The Romans borrowed the motto Festina lente from the Greeks, and Caesar Augustus polished and embraced it as perhaps no other leader in history. It means, “Make haste slowly.”
Octavian Caesar Augustus was the emperor of Rome at the time of Jesus’ birth. He is the one mentioned in Luke 2:1, “In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered.” Regardless of how one assesses this emperor’s reign, it’s difficult to deny that he was productive—very productive.
The simple underlying principle that made him so was Festina lente. He held to it tightly and even chose a symbol of the motto to adorn the reverse side of some of his coinage. His face, of course, occupies one side of the coin (we expect nothing else), while the flip side shows a crab hoisting a butterfly. The crab represents slow, deliberate movement, and the butterfly symbolizes what is quick and agile.
It seems counterintuitive and perhaps even an oxymoron to say, “Make haste slowly.” But as we get under the surface, we realize that there’s serious wisdom there. Festina lente calls for a thoughtful deliberateness and diligence in life that results in relentless, rather than merely rapid, progress. It contains a balance between procrastination in the form of unnecessary, debilitating delay and a careless pursuit of speed that sacrifices thought and accuracy in the name of “efficiency” or “productivity.”
This kind of deliberate living and attention to the relationship between effort and timing should not sound foreign to Christians. Intentional living is part of the fabric of a wise life. The Proverbs teach us that “in their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps” (16:9). We make our plans, but those plans must be submitted to God’s will and guidance. We are likewise told, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight” (3:5-6). We will make true progress when we make deliberate choices designed to align with God’s plans. That requires us to slow down enough to inquire of the Lord. We practice patient prayerfulness from a place that is centered in his Word and presence, and we practice thinking like Jesus thinks as we approach decisions (cf. Romans 12:1-2).
Rather than rushing to a finish, we ask for wisdom (James 1:5). When the time comes to move, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters” (Colossians 3:23). This is part of what deliberate, intentional Christian living looks like.
We also recognize that the time to move does come. When we ask for wisdom, it’s guaranteed. When we pray, God responds. When we make plans that are submitted to God’s Word and to God’s specific will (the best that we understand his revelation of that will), then we have enough to proceed. Yes, sometimes we get it wrong and have to course-correct or even go back to the drawing board. But in the process, God will still honor the foundation of prayer and obedience upon which we were working. What we must be cautious about is spinning in place or hesitating to exercise the faith that we claim to have. We do the deliberate work that wisdom calls us to do, then, unless we have divine instruction not to do so yet, we step out.
To me, that’s what Festina lente looks like in a Christian life. God’s timing is often (usually) not our timing. We need the divine direction that Proverbs so clearly affirms as essential to wise living. And we need to exercise the faith that actually moves us in that direction. Deliberate, intentional praying, waiting, and moving that is relentless in God’s timing, not rushed in our own.
Festina lente.
“Gold coin, obverse and reverse, Asset 657323001,” © The Trustees of the British Museum, is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0.
