A hot-tempered man stirs up strife, but the slow to anger calms a dispute. 

                                                                                                            Proverbs 15:18 

“Love is patient, love is kind” (1 Corinthians 13:4). Patience and kindness are the two words Paul uses to describe authentic love. So it shouldn’t be surprising that patience falls on the list of spiritual fruit. Patience can be defined as “the capacity to accept or tolerate delay, trouble, or suffering without getting angry or upset.” It can be described as endurance, constancy, steadfastness, and perseverance. So according to the definition, patience can be considered to be the antithesis of being angry. Today’s passage reminds us of that truth.

As believers, we are not to be hot-tempered. When we allow our emotions to escalate to an unhealthy level, two things inevitably happen. First, an emotionally charged situation has a way of preventing us from making good decisions. It’s as if the more emotional we become, the more the brain seems to “shut off.” Secondly, as we allow our emotions to dominate, our tongues begin to get out of control. This is what happens when we allow anger to dominate a situation. What is needed in those times is a voice of reason, someone who can deescalate the situation and bring the emotionally level back down to a manageable level. This “voice of reason” usually comes from someone who is exercising patience.

Another way to express the concept of patience is to refer to it as being “slow to anger.” This is description we get of God when He is describing Himself to Moses (Exodus 34:6). Notice that the proverb tells us that strife follows those who are hot-tempered while someone who is slow to anger (patient) has the ability to calm a dispute. Disagreements are a part of living in a fallen world and are inevitable even in the church. That’s why it is so important for us to have a mature, patient approach to those who oppose us. This is the instruction that Paul gave to Timothy regarding those who had a desire to become leaders in the church (2 Timothy 2:25). This concept is prominent in the wisdom literature of the Bible. Consider the following: 

The end of a matter is better than its beginning; patience of spirit is better than haughtiness of spirit. Do not be eager in your heart to be angry, for anger resides in the bosom of fools.

                                                                                                            Ecclesiastes 7:8-9 

Again, we see that we are to be patient in spirit and avoid having an eagerness to be angry. Paul talks about this as he instructs us what should not be a part of the church. Consider his words:

Let no unwholesome (putrid) word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear. Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.

                                                                                                            Ephesians 4:29-32 

Our speech should reflect patience and have the ability to be gracious and build up others around us. We must rid ourselves of all bitterness. The root of so must anger, frustration, and animosity that we might have toward others comes from bitterness. When we fix the root, the tree begins to bear good fruit. We are to be a loving, patient, and gracious to each other. This demonstrates that the presence of God is working in our lives, giving us the ability to exemplify the fruit of the Spirit. The opposite does nothing of eternal value and actually grieves the Spirit of God.

Patience can be summed up in two words: tolerance and restraint. When we have these two qualities in abundance, we can say that we are indeed living by the power of the Spirit!