“Brothers, take as an example of perseverance and endurance the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. Behold, we consider blessed those who have endured. You have heard about the patient endurance of Job, and you saw the outcome from the Lord, that the Lord is compassionate and merciful.” (James 5:10-11)
The Apostle James calls the Church to patience amidst the chaos that precedes the approach of the Lord. And today we need such patience as it seems to be in short supply in these days of high-speed communication via the Internet and social media. Anyone can communicate instantly with millions of people across the world. This is a great benefit for those of us who are called to preach the gospel of faith in Jesus, for the need for His comfort and mercy is great. But this high-speed communication can and does stir up widespread enmity. Now more than ever before people can read and comment instantly upon the news of the day or the latest antics of celebrities and politicians. And all that information about everything stimulating many people to lash out with anger and violence at everyone who they feel shows them the slightest disrespect, anyone who disagrees with their way of thinking.
As we look forward to the Coming of Jesus, James exhorts us to have patience. He knew that living the godly life means great sacrifice and humility in a world filled with evil allurements, persecution, and indiscriminate and sudden violence. The qualities of patience and humility are difficult to demonstrate in the face of the temptation to strike back with violence or compromise the faith by succumbing to the world and its ways.
This temptation to compromise is strong at Christmas a time. The world focuses not on Jesus or Advent, but on materialism, often under the guise of altruism. It is a season for overindulgence and self-centeredness as demonstrated by the incivility and greed of Black Friday, Cyber Monday and the deluge of holiday ads and films we see on TV and the internet.
Temptations, intemperance, and lack of patience are not by any means confined to the Christmas season or to those who do not know Jesus. Many believers think it fine to lash out and avenge themselves on those who abuse them or do not conform to their way of thinking. Others adopt the ways of the worldly culture around them so as not to miss out on all they feel entitled to as well as to avoid being ostracized or persecuted.
We believers all struggle to live the life of righteousness but are tempted to be impatient with other people, lash out at those who do not agree with us, grumble against God or doubt Him amid pain, loss, suffering, tribulations, and persecution. James exhorts us to take comfort from the example of Job. We are to trust God: He is using our trials and pain for His glory as well as to help us grow into the image of His Son Jesus. He gives us the strength to love those who we do not like, to live in patience, at peace with all. He will not fail to be with us in our pain and suffering. He will enable us to endure and be satisfied with our daily bread.