The Christians of James's day were facing persecution and discrimination. There are Christians today in various parts of the world who proclaim the name of Christ even though it may mean their martyrdom. We are all going to suffer for Christ in one way or another. This suffering may be caused by active hatred against us or it may be caused by someone's passive-aggressive attitude toward us, but we can be certain that following Christ will cost us something.
James, who himself would lose his life for the faith, tells us to have patience in the face of opposition. A better translation of the word he uses would be "patient endurance". He's not warning us against the type of impatience that we're most familiar with, the type of impatience we experience when we're inconvenienced or aggravated. Instead he's saying, "Hang in there. Hold fast. Stand firm."
"Be patient, then, brothers and sisters, until the Lord's coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop, patiently waiting for the autumn and spring rains." (James 5:7) This agricultural example paints a wonderful picture for us of how we are to behave. A farmer doesn't go out and sow seed and then come back to the field the next morning expecting to see crops growing. He doesn't stomp angrily around his garden fussing about how nothing has sprung up yet. He knows it takes time to reap a harvest. We live in a far more fast-paced world than James lived in, and we often expect instant gratification, and we are used to having many of our needs met by just the touch of a button or by a trip through the drive-through. The farmer doesn't get instant gratification. He sows the seed and waits months to see the results. If we'd adopt the farmer's attitude we'd feel a lot less frustrated.
"You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord's coming is near. Don't grumble against one another, brothers and sisters, or you will be judged. The Judge is standing at the door!" (James 5:8-9) I think many of the Christians of James's day believed Christ might return in their lifetime. Some critics of the Bible have used this belief to claim that the apostles believed and preached an error. This is not so, for Christ Himself said no one but the Father knew when the Son would come for His bride. (Matthew 24:36, Mark 13:32) Naturally the apostles and the Christians of the early church hoped Christ would return in their lifetime. Every generation since has hoped the same thing. I too hope that Christ returns in my lifetime. What James is saying is that we need to live as if it could be any moment. That will strengthen our patience. That will keep us from impatiently turning on each other in frustration.
"Brothers and sisters, as an example of patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. As you know, we count as blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job's perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy." (James 5:10-11) The prophets spoke of many things they didn't live to see, and even though making predictions in the name of God brought death to many of them, they spoke in His name anyway. Job, in his intense grief, refused to turn from the Lord but instead drew closer to Him even though He didn't understand what God was doing. We've lost the meaning of what patience is. We think we're being patient if we don't lose our cool when McDonald's tells us to pull ahead and wait three minutes for fresh fries to be brought out to us. We pat ourselves on the back if we make it through rush hour traffic without blowing the horn or saying a bad word. True patience is the patience the farmer has, or the patience the prophets had, or the patience Job had. True patience is faithfully enduring whatever we're going through, in the knowledge that our God works all things together for our good (Romans 8:28) and in the hope that we will reap a harvest if we don't give up (Galatians 6:9)
James concludes by warning us not to be dishonest with each other while we wait for the Lord's coming. "Above all, my brothers and sisters, do not swear---not by heaven or by earth or by anything else. All you need to say is a simple 'Yes' or 'No'. Otherwise you will be condemned." (James 5:12) In James's day an oath that was not sworn by the name of God was not considered binding. A person could say to his brother in Christ, "I swear by the skies above that I'll pay you back next week." Such an oath was meaningless. Someone might say to their intended spouse, "I swear by the whole world that I'll be faithful and true to you for the rest of my life." If she broke this oath later, she could consider herself unaccountable. If we have to swear by anything to back up our word, then that's usually a sign our word can't be trusted. If we are known for our integrity, our listeners are going to accept our "yes" or "no" without question. An oath made in the name of God was considered binding, but Jesus warned His listeners not to swear by the name of God either in Matthew 5:33-37 and He said the same thing that James says to us, "All you need to say is simply 'Yes' or 'No'; anything beyond this comes from the evil one."
If someone starts a conversation with me like this, "I swear I'm not lying," I immediately suspect they are lying. Why else would they feel compelled to make a big deal of their trustworthiness? If we make a promise to someone and feel we have to use dramatic declarations to back up the honorableness of our intentions, we ought to examine our motives to see whether we really do intend to keep our word. It's funny how often our speech reveals what's really in our hearts, even when we're trying our best not to reveal anything.
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