Loving A Hidden God
PATIENT ENDURANCE
Are external trials all that we must endure in this life? Certainly not. We suffer because of what is inside us and because of those outside with whom we must live. Not only must we endure the evil in ourselves; we must also put up with the evil that comes from others.
Commentary on Psalm 37, 16
In the last reflection the emphasis was on understanding evil. In this and the following meditations the question will be "How should we deal with it?" There seem to be only three alternatives:
1. We can ignore it;
2. We can fight to overcome it;
3. We can try to endure it patiently.
We humans seem to have a penchant for ignoring the evil that we find in us and around us. Many of us will avoid going to doctors lest we find out that we have a terrible disease (as though "doing nothing" would suddenly cure it). Thus, a few years ago when I discovered that I might have prostate cancer, I was tempted to follow the advice that some gave: "Don't bother treating it!. As a "geezer" you will probably die of something else" (a prospect I found less than consoling) Luckily, I did not give in to the temptation to do nothing. The possible side-effects of surgery (which at my age and occupation seemed moot) were less frightening than ignoring a condition that had the side-effect of death.
Sometimes we also have a tendency to ignore the disorders of our spirit. Knowing that we are drawn lustfully towards another, we sometimes will not face the fact that the solution to our passion is distance. Knowing that we have a tendency to abuse drugs and alcohol, we will not face the fact that the solution to our addiction is abstinence. Feeling anger welling up in us when we are in contact with certain people that we can easily escape, we will not face the fact that we should therefore try to avoid them.
At other times, rather than ignoring evil, we become observers of it. We see the suffering of others but do nothing to help them when we can. We recognize the evils in our family, our church, our state but do not raise our voice against them. We know of the incompetence of our leaders but will not exert the energy to vote them out. We see clearly the evil that is done by our loved ones to themselves and others, but piously keep silent lest we upset them. We say, "It is not my problem" forgetting that anything that brings evil into the world is our problem if we can do something about it.
Reason itself proclaims that if we are human beings who are sons and daughters of a good God who has placed us in existence so that we might add to the treasure of goodness in creation, ignoring or simply observing the evil in the world (and in ourselves) is not a sensible reaction. We have an obligation to fight against evil when we can and when our action can have a positive effect. To those who complain, "Why does God not fight against evil?" the answer given by creation is the answer proclaimed by creation is "He did by giving humans a mind to recognize it and a free will to do something about it!"
The really sad thing about this life is that sometimes we cannot "do" much to eliminate the evil in us and around us. For example, sooner or later we will die and there is little we can do to avoid it. We are infected with terrible illnesses that can not be cured, only endured. We discover that our children are destroying themselves in one way or another (entering relationships that make no sense, destroying their health through their various addictions, giving up faith in God and in themselves) and, despite all our best efforts, all we can do is to stand by patiently hoping for a miracle. David in the Old Testament could not overcome his son Absalom's hatred for him. Jesus could not prevent his disciple Judas from despairing. (On Patience, 9.8.)
Certainly there is no scarcity of internal and external conditions that must be endured in this life. Perhaps it is too much to say with the philosopher Sartre that "Hell is other people" but others do frequently contribute to our Purgatory on earth. All of us are "cracked" in some way and from time to time our rough edges wound those we meet. Sometimes our hurt comes from our own excessive sensitivity. Sometimes it comes from the malice of others. Sometimes it comes just from their ignorance. Whatever the cause, the aggravation hurts just as much.
The very condition of our lives can cause us pain. Perhaps we are surrounded by people who love us but who seem to be drifting away. Perhaps we find that we are trapped in a job that we do not enjoy. Or we are in a job we love and see a forced retirement on the horizon. Perhaps, like Augustine, we have the experience of writing a book that no one wants to read. Perhaps, like Augustine, we try to teach students who do not want to learn. Indeed, there are many times when the world around us becomes a great aggravation. We cannot escape it; all we can do is to put up with it.
Worse still are the tortures that sometimes afflict us from within. (On Patience, 8.8 -> 10.9) A person may have an apparently ideal life with good health, good friends, fulfilling work, and at the same time be tormented internally by temptations to perform all sorts of degrading, nefarious acts. As Augustine writes:
Even in the midst of your good health you still need patience. You are still in the midst of a tumultuous world and happiness cannot yet be permanently possessed.
On Patience, 9.8
The patience that is required to get through life is much more than simple endurance. It must be a virtue, a permanent condition of our spirit, whereby
... we endure evils with such a tranquil mind that we do not lose through irritability the good which can lead to something better.
On Patience, 2.2.
For patience to become a virtue the motive behind it must be good and the only permanently good motive is to be patient out of love for God. (On Patience, 6.5; Sermon 283, 4; Sermon 274, 1) No one would equate the endurance that criminals frequently demonstrate in pursuit of their evil plans with the bravery of the martyrs suffering death out of love for God. (Sermon 274, 1) We may marvel at the stamina exhibited by a robber who spends sleepless nights waiting in inclement weather to attack passing victims but certainly we would not consider it something to be praised. Any passion can make painful endurance tolerable but only the love of God makes it virtuous. (On Patience, 4.3) As Augustine observes:
The virtue of patience is the servant of wisdom, not passion. It is the companion of a good conscience, not the enemy of innocence.
On Patience, 5.4.
The reason why the motive for our endurance is so important is because simple endurance can have a dark side. Sometimes we endure the silliness of others because we enjoy seeing them make a fool of themselves. Sometimes we endure an abusive boss because we hope to get a raise through fawning or avoid firing by groveling. We sometimes show great endurance in our pursuit of trivialities. Augustine's words addressed to his fifth century readers can just as well be applied to our lives today:
How many dangers and difficulties do we bear with the utmost patience for the sake of wealth? How many suffer for the sake of empty honors? How many endure tribulation out of devotion to public games and shows. We see people eager for money, glory, sexual satisfaction, who, in order to fulfill their desire freely endure the heat of the sun, rain, icy cold, raging and stormy tempests, the bitterness and uncertainty of wars, being beaten and wounded. And (perhaps worst of all) our culture deems such insanity as being perfectly sensible.
On Patience, 3.3
It is understandable that in the presence of so much evil in the world that we should cry out:
Why is this happening? Why must I be forced to endure these things? Why do bad things happen to people who have never done anything terribly bad? Why should humans, supposedly loved by God, be put in a position where patient toleration of evil is necessary?
In response Augustine points out that our present imperfect condition is the result of human choice, of a bad use of human freedom, and therefore
... it seems appropriate that we who were dismissed from the pristine happiness of paradise because of our bold appetite for pleasures should be taken back only after a humble endurance of difficulties.
On Patience, 14.11
In any case it does no good to complain. Impatience does not take away suffering; it only it. (On Patience, 2.2.) And, looking at the situation positively, having patience with an unpleasant present is the foundation for hope in a better future. As Augustine told his church congregation:
If we do not have patience as we face the troubles and trials of this life, it will be difficult to keep hope in a future life alive. Moreover, it will be impossible to maintain such constant patience if we do not remain meek and mild, never resisting God's will and accepting the sometime thrashing that the conditions of our present life impose on us.
Sermon 157, 2
Augustine uses Job as a example of the heroic patience that at times is demanded even of the innocent. Augustine describes him as the most just of all humans of the time. (On Merit and the Remission of Sins, 2.12.17) But despite his great virtue he was called upon to exercise great fortitude. (On the Morals of the Catholic Church and of the Manicheans, 1.23.42) In the course of a short period of time he had to put up with the loss of riches, the death of his sons, and the pain of a rotting body. Added to this were the complaints of his wife and the false accusations of "fair-weather" friends. Above and beyond these external disasters, he was tempted to curse God and give up hope. But he did not and through his suffering he accomplished much good:
He, enduring in his flesh the pains and in his heart the errors of his proud friends, chided his wife's foolishness, taught his friends wisdom, and everywhere preserved his patience.
On Patience, 12.9
Augustine does not deny that such distress of the virtuous in this life is a riddle, but he suggests that it could have a good effect. (Commentary on Psalm 91, 8) At very least it prevents us from becoming too attached to this life. Augustine explains it this way:
God wants us to love only eternal life and thus he mixes some unpleasantness with our innocent pleasures here. We are taught to love the better by the bitterness of the less. Thus, as we move along on our way to our homeland we are not tempted to dawdle in a wayside inn instead of continuing our journey to our real home.
Commentary on Psalm 40, 5.
Considering all the trouble we have enduring the evils of life with true patience, it is no wonder that the grace of God is necessary. To get through we literally "need a little help from Our Friend". It follows that the first step in acquiring the brave patience we need to survive this life is to pray to God to grant it.