How do you cope with the pressure of hurtful situations? In a former pastorate I had a week when I met one day with a young father whose family has disintegrated through a divorce he did not want. On that Monday I listened to the director of the local child treatment center tell of their work with abused children. On Tuesday I talked with a lady who was repeatedly used by her father and her brothers as a child. More than a million children are sexually abused every year in America. Children under the age of four bear the brunt of two-thirds of all child abuse. One-third are under six months old. That’s one heinous sort of mistreatment. Many experience some form of pain and hurt —marriages falling apart, disappointment in romance, rebellious children, alcoholic parents, broken relationships. How do we cope with these pressures?
The natural tendency is to become bitter, but God has a better idea. James tells us how to respond correctly when we are treated unjustly. He suggests four specific attitudes - two we should adopt and two we should avoid.
I. ATTITUDES TO ADOPT WHEN MISTREATED
A. Be Patient v 7
“Be patient, then, brothers, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop and how patient he is for the autumn and spring rains.”
The word “then” points back to the previous six verses. There, James lectured the wealthy who twisted justice and treated the Christians unfairly. Now he addresses those who had been mistreated. How should they respond to the injustice? He has already assured them that their cries “have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty” (v. 4). A just God will deal with injustice. His coming is certain - “be patient!”
The term “patient” means to be “long-tempered”—to have a long fuse when treated unfairly. This is the opposite of “short-tempered.” Patience is the first mark of true love. “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs” (1 Co. 13:4-5). Patience harnesses the revenge motive.
“Be patient ... until the Lord’s coming.” The Lord will return, though we don’t know when. The promise of His coming was a familiar truth to the early church. One of every 13 verses in the New Testament, about 300 references, is to the Second Coming. This truth offers comfort and hope to those facing stress and strain. Christ’s return will end oppression and make their suffering a thing of the past.
The farmer is an example of waiting patiently in hope. In Palestine the soil is poor— rocky and dry. The farmer plants the seed and patiently waits for the early rain in October to soften the soil so it can begin to germinate. Then he waits through the winter for the spring rains to swell the grain and fill it with flavor. During this process the farmer never races up and down the rows, biting his nails. He plants it and leaves it.
For a small farmer the waiting could be very difficult. Times were hard and his family might be hungry during the wait. But the farmer had to be patient. He could not speed up the process.
You can’t hurry God’s plan. Injustice and suffering may stalk your life, but wait on the Lord to make things right. If you take the situation into your own hands, disaster will follow.
A resentful spirit can drive you to do strange things. A divorced man was ordered to pay alimony and child-support every month. Every time the payment came due, he grudgingly left 160 pounds of nickels at his wife’s door. Another divorced man was ordered to equally divide his property with his ex-wife. His neighbors looked on in amazement as he carefully measured a $100,000 suburban home, revved up his chain-saw and literally divided floor, walls, ceiling, and roof—precisely in half.
Let the Lord be your defense. His coming is as certain as the harvest. Be patient!
The Lord is coming and He will vindicate His people. In fact, Peter hints that the only reason He has not already returned is that He is as patient as He desires us to be. “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance” (2 Pet. 3:9).
B. Stand Firm v 8
You can be patient and still become depressed and defeated by feelings of self-pity, so James says, “You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near.” In the original this means, “Prop up your hearts.” Obviously it refers to the Second Advent, but there’s a practical sense in which our hearts are strengthened by the presence of the Lord. Stand firm by letting the Lord support you. “Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous fall” (Ps. 55:22). “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you” (1 Pe. 5:7). The Lord provides relief as He steps into the midst of our discouragement.
There is an amazing story in the life of David. Absolom, the King’s son had rebelled against his father, forcing the King to flee Jerusalem for his life. In this time of great sorrow, Shimei, one of Saul’s relatives “pelted David and all the king’s officials with stones...” (2 Sa. 16:6) and cursed the king. Abishai was incensed at this treatment of his king, and said, “...’Why should this dead dog curse my lord the king? Let me go over and cut off his head’“ (v. 9). David said, “Leave him alone, my own son is trying to take my life. Maybe the Lord told him to curse me.” Most people would say, “Yeah, slit his throat so fast he won’t know it till he sneezes.” David wouldn’t follow his natural impulse for revenge. He settled his heart in the Lord.
Look at circumstances alone and you’ll be discouraged. The prophet Isaiah shared the secret of standing firm: “You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast (stayed on Thee -KJV), because he trusts in you” (Is. 26:3). Hold on to your faith in the midst of temptations and trials. Brace yourself for the struggle with sin and difficult situations. James’ advice is the same today as it was then: “be patient, and stand firm.” Williams paraphrases v. 8, “put iron into your hearts...”
Maybe you’ve heard the doggerel about “The Oysters”:
There once was an oyster whose story I tell,
Who found that sand had got under his shell;
Just one little grain, but it gave him much pain,
For oysters have feelings although they’re so plain.
Now, did he berate the working of Fate
Which had led him to such a deplorable state?
Did he curse out the Government, call for an election?
No; as he lay on the shelf, he said to himself,
“If I cannot remove it, I’ll try to improve it.”
So the years rolled by as the years always do,
And he came to his ultimate destiny—stew.
And this small grain of sand which had bothered him so,
Was a beautiful pearl, all richly aglow.
Now this tale has a moral—for isn’t it grand
What an oyster can do with a morsel of sand;
What couldn’t we do if we’d only begin
With all of the things that get under our skin?
John White, the Christian psychiatrist and author says that he gets letters from Christians around the world. Those from the Western world, where we enjoy liberty and prosperity, request seminars on stress management. The letters from the Third World countries, where persecuted Christians are under the greatest stress, request instruction on faithfulness and on the cost of discipleship.
White writes perceptively,
By and large, Third World Christians take stress for granted. When they are not struggling merely to survive, their joy in the kingdom seems to make them indifferent to the cost of Christian service. It may be that while we in the West live in an artificially secure environment our brothers and sisters have a better chance of seeing life as it really is. Eternity is a little closer to them. When the skulls of starvation grin at you, when danger makes life a day-by-day affair, or when technology no longer buffers the reality of the crudities of life, one has different values, values less inimical to Christ’s rule in our hearts. [John White, Excellence in Leadership, (Downer’s Grove, InterVarsity Press, 1986), p. 93].
II. ATTITUDES TO AVOID WHEN MISTREATED
A. Don’t Grumble ... v. 9
Times of stress and hardship cause tempers to flare. It is very easy in times of special difficulty to become quarrelsome and impatient, to take our troubles out on each other, and to complain in the family. Satan wins a major victory when he provokes us to criticize one another. James says, “Don’t grumble against each other...” or as the NEB translates, “Do not blame your troubles on one another.”
James warns that such criticism puts us in danger of judgment, and the judgment is imminent: “The judge is standing at the doors.” Christians must stand before God give an answer to him one day. Be sure that your conduct is above reproach.
B. Don’t Swear ... v12
“Above all, my brothers, do not swear—not by heaven or by earth or by anything else. Let your “Yes” be yes, and your “No,” no, or you will be condemned.”
James’ concern was not with swearing in courts of law, or with profanity. He wanted Christians to be ethical in ordinary conversations and private talk. He was concerned with the dishonesty that creeps into Christian speech and with the casual disregard of truth. Two standards of honesty are impossible—the Christian must be truthful at all times.
James calls for integrity. Our speech should be more sincere than dramatic. We should mean what we say and say what we mean. “Yes” should be yes, and “No” should be no. Integrity is more important than the form of words, but our speech should guard our integrity. This is why David said, “Set a guard over my mouth, O LORD; keep watch over the door of my lips” (Ps. 141:3).
We may wonder, “What does ‘swearing’ have to do with the problem of suffering?” In the midst of a difficult trial it is easy to say things you don’t mean, and make bargains with God. Chuck Swindoll suggests that the passage warns us not to appear super-spiritual. Keep your speech very simple. “Let your “Yes” be yes, and your “No,” no” when you experience mistreatment. Don’t offer super-spiritual explanations. Don’t talk—”Be patient and stand firm”—persevere!
III. EXAMPLES OF PERSERVERANCE
James suggests two excellent examples of those who stood firm, the prophets and Job.
A. Prophets - v. 10
“Brothers, as an example of patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets...” They are a great case study in suffering and patience. The true prophets “spoke in the name of the Lord.” Bearing a message which people did not want to hear often led to trouble. They were not exempted from opposition and mistreatment because they were faithful. Their work actually provoked the opposition.
Nearly all the prophets suffered persecution and extreme hardship. Elijah was hounded and hated (1 Kings 18:10, 17). Amos was falsely accused of conspiracy (Amos 7:10-13). Jeremiah was thrown into a cistern and threatened with starvation (Jer. 38:1-13). He suffered so many abuses that the Jews called him the prophet, and looked back to him for inspiration and courage in their own trials and persecutions.
Suffering and ministry went together in the lives of the prophets. If Daniel had not been deported we would never had heard of him or benefited from his ministry. Hosea’s painful marriage failure became his message!
The writer of Hebrews describes some of the things these men endured. These spokesmen for God, “...shut the mouths of lions, quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword. [Their]... weakness was turned to strength; [they] became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. Women received back their dead, raised to life again. Others were tortured and refused to be released, so that they might gain a better resurrection. Some faced jeers and flogging, while still others were chained and put in prison. They were stoned; they were sawed in two; they were put to death by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated— the world was not worthy of them” (He. 11:33b-38).
God is faithful. “As you know, we consider blessed those who have persevered” (v. 11). Don’t focus on their suffering. Look at how God dealt with them. Then call them “blessed” or “happy.” What a witness! Respond graciously to inconsiderate, uncaring acts, and you will notch out an opportunity for witness everytime. Those who endure until the end will be rewarded.
B. Job ...v11
“You have heard of Job’s perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.”
Job was also blessed because he stood firm. His sufferings were tragic and intense, and for no legitimate reason. At the very beginning of his story, we learn that Job “...was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil. He had seven sons and three daughters, and he owned seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen and five hundred donkeys, and had a large number of servants. He was the greatest man among all the people of the East. (Job 1:1-3).
Disaster fell upon Job and there is no doubt—he suffered terribly. All his worldly possessions were taken from him. His sons and daughters were suddenly killed in a freak storm. Painful sores covered his body from head to foot (Job 2:7). His wife urged him to abandon faith in God (Job 2:9), and his friends aggravated him with their awful advice. He knew the pain of material, emotional, physical and mental distress. Yet Job’s loyalty was steadfast. He stood firm, saying, “Though [God] slay me, yet will I [trust] him” (Job 13:15). Job’s faith was genuine!
God is concerned about you and me just as he was with Job. “The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.” The Psalmist said, “The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love” (Ps. 103:8). Warren Wiersbe has said, “When you find yourself in the fire, remember that God keeps His gracious hand on the thermostat!” [Warren W. Wiersbe, Be Mature, (Wheaton: Victor Books, 1978), p. 161].
Job and the prophets were commendable before God. Peter spoke of this kind of living. He said, “Slaves, submit yourselves to your masters with all respect, not only to those who are good and considerate, but also to those who are harsh” [unreasonable, overbearing, unjust, crooked] (Amplified New Testament). For it is commendable if a man bears up under the pain of unjust suffering because he is conscious of God. But how is it to your credit if you receive a beating for doing wrong and endure it? But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God” (1 Pe 2:18-20).
See the repeated word “commendable.” This is worthy of notice by God. To bear up under the pain of injustice is beyond ordinary human response. Be patient! Stand Firm! And God favors you! Bear the pain of unjust suffering. Endure when you suffer for doing good. Hear the commendation of God!
You may have an opportunity to put this into practice very soon. Many of you already know the terrible pain of unfair treatment. For some of you life has been a series of injustices. God will make it right. Put your trust in Him.
