Fruitful Living
The fruit of patience
“But the fruit of the Spirit is Patience.”- Galatians 5:22 (NIV)
INTRODUCTION
Contrasted to the acts of the sinful nature is a single-minded lifestyle called “the fruit of the Spirit”. This is produced in God’s children as we allow the Spirit to so direct and influence our lives that they destroy sin’s power, especially the acts of the sinful nature, and walk in fellowship with God.
Patience is one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit. It is a virtue that is essential for healthy living. Its vital role in every human relationship has made it a subject of intense scrutiny by all kinds of professionals. Yet, in spite of all the extra attention, PATIENCE remains a very scarce commodity in our fast-paced world.
From a little child vying for attention, a tired parent lashing out at a child, angry drivers hurling insults at other road users, jostling and shunting in queues, driving above speed limits, and many other commonplace instances, we see evidence of the scarcity of patience in every human activity.
Society also seems to be going along well with the reality of this scarcity. Continuous research churns out faster products for everything from pencil sharpeners to computers, aircraft, ships, and rockets. Leaping from merely faster upgrades, many manufacturers now boast of instant versions of their products, as proud tribute to those who do not have patience, and whose lack they want to gratify.
God knew that we would get to this point in our human history, and gave the warning ahead of this time, that “Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”– Matthew 7:19.So, what is the good fruit that He wants us to bear? It is the fruit of the Spirit, and PATIENCE is one of the core components of that fruit.
1. The Benefits of Patience
Patience described as the inner toughness that surmounts many odds, is generally regarded a family member of wisdom, peace, joy, kindness, love, and many other good traits. Many cultures acclaim patience as a trait that has the ability to figuratively cook stone to tenderness, and as a trait that can overcome any obstacle, clean up any defect, and thrive through any opposition, trial or affliction.
Patience is not that obvious in ideal situations. As a result, it is easy to miss its presence where people are punctual, keep their words and promises, are alert to personal character defects and promptly work hard to correct them, respect deadlines, honour commitments, and seek for the good of others. Many will take it for granted that such situations happen by chance, yet it is the existence of PATIENCE that fosters such an environment.
When God said we must bear the fruit of patience, He did not intend it for His benefit, but for our own individual and collective good.
Medical evidence gives us a list of many diseases that can develop as a result of not having sufficient patience. Some of these diseases can be fatal, and the leading one is cardiovascular disease. Hypertension and stroke are among the common diseases that can result from prolonged impatience expressed in thoughts, words, or actions. Anger, unforgiveness, slander, envy, jealousy, discontent—these are all some of the common outworkings of those without patience.
2. The Need for Patience
In his insightful book Patience in the Midst of Trials and Afflictions, Dr. Samuel Koranteng Pipim, a Christian writer has captured the Christian’s need for patience in this way:
“Some Christians think they can suddenly obtain patience by “casting out the demons of impatience”! Others betray their impatience when they convince themselves and their “name-it and claim-it” followers that they can command God—‘in the name of Jesus’—to give them instant patience.
The truth, however, is that the only reason people even ask God for patience is that they are not honest enough to admit that they are frustrated with His “delay” in granting them an overnight success, instant wealth and health, quick solutions to their problems, a rapid recovery from their illnesses, and instant marriages or relationships.
Prayer for patience is almost an ultimatum—either God gives us right away what we want or we quit serving Him.
But God’s Word teaches that we cannot command God—or even the devil—for patience. Neither does the virtue of patience come overnight. Rather, it is developed over a period of time through a rather painful means” (Dr.Samuel Koranteng-Pipim, Patience in the Midst of Trials and Afflictions, pp. 37-38).
3. The Bible on Patience
What does the Bible say about patience and how do we obtain it?
According to the Scriptures, there are two kinds of patience: (i) patience as long suffering; and (ii) patience as endurance. The first deals with how we are to relate to inconveniences brought about by others or situations; the second concerns our attitude toward trials and afflictions. The first (longsuffering) is a passive Christian virtue that deals with persons. The second (endurance) is an active Christian virtue in respect of things.
English Bibles often use the same word for both types of patience. However, the original language of the New Testament, Greek, uses two different terms to emphasise the distinction between the two. The first word ismakrothumia. It means “slow to anger” or “to be long before one gets angry.” It is the word used by Paul when he says “Love is patient” (RSV; NIV), or as the King James Version of the English Bible puts it, “Charity suffereth long” – 1 Corinthians 13:4. It is the same word used when Paul urged the Thessalonian believers to “be patient toward all men” – 1 Thess. 5:14 (KJV).
The second word often translated patience is hupomene.It is sometimes rendered in our English Bibles as “endurance,” “fortitude” or “steadfastness.” This kind of patience has to do with how a Christian must deal with trials and afflictions. It depicts an object that is put under intense pressure, and being under that kind of pressure, remains intact, and does not break up. The Apostle Paul uses this word in 2 Corinthians 6:4-5 when he says, “But in all [things] approving ourselves as the ministers of God, in much patience [hupomene], in afflictions, in necessities, in distresses, In stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labours, in watchings, in fastings” – 2 Corinthians 6:4-5 (KJV).
As Christians we are expected to possess both the passive and active kinds of patience—patience as longsuffering and patience as endurance. We must bear long with others and we must calmly endure trials and afflictions. Thus, the two terms are often used in the same passages of Scripture.
For example, in Colossians 1:11, the Apostle Paul urges us to walk according to “all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness.” – (KJV). Again, in his second letter to Timothy, he urged young Timothy to cultivate both kinds of patience by following his “doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, charity, patience – 2 Timothy 3:10 (KJV).
4. Developing Patience
The need for more patient people in our world will continue to increase even as its absence becomes more critical.
Strange as it may seem, patience is developed in the crucible of affliction, when a person willingly and totally surrenders to God’s will—whatever that will may be. The book cited earlier, Patience in the Midst of Trials and Afflictions, offers the following summary of what the Bible teachers about how to obtain patience:
The discipline of trials is God’s appointed means to obtain the stamina of patience – Romans 5:3, 4; James 1:2, 3. The Lord thus sends trials in our lives to build up our endurance—to make us stronger Christians.
One can think of patience as diamond, and trials as the process by which diamond is made. The reason diamond is the hardest rock is because it has been subjected to very intense heat and pressure for a very long period of time. After the ordeal, that ordinary rock becomes something very valuable and precious. Likewise, the Lord puts us under the pressure of trials in order that we might become spiritual diamonds. The more we are tested, the stronger we become, the more beautiful we will be, and the more useful we can be for God’s service. – James 1:4.
While trials produce patience; yet we need patience in trials. We cannot claim to have patience unless we have trials in our life, for trials test our patience. – 2 Corinthians 6:4, 5; 2 Thessalonians 1:4. We must therefore, not be discouraged by trials. Even though the discipline of trial is apt to make our hands hang down, and our knees grow feeble, we must gather stamina and run the spiritual race to the finish line. – Hebrews 12:12, 13.
But very few, if any, can willingly endure trials in order to obtain patience. For this to happen, we need the supernatural work of the Holy Spirit on the heart of the believing Christian. This is why patience is one of the components of the fruit of the Spirit.
When the Holy Spirit dwells within us, He transforms us from within and enables us to bear long with others and also remain calm under afflictions and trials. We desperately need the Holy Spirit, if we are to experience this power in our lives. It is only through the work of the Holy Spirit on the heart that we can bear the fruit of patience. The hymn below summarises patience for us in a profound way:
- Patience, O, ‘tis a grace divine, set from the God of peace and love,
That leans upon our Father’s arm, as through the wilds of life we rove.
- By patience, we serenely bear, the troubles of our mortal state,
And wait, contented, our discharge, nor think our glory comes too late.
- O, for this grace to aid us on, and arm with fortitude the breast,
Till, life’s tumultuous voyage o’er, we reach the shores of endless rest.
- Faith into vision shall resign, hope shall in full fruition die,
And patience in possession end, in the bright worlds of bliss on high.
To Ponder: Joseph Addison, the 17th Century English poet reminds us that “Our real blessings often appear to us in the shape of pains, losses and disappointments; but let us have patience and we soon shall see them in their proper figures.” It’s good advice worth taking because the former circumstance we’ll have in abundance. It is, therefore, wise that we are armed with the right skills to be able to thrive under any adverse circumstance.
Stay blessed!
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By: Dr Joyce,the author
Fruitful Living
Sanitation, Hygiene, and the Morality of Public Space: Reclaiming Ghana’s Civic Virtue through Faith and Policy (Final Part)
A. The Role of Religious Leaders and Counsellors
Religious leaders wield immense influence in shaping public values. Every mosque, church, and shrine should integrate environmental stewardship into its doctrine. Islam views the earth as a masjid—a place of prostration (Sahih Bukhari, 335). Polluting it is akin to defiling a sacred space. Monthly khutbahs should focus on amanah and tahārah, connecting spiritual purity to environmental discipline.
As a counsellor, I affirm that behavioural reform requires both moral teaching and psychological reinforcement. When believers internalise that cleaning a drain is an act of ʿibādah (worship), they transform routine labour into sacred service. The Prophet (peace be upon him) taught: “Removing harmful things from the path is a branch of faith.” (Sahih Muslim, 35). This hadith perfectly captures the theology of civic virtue.
B. Individual and Community Pledge
Moral renewal begins with personal accountability. Every household must adopt responsible waste practices—segregating recyclables, composting, and cooperating with collection services. Citizens must also exercise al-amr bi-l-maʿrūf wan-nahy ʿani-l-munkar (enjoining good and forbidding evil) by correcting neighbours who litter or misuse public spaces, with gentleness and wisdom (Qur’an 16:125).
Communities should establish local sanitation committees under mosque and church leadership, creating faith-driven accountability structures. Supporting local enforcement, rather than resisting it, must be seen as a contribution to maslahah—the public interest that the Sharia seeks to protect.
This collective moral reawakening must integrate faith, governance, and citizenship into one moral project: cleanliness as worship, sanitation as patriotism.
C. Conclusion: Cleanliness, Dignity, and the Maqāṣid al-Sharīʿah
Ghana’s destiny as a great nation is inseparable from the cleanliness of its environment and the conscience of its citizens. The choked gutters, polluted rivers, and scattered waste are not only environmental failures but spiritual wounds upon our collective soul. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “Allah is pure and accepts only what is pure.” (Sahih Muslim, 1015). A nation that aspires to divine favour must first reflect divine purity in its public spaces.
To achieve this, we must view sanitation through the lens of the Maqāṣid al-Sharīʿah—the higher objectives of Islamic law—which aim to preserve life (ḥifẓ al-nafs), faith (ḥifẓ al-dīn), intellect (ḥifẓ al-ʿaql), wealth (ḥifẓ al-māl), and posterity (ḥifẓ al-nasl). Clean environments are essential for all five objectives:
- Preservation of Life (ḥifẓ al-nafs): Proper sanitation prevents disease and death. Protecting human health is a divine imperative. Allah says, “And do not throw yourselves with your own hands into destruction.” (Qur’an 2:195).
- Preservation of Faith (ḥifẓ al-dīn): Islam equates purity with faith. An unclean environment obstructs worship and spiritual growth, violating the believer’s covenant of cleanliness.
- Preservation of Intellect (ḥifẓ al-ʿaql): Healthy surroundings promote clarity of thought, while pollution and disease diminish cognitive vitality and learning.
- Preservation of Wealth (ḥifẓ al-māl): Waste management safeguards public funds, prevents costly health crises, and preserves natural resources.
- Preservation of Posterity (ḥifẓ al-nasl): Environmental care ensures a habitable planet for future generations, fulfilling our amanah to the unborn.
By aligning sanitation with these higher objectives, we transform a civic duty into a sacred mission. Achieving the Maqāṣid requires cooperation between policy and piety—laws enforced justly, education grounded in values, and citizens inspired by faith.
Let every believer remember that a clean street is a silent dhikr (remembrance of Allah), a purified drain is a fulfilled amanah, and a healthy neighbour is a protected trust. When our gutters run clear and our air smells fresh, it will signify not merely progress but piety—proof that Ghana has reclaimed its moral and civic virtue under the gaze of the Almighty Allah.
Thank you.
- By Imam Alhaji SaeedBAbdulai, the Author
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B. Instead, walk in righteousness and true holiness … (20–24)
1. This is how you learned Christ
- As you heard Him and were taught by Him (through His apostles, of course – Matt. 28:19-20)
- In Whom is the truth – John 8:31; 14:6
2. For you were taught to “put off” the “old man”
- That is, your “former conduct,” how you behaved before you were saved – Col. 3:5-9
- Putting off the old man is needed because it is never content, but grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts (like addictive drugs, you always need more).
3. And to “be renewed in the spirit of your mind”
- Which is the key to true “transformation” – Rom. 12:1-2
- You “renew your mind” only as you “set your mind on things above” – Col. 3:1-2
4. And to “put on the new man”
- A new man “which was created according to God” – Col. 3:10
- A new man, “in righteousness and true holiness” – Col. 3:12-17
In giving the admonition “No longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles,” Paul has made it clear that it involves both a “putting off” and a “putting on.” That is, our “Walking in Truth and Holiness” is not just a bunch of “Thou Shalt Not’s,” there are also some “Thou Shalt’s.”
To illustrate further the difference between the “old man” (how the rest of the Gentiles walk) and the “new man” (how Christians are to walk), we find Paul making…
II. The Application – (25–32)
Case in point: lying (25)
- The “old man” thinks nothing of lying
- The “new man” puts away lying, and in its place speaks truth with his neighbor (especially to those who are members of the same body)
Case in point: anger (26–27)
- The “old man” gets angry and lets it linger, or get out of control
- The “new man” may get angry, but does not…
- Let it linger (“do not let the sun go down on your wrath”)
- Allow it to prompt sinful behavior (“nor give place to the devil”)
Case in point: stealing (28)
- The “old man” is willing to steal
- The “new man” not only stops stealing, but works so he can help others in need!
Case in point: corrupt communication (29)
- The “old man” doesn’t worry or care what comes out of his mouth
- The “new man” not only avoids “corrupt communication,” but seeks to speak that which is uplifting to those who hear
Summary (30–32)
Why be concerned about putting off the “old man” and putting on the “new man?”
When Christians act like the “old man,” it grieves the Holy Spirit. By the Holy Spirit we were sealed for the day of redemption – Eph. 1:13-14.
Therefore, we ought to put away those things befitting the “old man” (bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, evil speaking, malice). And in its place, we need to put on those things befitting the “new man” (being kind, tenderhearted, forgiving one another just as God forgives us in Christ).
Conclusion
What a contrast there would be if all those in the church truly carried out the admonition to “Walk in Truth and Holiness!” The church would stand out like “a city that is set on a hill” – Matt. 5:14-16.
And the world, though it now has “their understanding darkened,” would be more likely to come to see the truth that is in Jesus. But what hope is there if the church is more like the world than the “holy temple” it is to be?
Brethren, are we “grieving the Holy Spirit of God?” – Ephesians 4:30. While the increasing worldliness in our society naturally concerns us, let us be careful not to react with attitudes that reveal our old characteristic when we were in the world.
BY Rev. Dr Joyce Aryee,
the author
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