and the Garden civilization was actually overthrown. Adam and Eve carried on in the Garden for one hundred and seventeen years when, through the impatience of Eve and the errors of judgment of Adam, they presumed to turn aside from the ordained way, speedily bringing disaster upon themselves and ruinous retardation upon the developmental progression of all Urantia. (74:8.14)

Probably no Material Sons of Nebadon were ever faced with such a difficult and seemingly hopeless task as confronted Adam and Eve in the sorry plight of Urantia. But they would have sometime met with success had they been more farseeing and patient. Both of them, especially Eve, were altogether too impatient; they were not willing to settle down to the long, long endurance test. They wanted to see some immediate results, and they did, but the results thus secured proved most disastrous both to themselves and to their world. (75:1.6)

Serapatatia [associate chairman of the Edenic commission on tribal relations] was entirely loyal to the plan of building up a strong reserve of the violet race before attempting the world-wide upstepping of the confused peoples of Urantia. But this would require hundreds of years to consummate, and he was impatient; he wanted to see some immediate results—something in his own lifetime. He made it clear to Eve that Adam was oftentimes discouraged by the little that had been accomplished toward uplifting the world. (75:3.6)

One day when Ganid asked Jesus why he had not devoted himself to the work of a public teacher, he said: “My son, everything must await the coming of its time. You are born into the world, but no amount of anxiety and no manifestation of impatience will help you to grow up. You must, in all such matters, wait upon time. Time alone will ripen the green fruit upon the tree. Season follows season and sundown follows sunrise only with the passing of time. (130:5.3)

It is easy to see that most of these references have to do with either the default of Adam and Eve or with the Lucifer rebellion. Both of these vital missions of spiritual truth to our planet were irreparably harmed because of the impatience of those who wanted results, and they wanted them NOW.

It is a fine line that has to be drawn between taking action, and displaying impatience. In the case of these high spirit beings, upon whom so much depended, that line was crossed, to the detriment of the whole planet—even the whole of our planetary system. In our daily lives, we will likely not have those kinds of dire consequences to face if we jump the gun in our efforts to see results, but still, impatience can harm us, and mar our future lives.

We are creatures of time—and time is a vital element in the unfolding of our lives. As Jesus says,

“…everything must await the coming of its time.”

:: Date published: 2013-05-03 11:31:30.573
:: Author: Truthbook Staff