Tolerance can be an enemy ............. Parables 719

June 19, 2001 & August 28, 2001

North American society is slowly killing itself. Its odd weapon is tolerance.

Even though ‘tolerance’ has slid from its biblical definition, it started out as a godly quality. In fact, God is the origin of tolerance. One Old Testament prophet said to Him, “Your eyes are too pure to look on evil; you cannot tolerate wrong. Why then do you tolerate the treacherous? Why are you silent while the wicked swallow up those more righteous than themselves?”

This man knew “the wages of sin is death” and he could not understand why God would look the other way and allow evil people to do their thing without bringing them to justice.

This prophet did not realize that God’s tolerance has a purpose. It is explained in the New Testament where it says we should not “show contempt for the riches of God’s kindness, tolerance and patience” because His kindness is intended to “lead us to repentance.”

Instead of striking sinners dead, God tolerates our godless behavior because He intends that His mercy produces in us a deep sorrow for sin that results in changed behavior. He also asks us to have the same attitude towards others.

We must not forget that God clearly hates sin. We are supposed to hate it too, but we must also refrain from condemning people without giving them a chance to change. Our mercy and grace is supposed to allow them to experience God’s mercy and grace, not give them license to continue in godlessness.

In other words we cannot, in the name of tolerance, say sinful behavior is okay because when tolerance is lifted from its biblical context, it becomes deadly. Instead of hating sin, we become passive, not caring. We do not act against evil but look the other way.

This ‘tolerance’ damages the very core organs of society, including government, church and family. These days, politicians can lie, break promises, be unfaithful, act in immoral ways and speak to and about each another with rude, insulting words. Critics can condemn some of this, but lately if Christians speak against such behavior, we are labeled ‘intolerant.’

More and more, we are expected to look the other way at childish bickering that makes parliamentary debate more like sandbox-style mudslinging, and ignore behavior that mocks what we were taught as children about being considerate and respectful. Although the Bible tells us to pray for our leaders, Christians find this difficult when we cannot respect what they are doing.

‘Tolerance’ also affects the church. God sets high standards for His people, including those who lead them. Society, in the name of ‘tolerance,’ lowers those standards, even changes them completely. Instead of the biblical pattern, the church is expected to show ‘tolerance’ toward those outside of it, welcoming them into leadership. Any Christians who say ‘no’ and stand for God’s standards are said to be ‘intolerant.’

The family is the hardest hit. In the name of ‘tolerance,’ we must accept deviations, even encourage them. In the Old Testament, God’s people fell from His commandment not to marry outside their own people but when the Jews returned to Israel from a long captivity in Babylon, they did just that. Their leader, Nehemiah, was upset. He “rebuked them and called curses down on them . . . he beat some of the men and pulled out their hair and made them take an oath in God’s name.”

Today, Nehemiah would be imprisoned for his ‘intolerance’ and no one would be encouraged to right the wrong they committed against the law of God. Instead, society says to mind our own business when it comes to adultery, even same-sex marriages. What was once shameful behavior is now ‘tolerated’ and God’s model of the family is becoming extinct.

Scripture warns what will happen when God’s purpose for tolerance is ignored: “Because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God’s wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed.”

By perverting what God intended as a good thing, our country is shooting itself in its vital organs. The mess seems impossible to fix. Lord, grant Your people godly courage to speak against evil like You do, and at the same time, the godly ability to tolerate evil like You do — with the purpose that people will turn from their sin to You, that they might experience forgiveness and changed lives.