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Answer
Passivity is a trait of someone who refrains from taking action and allows others to do so. Being passive means avoiding resistance and yielding to external influences. Passivity can have positive or negative outcomes and may have various underlying reasons. The Bible provides examples of individuals who displayed both positive and negative forms of passivity.
Passivity is appropriate when we submit to God’s will. Jesus exemplified this type of passivity on the night of His arrest. Instead of permitting His disciples to defend Him, He willingly endured the mistreatment from His captors. “When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly” «who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously: », (1 Peter 2:23). Jesus Christ, the Lord of all, stood in a courtroom, bound with ropes, and allowed Himself to be mocked, beaten, and insulted by men—and He did nothing to stop them. He had earlier told His disciples, “Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels?” «And he answered and said, He that dippeth his hand with me in the dish, the same shall betray me. », (Matthew 26:23). Jesus’ passive behavior had a deeper significance, and His inaction was actually quite active: the Lord was actively giving Himself as a sacrifice for the sins of the world (Galatians 1:4;1 John 2:2). To retaliate or defend Himself would have contradicted God’s plan «The Son of man goeth as it is written of him: but woe untoThat man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good for that man if he had not been born.” , (Matthew 26:24). Jesus’ passivity was within the will of God and therefore right.
There are times when we must follow the example Jesus set and remain silent when ridiculed or attacked “But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.” , (Matthew 5:39). Even then, in being passive, we are making an active choice for the good of the other person rather than burying our heads in the sand and pretending we don’t see the wrong. Some actions may appear passive when, in fact, they are calculated choices. For example, Billy Graham refused to take sides politically. Although a conservative Christian, he remained passive about politics so that he would be welcomed into any White House. He certainly had political views but refused to be drawn into public battles so that he could achieve a higher aim—maintaining influence on Presidents on either side.
However, there is no place for passivity when God has called us to action. Joshua had to take action to root out the evil in Israel (Joshua 7); there came a day when Barak had to mobilize the army to combat the Canaanites (Judges 4). The apostle Paul was one of the most active proponents of the gospel, yet, while in prison, he asked the Ephesian church to pray that he would have boldness when he spoke about Jesus “And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel.” , (Ephesians 6:19). Boldness is the opposite of passivity. Boldness moves forward while passivity holds back. Boldness takes action while passivity refuses to engage.
The inInstructions throughout Scripture rarely require passivity. They call us to take action. We are commanded to put away passivity and do these things:
• pray without ceasing «Pray without ceasing. », (1 Thessalonians 5:17)
• preach the word «Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. », (2 Timothy 4:2)
• encourage one another «But exhort one another daily, while it is called today; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. », (Hebrews 3:13)
• love one another «Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently: », (1 Peter 1:22)
• flee from sexual immorality «Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body. », (1 Corinthians 6:18)
• honor parents «Honour thy father and mother; which is the first commandment with promise; », (Ephesians 6:2)
• “put to death . . . the components of your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires, and greed, which is idolatry” «Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry: », (Colossians 3:5)
Obedience to God’s commands often requires us to step out of our comfort zones and speak up, make decisions, or progress towards the goals God has established. Jesus’ final directive to His disciples was to “go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:19-20). If the disciples had opted for passivity, Christianity would have faded quickly, and none of us would have learned about Jesus.
God is not passive. He sent His only Son to redeem us (John 3:16-18). He is a protector of widows and orphans “A father of the fatherless, and a judge of the widows, Is God in his holy habitation.”, (Psalm 68:5). He fights battles on behalf of His children (Exodus 14:14; Deuteronomy 1:30; Nehemiah 4:20). When we were powerless to save ourselves, Jesus came “to seek and to save that which was lost” “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.”, (Luke 19:10). We are called to know Him, love Him, and resemble Him (Mark 12:29-30; Romans 8:29).
