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PRAYER FOR THE WEEK
Jesus, help me work on being patient: not interrupting, waiting my turn and asking politely for things. Amen!

"A poor man named Lazarus used to sit by a rich man's door, hoping for table scraps to eat," Jesus said. "The rich man never gave him anything. Then both men died, but only Lazarus went to heaven. The rich man begged God, 'Send Lazarus to help me!' But God said, 'You had good things while you were alive, and Lazarus didn't. Now, he can have them, and you can't!'"

Kids are not known for being patient. (A lot of adults aren't, either.) When you want something - a snack, your mom's attention, your turn with the Xbox - you don't want to wait; you want it now! This is how you end up getting scolded for interrupting a conversation, complaining about how hungry you are or grabbing the remote.

Jesus had a lot to say about patience. In this week's Gospel (Luke 16:19-31), he talks about a poor man named Lazarus who waits patiently while a rich man has huge dinners and spends money like crazy.

The rich man never gets around to sharing with Lazarus - but then the man dies and can't believe he doesn't go straight to heaven. He asks God to send Lazarus to help him, but God points out that when the rich man wanted something in life, he always grabbed it immediately. Now, it's Lazarus' turn to get the best of everything.

Being impatient always seems like it will get you what you want. If you interrupt enough, the adults will stop their conversation; if you complain enough, you'll get a snack or a turn playing games. The problem is that, if you're impatient all the time, people will stop paying attention to you. You'll have a reputation as a kid who always annoys adults and grabs the remote!

Patience usually gets you what you want in the end. It may not happen right away, but you could end up with a reward like Lazarus![[In-content Ad]]

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