Toleration

Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted.  Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ (Galatians 6:1-2).

We are taught to respect other people regardless of their skin color or social standing, their financial situation or their age.  We are told that in order to show love, we must accept other people—accept their ideas and traditions, accept their lifestyle choices and behavior. 

We must be taught to show love and respect because such behavior does not come naturally.  Children are born selfish and egotistical—every infant believes that he is the most important person in the universe and should have his needs catered to immediately.  If you make a baby wait or tell her no, you can expect lots of big tears and loud screaming.  

It goes against our grain to show love and respect to others.  We’d rather boss people around than have to ask them nicely.  We’re not interested in sharing or waiting our turn.  We want to be complimented, not corrected. 

Such behavior leads to the forming of cliques.  We surround ourselves with people who think like we do and echo our opinions.  This gives us the ability to treat others with disdain.  We can sneer at people with bad fashion sense.  We can throw insults at those who are poor or shy or disabled in some way.  We can tell nasty jokes about people with differing political views.  We can gang up on someone we dislike for being different and teach them a lesson through the use of violence. 

As we grow older, we discover that words of love and respect can be useful tools for manipulating others.  A man can use words of love to get a woman into bed.  A woman can use words of respect to sweet-talk a patrolman out of giving her a ticket.  

Acting out of genuine love and respect does not come naturally to us.  We have to be taught such behavior.  We have to see it modeled by others.  This is one reason why Jesus came to live among us.  From ancient times God has told us the importance of showing love and respect to others—that’s what the Ten Commandments are all about.  But we don’t listen, so Jesus came and showed us personally what a life of love and respect looks like.  When compared to Jesus’ perfect example, our selfish and egotistical lives look empty and meaningless, stirring the desire for something better.

We live in an age of tolerance.  Teachers urge our children to respect people who are different.  So how is it that intolerance still exists, is even sometimes regarded as acceptable?

We are asked to respect other religions, but when Christians say that Jesus is the only one who can rescue us from sin and hell, churches are burned and followers of Christ are threatened with violence. We are urged to respect gays and lesbians, but if someone says that same-sex marriage is wrong there will be a flood of hate mail and negative attention from the media.  We are told that in the interests of free speech, every opinion deserves a fair hearing--but when it comes to evolution, all schools are required to teach this theory alone as if it is unchallenged fact.  

We live in an age of tolerance.  Yet many who promote tolerance are unwilling to tolerate Jesus Christ.  You dare not make jokes about Jews or Muslims, but Christians are fair game.  All over the world, countries are passing hate crimes legislation—but Christians are never singled out for protection. 

The world is filled with advocacy groups.  You have watchdogs ready to pounce if a person says something negative about race, religion, or sexual orientation.  You have people advocating for the rights of animals and in defense of the environment.  But you don’t see advocacy groups jumping up and making noise in defense of Jesus Christ and those who follow Him.

Maybe it’s because Jesus did not defend Himself when He was arrested on false charges, tried unjustly, and sentenced to a death He did nothing to deserve.  Jesus is the Son of God, yet people insulted Him.  Jesus came to show the way to heaven, yet people would not tolerate His message.  Jesus had every right to lash out at those who treated Him so badly; He had the power to end their lives with a word.  But Jesus did not lash out; instead He prayed, Father, forgive them (Luke 23:34).  Jesus did not use His power to destroy sinful men and women; He used His power to break the chains of sin that linked us to death and the devil.  Jesus responded to intolerance and hate with respect and love.  He urges us to do the same.

We live in a world that urges tolerance for all.  But is there a time when intolerance is appropriate? 

The secular world says yes.  Our society does not tolerate child abuse or neglect.  Our country does not tolerate crime or political corruption.  Our government does not tolerate acts of treason.  Such behaviors are punished harshly.

But things change over time.  200 years ago, slavery was tolerated and women’s suffrage was not.  Abortion used to be illegal.  When I was young, no one could sell liquor on Sunday.  Things have changed, and things will change. 

And that is scary.  What will be tolerated in the future?  What will not be tolerated in the future?  Suppose Christianity is pushed to the side as intolerable; will the value of life be defined by how much money you have or how much pleasure you can get out of your body?  Without Jesus’ teachings and personal example, will people love and respect each other or will they brag and use each other? 

When we decide what is tolerable and what is not, we need Jesus as our guide.  Jesus tolerated sinners, but He did not tolerate sin.  Jesus compared Himself to a physician, a man of healing who loves His patients but hates the disease that makes them sick. 

Bedside manner is important.  A doctor wants your respect and trust, but he must tell you the truth about your condition.  The diagnosis is not good—sin will kill each and every one of us unless we undergo radical treatment.  That radical treatment sounds scary—give up pride and control over your life; turn your back on anything that is self destructive or brings harm to others.  Give your life over to Jesus; let Him guide all your decisions.  Trust in His wisdom.  Submit to His authority. 

Our world values tolerance.  But we cannot tolerate that which destroys us.  We cannot tolerate sin.  So we must tolerate Jesus’ diagnosis of our condition; we need to hear the truth so that Jesus can begin treatment on a willing patient.

Jesus hates sin but loves sinners.  It’s a good thing for us that He does, because we make Him put up with an awful lot of bad behavior.  We don’t pray as often as we could.  We treat God’s name like an exclamation point for a sentence.  We disobey our parents, we make threats, we break promises, we cheat, we tell lies, we constantly whine and complain.  We don’t show love or respect to God or to each other. 

Jesus puts up with it all.  Every time we come on our knees to the cross and say we’re sorry, He forgives us and embraces us with His love.  He treats us with love and respect, hoping to encourage those qualities in each of us.

Jesus wants us to tolerate sinners, showing them respect and love.  Jesus said, Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven (Luke 6:37).  Paul writes, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you (Colossians 3:12).  To this Peter adds, Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins (1 Peter 4:8).  1st Corinthians chapter 13 tells us Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.  Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.  It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

But while God wants us to love sinners, He does not want us tolerating their sin.  Consider these words spoken by God to His prophet Ezekiel (chapter three): If I warn the wicked, saying, 'You are under the penalty of death,' but you fail to deliver the warning, they will die in their sins—and I will hold you responsible for their deaths. If you warn them and they refuse to repent and keep on sinning, they will die in their sins—but you will have saved yourself because you obeyed me.  God curses sin with everlasting punishment; we do no one any favors by tolerating their sinful behavior without comment.  Instead, we show our love by sharing God’s truth with them so they might repent and ask Jesus to forgive them. 

Hate the sin, but show love to the sinner—that’s how God treats us, and that’s how He wants us to treat each other.