“Patience can persuade a prince, and soft speech can break bones.”
Proverbs 25.15 NLT
In the second collection of Solomon’s proverbs, the king’s role and proper etiquette in his presence predominate in verses 1-15.
How does the Christian show respect to authority and still plead his cause?
Anybody else besides me need to learn this lesson?
Even though I’m not a fan of that foot-loose and fancy-free paraphrase called The Message, I happened across a couple of items in it I thought were good.
Mr. Peterson, the author of the work, describes patience, in Galatians’ fruit of the Spirit, as “a willingness to stick with things,” and self-control as being “able to marshal and direct our energies wisely.”
Those seem to be fairly good depictions, the latter one especially, as far as they go.
Also, from the two descriptions, it’s possible to see that a relationship exists between the two.
How would you qualify these descriptions of the two qualities that the Spirit of God produces in the saint?
Everybody seems to like photos of pets, so here’s an illustration of long-suffering.
Long-suffering, both an adjective and a noun, has fallen out of use. When the KJV used it in 1611, it was a fairly new term, having arisen around 1520-30. Maybe the synonym “patience” covers what was lost by it. Maybe not.
In the age of Facebook, where ever is heard every discouraging word and moan, long-suffering does not sit well. Collins defines the adjective as “enduring pain, unhappiness, etc, without complaint.” MacMillan says it means “patient, despite having problems or being badly treated over a long period of time” and gives this archaic example phrase, “his long-suffering wife.”
Nobody accepts suffering today. Isn’t that true? To say “nobody” is obviously an exaggeration, but please permit the hyperbole. This generation thinks suffering is just plain wrong. It’s something that has to be eradicated, like, say, the wearing of fur coats or the use of fossil fuels. And to be long-suffering? That’s just sick. Continue reading
Are you bearing a burden today that makes you feel discouraged and worthless? Is it hard for you to sleep peacefully and enjoy a mind that is under God’s control? Today there are multitudes of people who are hurting so very much and may even feel that God is not aware and listening to their prayers and answering them.
Let me urge you to read Psalm 40. Of course there are many other passages of scripture in the word of God that will help us, but in this section of scripture we find a man who feels exactly as we do when our hearts are broken and life is so very, very, difficult.
He says in v. 12, “For innumerable evils have surrounded me; My iniquities have overtaken me, so that I am not able to look up; They are more than the hairs of my head, therefore my heart fails me.”
Have you felt that your life is just like this? What can we do in such a condition as this? Continue reading
“The man’s wisdom gives him patience; it is to his glory to overlook an offense” Proverbs 19:11.
According to the world, if insulted, the bigger man is the one who can give it back in the wittiest and weightiest way. But God says it is to a man’s glory to overlook an offense!
That takes patience, which is a product of wisdom, which God tells us He will give us if we ask without finding fault. But most of us don’t want to pray for patience because we know that God often gives us situations in which the fruit of patience will have opportunity to grow.
That’s just it; patience is a fruit of the Spirit that must grow in us, but one we’d rather not cultivate. We hope that life will go along so smoothly that we won’t have any reason to show patience. Then, when offended, we lash out as impatiently as the world, and the world would never be able to tell that we follow Christ.
Don’t have wisdom enough to pray for patience to grow in your life? Ask so you may receive so it can then be to your glory to overlook an offense! Then the world will glorify God as well.
Got patience?
Doug Kashorek
Plattsburgh church of Christ
www.plattsburghchurch.com
author of Kin of Cain
a Christian historical fantasy
www.douglaskashorek.com
Patience is a part of the fruit of the Spirit. Patience is also a two-edged sword…or at least a two-way street. There’s patience that we need to show to others, but then there’s the patience we need to have with our self.
There’s nothing wrong with having expectations. In a roundabout way there’s almost everything right with having them. The danger comes from having expectations that go above and beyond what’s reasonable.
I don’t expect my daughter to know how to do math right now – she still has to get a grasp on saying her numbers. For me to expect anything else would be ridiculous. She needs time. She needs to be taught. She needs patience and so do I! Is it a contradiction to put a “!” next to the word patience?
Along those same lines we need to be patient with those whose knowledge about Jesus isn’t as great as our own. We should encourage others to study, we should encourage others to look to Jesus for their example and we should be ready to help if needed, but we must remember that at the beginning people need to learn to take “baby steps” as they learn about the gospel.
At the same time we need to remember to have patience with our self. I know we’re not promised tomorrow, but Rome wasn’t built in a day. It’s true that there is huge peril in not progressing, but there can also be huge peril in being too hard on one’s self. Patience is not an excuse for sin, but there is no sin in having or showing patience. In many ways patience shows maturity for maturity owns up but does not quit.
The Bible is too clear to miss the importance of spiritual expectations, but the Bible is also just as clear when it comes to the importance of spiritual patience. Patience is a virtue that carries a lot of “wait” but patience is what God shows us so we can show it towards others.
“Now we exhort you, brethren, warn those who are unruly, comfort the fainthearted, uphold the weak, be patient with all.” (1 Thessalonians 5:14)
PS: In a ironic turn of events, for some reason the title of “Patience” won’t post at the top of this article – even after I tried five times.