God made time, but man made haste.

This saying is commonly labeled an “Irish proverb” in English-language collections of traditional wisdom, where it functions as a caution against impatience and rashness. Like many proverbs, it is not tied to a single identifiable speaker or occasion; rather, it reflects a broadly Christian-inflected folk worldview in which time is understood as part of divine order, while human beings introduce needless urgency. It is typically invoked in everyday situations—work, travel, decision-making, or conflict—when someone is pushing for speed at the expense of care, prudence, or peace of mind.

The proverb contrasts “time” as something natural, given, and ultimately beyond human control with “haste” as a human-made distortion of time—an anxious acceleration that leads to error. It implies that while time unfolds according to a larger order (often framed as God’s will), people create needless urgency through impatience, ambition, or fear. The moral is not that action is wrong, but that hurried action is: haste is portrayed as a self-imposed pressure that undermines judgment and peace. In effect, it recommends patience, deliberation, and trust in proper timing over frantic speed.