Slowness and Its Benefits

You've probably come across this verse before:

"The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but wishing that all should reach repentance." (2 Peter 3:9, ESV)

In this verse, the writer of 2 Peter is inviting the audience to re-imagine what seems to be God's inaction. The writer in this verse is using the word "but" to make a pretty strong distinction. In the ancient Greek language (what the NT was written in) there are two different forms of the word "but", δέ and ἀλλά.

The first common word for "but" in ancient Greek is the word δέ (de). δέ is not often translated into our English translations because it's typically insignificant in the meaning of the sentence. The other form of the word "but" is ἀλλά (alla). ἀλλά is almost always translated into our English versions of the Bible because it's used when the writer is making either a robust distinction or clarification.

This doesn't mean that every time you see the word "but" in your English NT it's important, but in the case of 2 Peter 3:9, the writer is using ἀλλά twice in one verse to clarify some problematic thinking present in the audience that's being addressed.

So, what in the world is the troublesome thinking in the audience? In chapter 1 of 2 Pet the writer begins talking about the necessity for Christians to have Christ centered growth in character, like virtue, knowledge, self-control, steadfastness ect (2 Pet 1:5-11). These Christians should "pay attention" (1:19b) to the message of the apostles concerning Christ, which is the "sure", or correct, message (1:19a). In the mind of the writer, it's the message that the audience should stick with and continue to grow, reflect and learn from, no matter the cost.

2 Pet 2:1-22 has the bad news. The warming of present and future "false prophets" in their context (2:1). It's apparent that most of chapter 2 uses very negative language toward these people who spread false information about God and live irreverently. Apparently, they "deny" God (2:1b).

It's a hard thing to understand living in 21st century America, but being a Christian in the 1st Century was no easy task. Christians in the 1st Century were the minority and treated with a lot of skepticism. After all, it was a religion founded by someone who was given the Roman death penalty! Most early Christians were slaves, women (they didn't have a lot of social capital back then) and people on the fringes of society. We all know it's often easier to follow the majority in culture around us, and back then that was paganism endorsed by the super power of the world, Rome. To make matters worse, early Christians didn't have the Bible like we have it today, no creeds, no set worship times or churches with multiple worship services, no hymnals, no seminaries. With all the added pressures of the predominant culture, it might be easy for someone to begin to question whether or not it's worth it to be considered "Christian".

The best sources that 1st Century Christians had was the OT, letters from the Apostles and parts of the stories of Jesus, which were probably told orally. However, one thing that early Christians would know, through oral tradition and the Apostles' writings, was that Jesus was coming again soon to judge, set creation back on track and it make it new.

The person who wrote 2nd Pet seems to understand Jesus' second coming as a relative "soon", but many would think Jesus meant it more immediately. So, if Jesus wasn't showing up and people are beginning to make more and more of a spectacle of Christians, maybe it's broken religion? Maybe it's not true? Maybe Jesus wasn't really God? Maybe it's all a lie? 

Even if you weren't doubting your faith in the 1st Century, it might be tempting to want Jesus to come back ASAP just to deal with all these people worshiping many gods and false prophets! Bring on the speed, Jesus!

But apparently, slow is good. If 2 Pet 3:9 isn't enough evidence for my over simplification "slow is good" check out 3:15: "And count the patience of our Lord as salvation [...]"

Okay, maybe I should say: "God's patience is good". But aren't these verses interesting? The logic fascinates me. It's almost like the writer is saying, "God isn't in a rush because He wants to include, not exclude". God wants to include those who are starting to lose their faith in Christ AND those who think faith in Christ is a fool's destiny. It's the classic, "God's ways are not our ways".

If our God is patient and inclusive, shouldn't we be more patient and inclusive as we grow in Him? Didn't Jesus model that type of slow, inclusive life?

In the Western world we often think fast is the best and slow is, well, annoying. However, the truth is, when we take our time, socially speaking, more people can be included. For example, if you're at the office and randomly start saying: "Alright, I'm going to lunch! Who's coming with me? I'm leaving right this instant." you probably won't get too many people coming to lunch with you, but if you plan it out a little in advance, take time to communicate and invite, more people, hopefully, will join. 

Of course, we shouldn't handle everything slowly, but it's interesting to think whether slow could be better when we consider some of the things on our to-do list. Can more people experience God's love through us if we just slow down and take our time to engage?

A group of people who have perfected this balance of slowness are friends of mine in Zambia. They even have a word for it to describe why things move at a slower pace called, Ubuntu.

Ubuntu is a word from languages in and around South Africa, and it doesn't have a simple meaning, but the sentiment is shared almost over the whole continent. Most think of Ubuntu as "community" or "togetherness", but it's really how many on the African continent think about themselves. In West we often find our identity in our individual accomplishments. In many African cultures, however, people think of their identity in community they belong to. That's why people there tend to share their things more easily with others. They know if they buy something, it doesn't really belong to them, it belongs to the community. This is because the communal good is often worked for above one individual. When a decision is made in many cultures in Africa it typically takes a while because people are trying to make a decision that impacts or includes more people. It's a slower pace of life. Of course, it has weaknesses, but I think it also has its benefits. It might be easy to think that many places in Africa are developing slowly, but what if they're actually developing more thoroughly and including as many people as possible? In the West we are developing into more fractured and isolated societies, whereas in many countries in Africa, they are developing into more collective communities.

Of course, the verse I began this post with was about people coming to repentance through God's patience. I don't think we should be slow just for the sake of being slow. The slowness I want us to consider is a way of life that has time to share Christ's love in either word or deed with others. It's a slowness that notices others around us and invites people into our lives to discover what Christ means to us.

May God grant us peace as we walk and grow in Him and invite others along the way.
Amen.