From the President: Pride or Patience?

By Dr. Chris Seiple on 04 October 2005

Sometimes as we read the Bible we forget that Paul, before he became an Apostle, was a terrorist. By his own admission and with the approval of the religious and political authorities of the day, Paul actively and systematically worked to kill and destroy a minority faith other than his own. This state-sponsored terrorism led him to organize and oversee murder (Acts 7:54-60; 8:1; 26:10); to destroy places of worship (Acts 8:3); to hunt down and imprison men and women (Acts 8:3; 22:4); and to force renunciations (Acts 26:11). Today’s Christians call this “religious persecution” — and devote a day every November to the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church.

Why did Paul do it? The short answer is pride.

Paul tells us that he was an “extremely zealous” and “advanced” student of religious law (Galatians 1:14). He possessed “legalistic righteousness” because he was “faultless” (Philippians 3:6). In other words, Paul knew all the answers. This assured pride demanded persecution of the other who did not believe as he did.

But a funny thing happened to him on the way to Damascus. The Son of God confronted him with the truth of his actions. For once, Paul didn’t have the answer. Literally blinded, he was asked to believe in something he could not see. Simply, he was forced into faith. Once there, Paul could begin the process of becoming who he was called to be.

Paul went on to become the most successful evangelist in the history of the world. But his drive and his power as an ambassador of Christ came not from pride but from a spirit of obedient patience. Paul knew he was forgiven, but he never forgot the terrorist he was (the “worst” of sinners) before his transforming encounter with Christ. Paul regarded his ugly past as an opportunity to demonstrate again and again the “unlimited patience” of Jesus Christ so that others would believe (I Timothy 1:16).

While pride is easy, patience is hard. Patience understands that a sovereign God is in all things. Patience asks not simply “what would Jesus do?” but also “what is He already doing, and how can I come alongside it?” Patience recognizes that God’s ways are not ours. Patience accepts ambiguity and requires humility. And “unlimited patience” demands that we finally recognize that in serving a sovereign God, it is not what we do, but how we do it.

Many of us, however, are too often caught up in what we do. Most of us are too proud to be patient. No matter our profession, we like answers. We love to quantify our success; and we enjoy complaining about, if not blaming, others who threaten us or our success.

In our (easily wounded) pride we even persecute others, including our own brothers and sister in Christ. With our un-tamed tongues of fire (James 3:6), we often persecute each other, burning our family, friends, and leaders at the stake of gossip and hurtful words, betraying our faith and our God.

Moreover, as we focus on the petty, we forget the truly persecuted. When in the grip of pride we forget to pray for both the victims and the perpetrators of persecution … among us and overseas. We tend to forget the primary teaching of the persecuted to us: that every triumph and every trial is but another chance to testify to that which makes us different, to Him who died and rose again that we might live.

Pride provides quick and ready answers. It enables us to demonize the other and avoid looking in the mirror. On the road to Damascus, God made blindingly clear that prideful Paul was wrong. And he also made clear, through Ananias, “how much” Paul would “suffer for my name” (Acts 9:15). Paul would patiently suffer that which he had inflicted, enduring beatings, jail, and execution.

Do we have the faith and patience to be as obedient as Paul? Can we patiently accept the candor of Christ, as Paul did, and then make the daily decision to follow Him? If we can keep in mind the patience of Paul — as he lived to demonstrate every day the unlimited patience of God — then we too can make a real difference and bring glory to the King.

Last updated 21 April 2009