From Sampler to Sower

Weekend Teaching Series: Cultivate

Message Title: Patience, Kindness, and Gentleness

Sermon in a Sentence: God calls us to bear with those who typically would annoy us, actively offer grace to those who have nothing to offer in return, and to serve those “below” us in our social structure.

Text(s): Galatians 5:22-23, Exodus 34:6-7, 2 Peter 3:9, Luke 6:32-36, Matthew 20:25-28

Message Summary:

This week we continue combining some of the fruit in the hopes of finishing the series on time.  I had already planned on combining kindness and gentleness, since as concepts they are so closely related.  And like any good auctioneer trying to make sure everything has a chance to sell, I threw in patience for good measure.  Just trying to keep up with the weather cancellations.

Of course, I’m not the first to lump these virtues together.  In fact, Paul himself frequently connects them.  In Romans 2:4 he links the concepts of patience and kindness. In Ephesians 4:2 he joins patience with gentleness. And in Colossians 3:12 all three are listed among the things in which the Christian should be clothed.  So I’m in good company.

But while it’s easy to see that these words are closely related, it’s a little tougher to understand what they mean.  What are these virtues that the Spirit cultivates in us?

The first word Paul uses makrothumia and is translated as patience or forebearance.  I freely admit this is fairly nerdy of me, but I love the word makrothumia.  It comes from a proud family of New Testament Greek words.

The grand-daddy of the family, the one from which they all come, is the root word thumeo.  It is a word that originally meant to burn or to become hot.  Over time it was associated with human emotions, in particular those which cause us to get hot under the collar.  It’s frequently translated as wrath or rage, but is also used in connection with passionate desire.

Another related word from this family is epithumeo.  Epi- is a preposition, which depending on context can mean on or over.  Epithumeo means to get on fire over something.  Sometimes it’s used to describe the way we get all heated up about things, and in those contexts it’s typically translated as “to covet.”  Sometimes it’s used to describe the way we get worked up over someone that we desire, and in those instances it’s translated as “to lust.”  Either way it means to catch fire for something or for someone.

Makrothumeo and the related noun makrothumia is similar in meaning, but actually means the exact opposite. The thumeo root still means to catch fire, but makro- means big or long.  Instead of being quick to catch on fire with rage or desire, makrothumia means having a long fuse, a slow temper. “Long-suffering” really is a good translation of the word.

But what’s really interesting to me is the way the connotations of the word changed depending on what religious perspective you held.  In Greek philosophy and religion, makrothumia had something of a tragic cast to it.  It necessarily a bad thing, but it wasn’t something you were happy about.  It was what you did to make the best of a bad situation.

Makrothumia was not a word used to describe to the gods and goddesses of Greek religion.  They had neither need nor use for makrothumia.  They lived a blessed existence in which what they wanted came to pass.  There was nothing they had to suffer, long or short, over.

Humanity, however, was a different story.  Humanity was left to the whims of the gods and the vagaries of fate. Often to be long-suffering was the best humanity could hope for, but always it served as a reminder that our existence was far below the blessedness enjoyed by the inhabitants of Olympus.

And so makrothumia was used to describe the desperate persistence of the victims of a siege.  Defeat was inevitable.  Death was just a matter of time.  But they didn’t give up.  They suffered long in the hopes that at least they could die nobly.

Makrothumia was used to describe the perseverance of  a doctor treating a fatally ill patient.  There was not really any hope of a cure, but the doctor continued to do everything in his power to help the patient even though there was no stopping death’s approach.

Makrothumia was used to describe the sailor lost at sea.  The ship was sunk. Shore was somewhere beyond the horizon. Exhaustion was closing in. But the sailor uses the last measure of his strength to swim a little farther, even though he knows he soon will drown.

The city under siege, the doctor at the end of his ability, the sailor drowning at sea, none of those are exactly situations you’d be eager to volunteer for.  And all of them serve as not-so-subtle reminders that the human condition is far below the blessedness of the gods.

But in Judeo-Christian thought, makrothumia appears in a much better light. Rather than just a resigned acceptance, makrothumia appears in biblical thought as a hopeful patience and a faithful perseverance through suffering.

But what makes the difference?

The difference lies in the fact that, unlike the false gods of the Greeks, the God of all Creation himself has patience. The God of the Bible is not like the tyrants of Olympus who sit back at their leisure and enjoy the display of human suffering and strugglse. Instead the God of the Bible has a plan, and only his patience can bring that plan and purpose to pass. Yahweh is a longsuffering God.

In Exodus 34, God is described as:

The LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished. (Exodus 34:6-7, NIV)

God is compassionate, gracious and slow to anger. Makrothumos is the word they chose to translate the Hebrew concept of God’s patience into Greek. He is slow to anger, patient, knowing that his plans for us are only accomplished over time.

And it’s not just the Old Testament.  In the New Testament, Peter writes:

The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. (2 Peter 3:9, NIV)

God’s disposition towards humanity is one of makrothumia, not apatheic lethargy or distanced disinterest, but a hopeful patience that extends to us every opportunity to repent.

As a result, the Christian ideal is not one of resigned acceptance or pessimistic fatalism. We are not condemned to an existence far below the blessedness which the gods enjoy knowing we will never be like Him. Rather we have the opportunity to be like the God we serve in the way we relate to our world. Our God is a God of longsuffering patience, and the fruit of his spirit in our lives produces that same makrothumia in us.

How is makrothumia displayed in our lives?

• As we suffer without complaint. Isaiah describes the coming Messiah as being like a lamb, silent before it’s shearers.  Jesus did not fight back, nor complain about the suffering he had to endure. Why? Because he knew that he did not suffer for nothing. His suffering was redemptive.  And through Jesus we have the opportunity to share in his suffering, to unite our pain with his and let it be redemptive in our world.
• As we persevere without despair. All the Greek examples of patience — the city, the doctor, the sailor — all of them persevered. But they did so in despair.  They knew there was no hope. The Christian also perseveres, but does so with hope.  The Christian knows that nothing, not even death, gets to write the final chapter in our story, and our light and momentary troubles are nothing compared to the eternal glory that will be revealed in us.
• As we bear with one another in love. Makrothumia is revealed in our relationships, not in the patience we show to those we like, but rather in the patience we show those who annoy us and get under our skin.

The second virtue Paul address is kindness. The Greek word here is chrestotes.  Unlike makrothumia, chrestotes does not belong to a rich word family.  Nor does it come with lots of helpful word pictures.  It’s pretty straightforward and kindness is a good translation.  Kindness is the grace and help we give to others, especially when they don’t deserve it.

Like makrothumia, the definition of kindness is not first found in the dynamics of human relationships.  The definition of kindness is the way God treats us.  It is his grace, extended when we least deserve it, that fleshes out what kindness really is.

Unlike makrothumia, kindness is an active virtue.  In many ways patience is passive.  You don’t have to actively help someone in order to bear with them.  You just have to bear with them.  Kindness however is active; it means doing kind things for someone else.

Perhaps most important though is that the measure of kindness is not found in how we treat our friends or what we do for our family. Kindness is measured by how we treat those we like the least.  Jesus spoke of this in Luke 6:

“If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full. But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.  Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. (Luke 6:32-36, NIV)

Jesus points out that God is kind, chrestotes, and if we are going to be his children we must likewise be kind.  Not in the cheap kindness that loves those who love you back, or does good to those who have something to offer in return; you can find that kind of “kindness” all over our world.  But God’s kindness is extended to those who deserve it least and who have nothing to offer in exchange.

The third virtue that Paul speaks of which we dealt with this week was gentleness. The word here is praotes the noun form of the adjective praus. It is translated here as gentle, but it’s the same word Jesus uses in the beatitudes when he blesses the meek. It refers to the consideration and deference we show others.

If patience is measured, not by how we treat those we like, but those who get under our skin, and if kindness is measured, not by how we treat our friends, but how we treat our enemies, gentleness is measured not by the consideration we show to those that are in power and authority over us, but rather those over whom we have power, authority or influence.

In Matthew, Jesus’ disciples are arguing over who will hold positions of power and authority in Christ’s kingdom.  Jesus points out that the rulers of the Gentiles love to lord their power over their subjects.  They demonstrate their power by wielding it any way they can.

And our world isn’t all that different.  We’re accustomed to measuring power by our ability to get someone else to do what we want.  We measure influence by how many people we can convince to see things our way.  Authority is a function of how many people answer to us.

But Jesus tells his disciples, then and now,

Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave.

In the kingdom of Christ, greatness is not measure by how many people you can force to serve you, but how many you can serve.  In a world, where the powerful tend to take the day, Jesus says it is the gentle, those that instead of wielding power, lay it down to become a servant, will inherit the earth in the end.

We closed by challenging students to examine themselves to see just how patient, kind and gentle they really are.  Not so that if they find themselves lacking in any of these areas they can practice longer and try harder so maybe they will do better.  The fruit of the Spirit are not things we can cultivate in ourselves.  However, if we discover we find a need in ourselves to be more fruitful, the solution is to allow the gardener to do some pruning in our lives.

Element of Fun/Positive Environment:

As with all of our services in this series we kicked off with a Vegetables of the Spirit video.  This week a random act of kindness causes our veggies patience to rub a little thin.

Worship Set: Blessed be Your Name, No One Like You, Forever, Famous One

Favorite Moment: It was a special treat to have Paul Ward drop by and spend the evening with us.

Listen to the Sermon:

Subscribe to the Water’s Edge podcast on iTunes or via RSS.