metimes this is from natural calmness of disposition; sometimes it is
the result of lack of spirit. But in any case, such a person will be more
naturally patient when saved than will others who are of a different
temperament. Salvation does not destroy our natural temperaments.

Grace goes far towards supplying us with patience, but grace alone will
not always be sufficient; therefore patience must also be a thing of
cultivation. We are told to "add patience." This means that not all our
patience comes by grace, but that some of it comes by works. In our sinful
lives we cultivate impatience by acting out our feelings of impatience.
The more we put our feelings into action, the more impatient we become.
When we are saved, we begin to act out patience, and the more we act it
out, the more patient we become in our nature.

Patience is largely a matter of the proper use of the will. The Bible does
not say, "Feel patient," for our feelings are largely involuntary; but it
says, "Be patient," that is, _act patiently_, for our actions are
voluntary. There are those who, when waiting for a train, can not sit
still. Such an individual walks up and down the platform and looks at his
watch again and again. He sits down and rises again, and turns this way
and that way. Another sits quietly and is unperturbed. It matters not to
him if he does have to wait a while. It is no task for him to be patient.
He is of a patient temperament. The other is quite the opposite. Because
of this, however, we can not say that one has more salvation than the
other. Both are feeling naturally. The difference is in their natures, in
their temperaments, and not in their hearts.

The fact that we are exhorted again and again to be patient signifies that
the acting out of patience is a matter of our wills. No matter how pure
our hearts are, we have tests of patience. A pure heart is not an
automatic heart, working out things independently of the will. When we
have a pure heart, our will is fully set to do right, and through our will
we regulate our actions so that they are right. Our feelings are
_influenced_ by the will, but are not _controlled_ by it. We can not help
feeling sad or joyous when there is an occasion that influences our
feelings. So we can not but feel impatient sometimes; that is, things will
try our patience, and we find that our feelings respond, in some degree at
least, to those circumstances. The degree of response will depend upon our