Something To Think About!
The fruit of the Spirit includes patience. Being impatient is sin and ought to be treated as such and mortified. It’s a common theme, even among those who are not Christian, to view patience as a virtue. Patience, or impatience, is still a problem Christians need to deal with—but what I want to put on your mind today is that sometimes, what is viewed as patience is actual sinful passivity.
Passivity is Not Virtue
I’ve seen it a number of times, especially in men. Something happens which ought to elicit a courageous response, and a man who literally couldn’t care less about the results remains quiet and doesn’t take action.
“What a patient man!” echoes from the crowd.
Yes, too often we are characterized by our quick judgment and unrighteous reactions to the world around us. But sometimes, what appears like patience is actually cowardly passivity. Do you know a man who avoids “arguing” with a domineering wife? Maybe he’s being patient, but it’s also possible he’s given up trying to lead her the way Christ leads His church. His passivity may be masked as patience—and he’s being lauded for it, rather than admonished.[bctt tweet=”When God commands action, inaction is sin.” username=”ThingsAboveBlog”]
Have you ever met someone who practices friendship evangelism? That is, they don’t open their mouths to dispense the words of grace given by God, but they patiently await a sinner to ask them to tell them about Jesus? This is not a virtue to be extolled but a desire of the flesh which ought to be starved. Yet we look and say, “Wow, what patience they have.” When God commands action, inaction is sin (James 4:17).
Dear friend, do not believe the lie that humility is embodied by the quiet soul who never argues, nor that patience is the virtue of any man who doesn’t get riled up. There are times for action, for debate, and for defending the Truth. Search your own heart to see if you ever indulge in sinful passivity under the guise of patience.
See all posts in the Something to Think About! series:
[loop type=”post” taxonomy=”tag” value=”Something To Think About” format=”clean” orderby=date order=ASC]
[field title-link][/loop]