The Haribo advert shows us how difficult the concept of delayed gratification can be. In the advert, the children are unable to resist the one Haribo sweet in front of them, even though they have been promised more if they can resist! Delayed gratification or deferred gratification is defined as ‘the ability to resist temptation for an immediate reward and wait for a delayed reward.’ The Haribo advert is actually based on a psychological experiment done in the 1979s called the ‘Stanford marshmallow experiment’, whereby children were offered a choice between one small reward (sometimes a marshmallow, but often a cookie or a pretzel) provided immediately or two small rewards if he or she waited until the experimenter returned (after an absence of approximately 15 minutes). Subsequently studies showed that children who were able to wait longer for the preferred rewards tended to have better life outcomes, as measured by SAT scores, educational attainment, body mass index (BMI) and other life measures.
The principle of learning to wait patiently is Biblical and is a sign of maturity. When we are immature, we think everything must happen now and we often become very impatient with God because He doesn’t seem to be in much of a hurry! Acquiring a willingness to wait is a sign of growing maturity. Ps 27:14 tells us to ‘Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.’ Psalm 130:5-6 tells us ‘I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits, and in his word I put my hope.I wait for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning, more than watchmen wait for the morning.’ Isaiah 40:31 tells us ‘those who hope in (wait on) the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.’ The principle of waiting patiently (Ps 37:7, Ps 40:1, Hab 3:16, Rom 8:25) is firmly established in Scripture and this concept of delayed or deferred gratification can be found in many aspects of everyday life.
If we are mature, we will be content to wait patiently and to do things God’s way. We will resist temptation because we know God’s ways are better than our ways. It’s why we should be prepared to wait until marriage for sex, even when everyone around us may seem to be going their own ways and living together, because the gift that God has promised us in marriage is without shame or guilt and should be reserved for that lifelong union between one man and one woman. It’s why we should resist the temptation to break our marriage vows through adultery because the short-term pleasures of adultery cannot compare with the beauty and strength of faithfulness and loyalty. It’s why we should resist the short-term pleasures of sin – whether that’s from food, drink, smoking or drugs – because we know the long-term consequences can be devastating. It’s why we should resist our current consumer-led society and not be beguiled into buying things on credit that we cannot afford, for we do not want to be slaves to possessions or weighed down by debt. It’s why we need to learn to live lives that are free from a love of money because we know we have the assurance of God’s presence with us at all times. (Hebrews 13:5)
Being able to take the ‘long-term view’ is a sign of maturity. Jesus exemplified this for us (Heb 12:1-3) and Paul showed us that it is this attitude which enables us to bear suffering and hardship. (Phil 3:14-15, 2 Cor 4:16-18) We will never leave childish ways behind unless we are prepared to wait for the Lord. (‘My Hope Is In You’, Aaron Shust)