• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Things Above Us

Missions - Evangelism - Theology - Sports

  • About TAU
    • Our Mission
    • The Gospel of Grace
    • Writers
    • Contact Us
    • Comment Policy
    • Attribution/Content Usage Policy
  • Resources
    • Before the Throne
    • From Death to Life
    • Our Tract
  • Articles/Blog Posts
    • Missions
    • Evangelism
    • Theology
    • Sports
    • Book Reviews
    • Kid’s Book Reviews
    • pSaturday Psalms
    • Movie Reviews
    • Go Therefore!
    • Something to Think About
  • Things Above Us Roundtable
  • Evangelio de Cristo
  • Store
    • Cart

Patience vs Passivity: STTA!

February 14, 2019 by Michael Coughlin

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.When God commands action, inaction is sin. Click To Tweet

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:

Arminian Hopelessness: STTA!
What Will it Cost You: STTA!
Unfathomable Submission: STTA!
God is Unchanging: STTA!
Patience vs Passivity: STTA!
Discernment: STTA!
Don't Mention the Tension: STTA!
Lifestyle Creep: STTA!
Careful With Your Mocking: STTA!
God Hears Your Prayers: STTA!
Serving Two Masters: STTA!
No Remorse: STTA!
God's Desire for All: STTA!
Corona Virus, Conspiracy, and the Kingship of Christ: STTA
There is No Free Lunch: STTA

Michael Coughlin

Michael Coughlin

Michael Coughlin lives near Columbus, OH, and leads local outreaches to glorify our Lord and reach the lost with the gospel. Michael’s joys are spending time with his dear wife and children, programming computers, and studying and discussing God’s Word. He is a member of Covenant Bible Church.

Filed Under: Theology Tagged With: Christian Life, patience, Something To Think About

Liked what you read? Subscribe!


Views expressed in posts are those of their individual authors and may not be shared by all writers on Things Above Us.

Primary Sidebar

On Sale Now

  • From Death to Life $14.99 $13.99
  • Before the Throne $17.00 $14.99

Subscribe To Things Above Us

Sign up for our RSS newsfeed and stay up-to-date with the latest blog posts on Things Above Us!

Things Above Us Roundtable

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Android | Google Play | Stitcher | Email | RSS

Pull up a chair to the TAU Roundtable as the writers from ThingsAbove.Us and other special guests discuss current events, theology, missions, evangelism, and sports!

The Bible Memory App - Bible Memory Verses
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Recent Posts

  • Rightly Understanding John 3:16 — Applications
  • Go, Therefore: Family Worship
  • “Antiracism” Deserves a Capital Letter: A Preview of Voddie Baucham’s Fault Lines
  • Rightly Understanding John 3:16
  • 2 Peter 1 in the Legacy Standard Bible

The Team

Garrett O’HaraGarrett O’Hara

Garrett appears to have originated the term, but not the theology, "dispybapticalvinistic-expialidocious." He ...

“Antiracism” Deserves a Capital Letter: A Preview of Voddie Baucham’s Fault Lines
Michael CoughlinMichael Coughlin

Michael Coughlin lives near Columbus, OH, and leads local outreaches to glorify our Lord and reach the lost with...

Go, Therefore: Family Worship
George AlvaradoGeorge Alvarado

George Alvarado is an almost retired member of our Armed Forces (yes, he's older than he looks). He has a beautiful w...

A Open Letter to Afflicted Saints
Allen Nelson IVAllen Nelson IV

Allen S. Nelson IV is the pastor of Perryville Second Baptist Church in Perryville, Arkansas. He and his wife Steph...

Rightly Understanding John 3:16 — Applications
Tim BatesTim Bates

Tim lives in Akron, Ohio with his wife, Melanie and two children, Calvin and Caroline. He serves as a deacon, teacher...

Reflections on a World Without Sports
Chuck IveyChuck Ivey

By God’s grace, Chuck Ivey grew up in a Christian home and came to know Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior at a y...

The Living Logos and True Mythos: A Response to “Satanic Panics and the Death of Mythos”

Click a term to see related posts.

Adoption atonement Bible book review Cessationism children Christ Christian Life Christmas Chuck Ivey church conversion Culture Devotional discipleship evangelism Foster Care From death to life Genesis gospel grace imputation Jesus Justification local church love Marriage mercy NFL preaching Psalm 119 Psalms reformed baptist Reformed Baptist Theology reformed theology Roundtable sanctification scripture sin sola scriptura Something To Think About Suffering theology Things Above Us worship

Click the image below if you got one of these cards.

Other Posts You May Like…

Unforgiving Attack Dogs

The National Football League recently decided to honor former quarterback Mike Vick by making him an honorary captain in the league’s annual Pro Bowl. Vick was undoubtedly one of the most electrifying players the NFL has ever seen. His speed, elusiveness, and arm caused a lot of problems for opposing teams. Vick, on the other […]

Is Male Headship a Gospel Issue?

Men, mean, and misogyny all start with the same letter. Obviously, guys are jerks and need to calm down. And women need to be filling the pulpit because the resurrection of Jesus was first announced to women. Believe it or not, that’s the sort of argumentation you get in the Twitterverse when you say anything […]

Psalm 119:153-156— Christ Alone Delivers

Psalm 119 is the longest chapter in the entire Bible. It’s longer than several entire books. I imagine that due to our propensity to read to the end of the chapter, a good number of people read Psalm 119 in one sitting when they get to it in their Bible reading plan. While there is […]

6 Obstacles to Revival

W.B. Sprague’s 1832 work, Lectures on Revival, is a helpful book in thinking trough the subject of revival. Charles Simeon called it, “A most valuable book…I recommend the good sense of Dr. Sprague In his third lecture, Sprague lays out six obstacles to revival.[1] They are as follows, Ignorance or Misapprehension of the nature of […]

3 Reasons not to Baptize Young Children

A 2014 Christianity Today article highlighted a growing trend in the SBC of baptizing children age 5 and under. From my personal observation and discussions among other Southern Baptists, I have no reason to believe this practice is slowing down in 2018. It is my desire in this post to hopefully help us curb this […]

Psalm 119:41-44 — Answering the Taunter

Secondly, we are reminded that the God of the Old Testament is the same God as the God of the New Testament and that He is a God of love. But not only is God love, what is striking is that He loves me. It is God’s love that is on display at the cross, and David well knows that he has no hope of delighting in the path of God’s commandments (Psalm 119:35) or keeping God’s law (Psalm 119:34) unless God “makes the first move.” We love because He first loved us! In this is love, not that we have loved God, but that He loved us and gave His Son to be a propitiation for our sins (1 John 4:19,10)!

2018 © Things Above Us

Copyright © 2021 · Things Above Us on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in