Henry Krabbendam - James - World Evangelical Alliance

face to face with people whose words and actions turn life into a burden. Endurance
makes up its mind, channels the emotions, bears up in confident expectation,
and refuses to lose courage face to face with conditions that might
prove to be too burdensome to others (Zodhiates, III, 77-78).
By combining both undoubtedly strenuous strands of patience and perseverance,
James, first of all, calls upon them to keep tranquil and steady
“under provocation” (PHDavids, 182-183), even if it is “long and sharp”
(Manton, 418). This does not mean that he urges them to be stoically insensible,
nor to simply yield sullenly to what, seemingly, cannot be changed. The
patience, which James has in view here, is not a “fundamentally passive” attitude
“toward the activity of another.” In stead it indicates a tranquil disposition
of “superiority to an inferior (Prov. 16:32; 19:11; 25:15) ... the active
adoption of an attitude of ‘forbearance’ and ‘putting up with’ another,” without
ever angrily flying off the handle under pressure or becoming vindictively
retaliatory in desperate conditions. The Greek term is “used of the attitude of
God as judge towards humans in Rom. 2:4; 9:22; 1 Tim. 1:16; 1 Pet. 3:20; 2
Pet. 3:9, 15” (See also Ex. 34:6; Ps. 86:15). In short, the members of the
Christian community “need more than simple endurance; they require ‘patience
and long-suffering’” (Johnson, 313). It is the opposite of being difficult,
irritable, short-tempered, resentful, and ready to retaliate with a mindset
of revenge (Mitton, 183; Manton, 418; Tasker, 116). In a spirit of tolerance it
controls possibly justified anger in oneself and others, and will manage to
have a calming influence by putting oil on possibly troubled waters (Keddie,
163). It is an essential element of practical godliness, personified in terms of
Psalm 37, 1, 7, 8, 34, and Hebrews 12:1-2.
Secondly, the display of necessary patience is foundational for the
equally necessary endurance that is undeterred by these troubled waters,
whether these consist of turbulent times or troubling circumstances. It keeps a
consistent course, in spite of any temporary lapses that may occur, and steadily
moves toward its prized goal of perfection (Jam. 1:3), mightily buoyed, of
course, by the knowledge of Christ’s coming in both reprisal and reward. In
short, he is just like the farmer who knows that “germination takes time”
(Keddie, 164), and therefore does “nothing” (patience) and “everything”
(perseverance) in order to arrive at his much anticipated copious harvest.
All this involves “total peace of mind,” that is rooted in radical and joyful
surrender to God (Is. 39:9), which in turn is fed by a vision of God (Ps.
39:9) in the awe inspiring sum total of his perfections, such as sovereignty
(Job 1:12; 9:12), justice (Deut. 27:26), mercy (Ezra 9:13), faithfulness (Ps.
119:71) and wisdom (Is. 30:18) (Manton, 419).
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