Should Christians be Tolerant?
We hear a lot about tolerance in today’s world. We are expected to practice tolerance, even if it goes against our beliefs or could be harmful to us.
But what exactly is tolerance?
According to Dictionary.com, tolerance is defined as the following:
a fair, objective, and permissive attitude toward those whose opinions, practices, race, religion, nationality, etc., differ from one’s own; freedom from bigotry.
When we break it down, there is one word that we, as Christians, must have a problem with… Permissive. We can be fair and objective within the confines of our beliefs. We can be respectful rather than combative. But we cannot stand by and abide actions that diminish our ability to serve our God.
When we tolerate sin, we undermine our faith. In the Old Testament, Israel was charged by God to be intolerant of any religion that did not honor and worship our one true God. Israel was surrounded by nations that were evil and worshiped idols. But Israel’s leaders defied God and became tolerant of the evil-doers, and eventually ended up incorporating pagan beliefs into their own worship. The upshot is that we, as followers of the One True God, must be completely and totally intolerant of sin. We cannot condone beliefs or practices that remove us from God and His directives for our lives. We should be tolerant of others who hold different beliefs, but we cannot allow that tolerance to diminish our worship.
When we tolerate sinful behavior, we hurt both ourselves and those who are around us. Jesus spoke of this in Matthew:
So if your eye–even if it is your good eye–causes you to lust, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your hand–even if it is your stronger hand–causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.
Matthew 5:29-30
Obviously, Christ was speaking figuratively. But his words ring strong, that we must remove sin from our lives. Can we be perfect? No, but we must strive for the perfection of God every day. It is easy to tolerate sin in and around us, but when we do that, the sin will eventually destroy us. But it is better to suffer the pain of removing the sin, than to risk judgment. We must regularly search our lives for anything that leads us into sin, and then take action to remove it.
However, there are times when it is better to be tolerant than repressive. In Acts we read:
My advice is, leave these men alone [speaking of the apostles]. If they are teaching and doing these things merely on their own, it will soon be overthrown. But if it is of God, you will not be able to stop them. You may even find yourselves fighting against God.
Acts 5:38-39
These words were spoken by Gamaliel, a noted scholar of the Law of Moses. He was a teacher of Saul of Tarsus (later Paul), who “learned at his feet.” It was Gamaliel who discouraged the Sanhedrin from putting Peter and the other apostles to death. He believed if Jesus was the messiah, they would be fighting against God. If Jesus wasn’t, then the movement would die out, as others had before (Theudas, Judas of Galilee).
Sometimes we must wait to see what God is trying to say to us. Unless these individuals or groups are endorsing dangerous doctrines (such as child abuse, slavery, or other illegal activities), the better path may be to step back and listen for the voice of God.
But always be on guard. Don’t allow tolerance of others to become tolerance of sin in your life.
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