Okay I want to see if I can provoke a little discussion here and get you thinking.
I've been reading a whole lot about how Christians are perceived as being intolerant. Before I go much further I should say I can see how we are perceived in this way. As the pastor of a church that doesn't fit "the norm" for church I know all about how hateful some who say they follow Jesus can be. I've had more than my share of fingers in the chest, hateful letters, emails and phone calls. I've often thought "Hey just give me a little slack. You don't have to like what we are doing but why be so intolerant of what we are doing. We're just different but we are all serving the same Father." So I know about the desire for tolerance.
That being said I'm not sure tolerance should become a Christian virtue. I know for sure that Jesus said we would be known by the way we love - not by the way we tolerate. I'll go further and say that we cooperate in with the Holy Spirit and allow Him to produce in us the fruit of love that there will be somethings we see in people that we love that we won't just tolerate. But then I don't think that means we will become judgemental and harsh. See I don't think Jesus was tolerant but I don't believe He was ever mean, judgemental or unloving. We are called to follow Him and love - love each other, love our neighbors, love our enemies.
How do we do this in a world this in a world that longs for tolerance? If you had a choice between a friend who would love you - really love you or to have someone that showed tolerance for you - which would you prefer?
Okay that may be enough to get us talking.
Thursday, October 25, 2007
Discussion topic for this week: Which is better? Which do you want?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
3 comments:
I prefer someone who loves me enough to tell me what they believe as well as when they feel I may be heading in the wrong direction but understands that in spite of their candor I may choose a different path.
In other words, I should love enough to say “What you are doing is wrong!!” as well as accept that person may choose to stay the course. If they choose to continue down the wrong path, I would not enable their decision but would still love them. Isn’t that a form of tolerance?
Great topic, Ed. As a Christian with very dear friends who are openly gay, tolerance is something I am often asked about. First of all, I think we need to differentiate between Christ followers and those without a personal relationship with God. If a Christ follower who is part of our local body (church) continues in obvious sin, I am committed to speaking the truth in love, even if that conversation is not welcomed. But for people like my gay friends who do not have a personal relationship with God, why in the world would I expect them to live like a Christ follower? It astounds me how many people make an issue of homosexuality and draw lines in the sand about this lifestyle. For all of my friends and family who have not experienced forgiveness for sin and a relationship with God thru Jesus, my prayer is the same. I think the apostle Paul said it best: "We beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God."
I think as Christians, we sometimes forget that we shouldn't tolerate sin in ourselves, but confrontation about specific sin doesn't make sense with nonbelievers. And even if they changed their lifestyle, it still wouldn't change their status as separated from God.
I would love to hear what others have to say about this big "tolerance" issue.
This is why we should be very careful when reading and watching the media. The world would have us tolerate all that contradicts the Bible. This does not mean we should not love the people who do things that are against God's wishes, but we shouldn't fall victim to the media. Let's have a mind of our own. I love all gays, I love women who have abortions, I love drug addicts, but all of that does not mean I am tolerant of their actions.
Post a Comment