Everywhere we look in our society, we see and hear the politically correct push for tolerance.
We are taught (programmed and indoctrinated) to tolerate and even appreciate all differences in beliefs, opinions, religions, life choices, and thought patterns. And we are supposed to do so without questioning or contemplation – or consideration of the things that God finds intolerable.
This tolerance indoctrination begins in early preschool, then follows up in schools, colleges, and even workplace teachings. We also hear tolerance espoused in countless commercials, television shows, and movies, as well as all avenues of print media. And to top it all off, we are inundated with discussions and arguments on tolerance on social media sites.
Enough already! When did the highest standard for all of humanity become merely tolerance? Haven’t we forgotten that love surpasses tolerance?
Think about it! Who really wants to just be tolerated?
I tolerate Brussels sprouts when a friend serves them on a dinner plate. I tolerate the people around me who (out of the best of intentions) give me unwanted advice. I tolerate long lines at an amusement park to ride my favorite ride. I tolerate trips to the dentist to better my health. I tolerate the chore of weeding my flower bed to have better-looking blossoms. But the Lord knows I do not love any of those things.
Wait, doesn’t the above paragraph beautifully and ironically defend a need for tolerance? After all, we put up with a lot of undesirable things (like bitter veggies, dental visits, long lines, unwanted advice, and pulling weeds) to have the better, more desirable things (like health, happiness, and the beauty of nature). So, shouldn’t we tolerate everyone and everything that people do and believe to maintain peace and harmony? Isn’t tolerance a small price to pay for those “better” things?
Well … tolerance, in and of itself, is not always a bad thing. Yes, we need good health and happiness in our lives. But what is the point of health and happiness, or even peace and unity, without love?
I want to be loved, not tolerated, and I do not want to merely tolerate others. I want to love with the same love that Christ first demonstrated to me while I was still a hopeless sinner.
Whenever I think about the difference between tolerance and love, I always remember a lesson my mother taught me as a teenager. It was a lesson I did not like learning at the time. In fact, I could hardly tolerate learning it then, but I am ever so grateful for that lesson now.
It happened the year I turned fifteen. Finally, I was allowed to date, and I was so excited. It was the most awaited time of my adolescence, and I already had a prospect for my first date all lined up and ready to go. But, alas, there were some catches to this dating thing. My mother set some very clear boundaries:
- I could only date boys my parents knew and approved.
- I could only date one night per weekend.
- The boy must come into the house to speak with my parents before we left.
- We had to be home by 11 p.m.
- And – this was the kicker – the boy must ask me out before bedtime (9 p.m.) on the Wednesday night prior to his offered date.
Of course, my “boyfriend” had to immediately test the boundaries of my mom’s archaic rules.
So, early on the first Thursday morning after my 15th birthday, he called before we left for school to ask me out, explaining that he had been late getting back from church the previous night and could not call.
I mean, seriously! Who in their right mind would turn down a 16-year-old guy that went to mid-week church services? My mother – that’s who!
She politely but emphatically told me to tell my guy, “No, thank you.”
Without blinking an eye, she said he would just have to wait one more week to take me out on my first date. I relayed the dreadful news and hung up the phone in tears. I then pitched a fit of the finest magnitude, with absolutely no desired results from my mother.
She stood firm and explained that any boy who wanted to date me must realize that I was a treasure, God’s treasure, my family’s treasure, and as such, I was worth making plans for.
On that Thursday morning so long ago, my precious momma taught me that I was to never, ever be any guy’s second choice or last-minute idea. And in the process, she let me know that I was never to settle for second best, and I was to never tolerate being someone else’s second best either.
What a lesson; what a blessing. Even now, 45 years later, I still understand that I am God’s treasure, and I was purposely designed to be honored, respected, and loved – not just tolerated. Neither is anyone else! We are all treasured by our Maker. He loves each of us beyond measure. And this knowledge garnered from my mother’s lesson overflows into my view of tolerance today.
Yes, I will tolerate Brussels sprouts, long waiting lines, dentist visits, unwanted advice, and even weeding chores. Actually, I will tolerate a variety of undesirable things to enjoy a better outcome. But I will not tolerate things that violate the sanctity of the treasure that God has created within me or the sanctity of the treasures He created for me.
So, the next time someone tries to indoctrinate you with the woke trend of tolerance, stand up for yourself, your beliefs, your values, and the gifts that God has given you – including the precious and varied gifts of people from every walk of life that God has placed in your path.
I can assure you that He did not place those people (with their different cultures, beliefs, and values) in your path to merely be tolerated. He sent them your way to be loved – truly seen, known, and loved with the love of their Heavenly Father – the very same God that they may or may not even acknowledge or know.
Please, please take the time to sit by the well with those people or sit with them in a local coffee shop and get to know them. Listen and learn about who they are and what they need.
I can guarantee it’s not really tolerance they want or need.
Merely tolerating those people or tolerating their sins (or even tolerating your own sins just because the world says they are tolerable) won’t help anyone. In truth, tolerance will not impact anyone enough to change their lives.
But His love will. It is strong and true enough to shine a light on sins, while simultaneously providing immediate, free, and unmerited healing and forgiveness for those very sins.
How do I know this for sure? Because His perfect, spotless, sacrificial, all-encompassing, all-knowing love was borne out on an old rugged cross – for each of us.
And it never was a Thursday morning, second-choice kind of love. It’s the kind of love that went far, far out of the way to find the woman at the well, to change her and her entire village, not just accept them and tolerate them.
That kind of love did more than tolerate me as well. He made it a priority to find me and save me. Then, that love changed me, and it can change you too. His love can also change our world into a society filled with more than mere tolerance because it is the very love that our world so desperately seeks and needs.
So, don’t simply tolerate others or merely be tolerated. Love.
