We hear a lot about "tolerance" these days. It can be pretty confusing. We expect certain things like food, cars, electrical equipment, airlines to meet certain standards or to fall within certain tolerances, otherwise we demand action be taken. So in some cases we insistent on little to no tolerances. I've put enough boxed furniture pieces together to experience the frustration of intolerances.
Yet, when it comes to philosophies, lifestyles, beliefs and corresponding actions/attitudes, we're supposed to be tolerant. Each to his/her own. Every opinion, every lifestyle, every philosophy is to be equally accepted. Really? What if each worker at the plant decided to drill holes wherever they believed the hole should go on a piece to be assembled? Guarantee that furniture wouldn't go together. What if each doctor decided to treat a certain disease however they felt like, ignoring the treatment that had been proven to work? What if someone believed driving on the left side of the road worked best for them because they were left handed?
I'm afraid in our effort to be nonjudgmental, we've misconstrued tolerance and truth. Telling the truth isn't being judgmental, it's the truth. I can believe the moon is made of green cheese, but that doesn't mean it's true. And sharing that truth with me isn't being intolerant or judgmental. As a friend of mine once said, "Truth is truth even is no one believes it." For centuries people believed the world was flat, but that didn't make it true.
Having said all that, a judgmental attitude or spirit, according to God, is inappropriate. We're all sinners. Nobody's perfect. Everyone is in need of God's grace. As a follower of Christ, we should be the first to recognize that we are all in need of grace. And because we've received grace, we should be the first to offer grace. Some have said that The Church is the only organization that shoots its wounded. Sad to say there is ample evidence to support that. But God is not about condemning or finger pointing or vilification. He's about restoration and renewal and recovery.
Acceptance and tolerance are really two different things. Jesus accepted and loved and ministered to people living in aberrant behavior patterns without tolerating their lifestyles. He offered His grace and a way out. He didn't cut them off or write them off. In fact, the only people He got after hard and criticized were those who considered themselves the spiritually or religiously elite. Interestingly, Jesus criticized the religiously pious and extended a hand to the sexually immoral, the cheats, the tax collectors, the party animal and others.
God, thank you for offering your grace to me, the chief of sinners. Crush my judgmental spirit. Allow me to be full of your truth and grace and to extend both to the people I encounter.
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