Patience As A Standout Quality Of Perfect Life

To begin with, patience is one of the obvious standout themes as one begins to read through the book of James. According to Merriam Webster, “the ability to remain calm and not become annoyed when waiting for a long time or when dealing with problems or difficult people”[footnoteRef:1], is what it means to be patient; the word from which patience is gotten. This definition – quiet interesting to note – ties in with the Greek words “hypomonē” and “makrothymia”[footnoteRef:2], which means to “persevere” or to endure as used in chapter 1:4 for the former, and “long-suffering, loving attitude” that we are to have towards others as used in 5:7-11. 

“Hypomone”, is also the same word used in 1:12, conveying the same message of perseverance when read in context through to vv. 16. This word is frequently used in the New Testament to show the quality required of Christians as they face adversity, temptation and persecution. It is used 31 times in the New Testament.

It seems to stand for a call to be mentally fortified and remain constant, refraining from succumbing to our urges and feelings when in times of discomfort. It is not a meek, passive submission to circumstances, but a strong, active, challenging response in which the satisfying realities of Christianity are proven in practice. It denotes a call to remain steadfast in our calmness and maintain our posture even as we face trials, temptations and oppositions. It shifts the focus from the waiting time, to our behavior and conduct in times where we are required to wait.

As beautifully put by Easwaran Eknath, “the resting rate of patience is zero”[footnoteRef:3]. No one is born with patience. It is a quality that is developed by our steadfastness in times of trials. When trials come, we are given the opportunity to take a lesson in the discipline of patience, and we succeed at it when we persevere. This is what the writer of James seems to point out with the Greek word, “hypomoné”. 

“Makrothymia”, which means long-suffering and a loving attitude towards people even as we remain steadfast in facing trials’ is another Greek word used for patience. The use of these two Greek words for patience is deliberate, seeing that one is directed to our perseverance and relentlessness in facing the trials; whereas the latter is our loving attitude towards people – even the ones who are the cause of the trials we face.

Of this distinction between the two Greek words, N. T. Wright helpfully writes,

‘patience’ (makrothymia), is the attitude which Christians are to exercise towards people, and hypomonē, is that with which they are to respond to problems : ‘[endurance] is what faith, hope and love bring to an apparently impossible situation, [patience] is what they show to an apparently impossible person.’

Also, Gene Lacoste Munn writes of the same nature of patience as described in the book of James thus;

Patience is an essential ingredient in the Christian life. The Christian is to wait patiently for the coming of the Lord. While waiting is involved in patience, it reveals only one dimension. The concept of stamina helps to bring out the full meaning of patience. Stamina is the strength to keep on performing until the end of the race. The Christian must keep on trusting and obeying. Patient waiting and stamina are both essential.

Next on the themes found in this book, is the practical Christian living empowered by self-control. Right at the end of the exhortation to persevere and be patient in times of trouble, there is the command to not blame any temptations on God but ourselves; followed by the source of all our temptations.

Merriam Webster defines self-control as, “restraint exercised over one's own impulses, emotions, or desires.”[footnoteRef:6] The phrase, “…but each man is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire…” as used in 1:14, translates from the Greek word (epithymia); which refers to fleshly, selfish, illicit desire and is often used to describe sexual passions specifically.[footnoteRef:7] According to Chris A. Vlachos, “the term may also suggest self-interest as opposed to a theocentric interest.”

Moreover, epithymia is supported by two verbs “exelkō” and “deleazō”, translating to mean “a forceful drag out or away” and “attraction exerted by a proffered bait”. This breakdown further helps to drive home the import of the phrase. It is an exhortation to not give in to our urges and desires which fail to align with that of God, a call to live in constant denial and rejection of those wants of our heart that displeases God and fails to glorify Him. 

Finally, faith will be the theme which is also evident in the book of James discussed in this write-up. On this subject, James minces no words in suggesting that the evidence of one’s faith is by making practical that which is received through the word of God. His main focus apart from the first two themes discussed above is a concern for practical obedience.

This concern is made evident by the following, “be doers of the word, and not hearers only. Otherwise, you are deceiving yourselves.”[footnoteRef:10] The Greek word translated “doers” is (poietes), which means to “act out as a poet” or “a performer”. Faith is not just a belief held in God, it moves further to become an action that springs from the same. And until a belief is converted into action and applied, then it is rendered as impotent or dead. 

Of the necessity to practicalize our faith, Dr. Thomas Constable writes; Doing the Word of God, in this context, means persevering in God's will when we experience temptation to depart from it. Hearing God's will is good as far as it goes, and it is indispensable, but obedience should follow. Some Christian disciples 'delude themselves' by thinking that knowing God's will is enough, but it is only foundational to doing God's will.

Evidently, there is no separation of the deeds of a believer from his belief. They must work in tandem. In this vein, Dr. Douglass J. Moo writes that, “the ‘religion’ that counts before God and that is able to save must be lived out in a lifestyle of obedience to the word of God ‘planted’ within each believer.”[footnoteRef:13] Simply put, the actions of a believer validate his/her faith. 

Conclusively, it is imperative that every man learns to be patient; persevering in the face of seemingly insurmountable oppositions whilst remaining constant in the exhibition of their Christian virtues. Now, this can be a tedious venture, but that is what the call to Christianity demands.

Moreover, when patience is mastered, then, the door for self-control is opened. This is the realm and state where a believer is able to stand most – if not all temptations that come his way. He is able to do this, not because he has become a super-man, but because he has allowed the testing and trial of his character to develop a patient spirit in him. Imagine what would happen if a church or Christian fails in patience? This would prevent them from gaining self-control, further curtailing the practical manifestation of that which they believe and hold as the foundation of their faith.

Faith matures only after patience is developed, birthing self-control in the process. It is at this point that the believer is able to constantly take a practical walk in his beliefs because patience and self-control have been cultivated over time. This call to practicality lies at the center of all that James teaches. It sums up the message of the whole book – practical Christian living. Indeed, James 1:22 may well be the key verse of the entire epistle.

It remains a thing of interest to note the progression of these themes in the whole book of James. For there seems to be an intentional arrangement of themes in this book, with patience leading the pack; followed by self-control, and then, faith. Like every other good writer, the author opens the epistle with a straight forward declaration of thoughts and intentions, and closes by re-affirming them. For this reason, it is no coincidence that the same themes of patience, self-control and faith are strongly reiterated in the last two chapters of the book.