Tolerance

Tolerance

I am sometimes too blunt. I know this... But as a whole, we humans have become far too concerned about being politically correct. Tolerance has become a buzz word that excuses dissolving standards.

Tolerance. It's nice, really. It sorta looks like love. It sounds like kindness. It feels like peace. In truth, it is quicksand.

If we are not being tolerant, we are being judgmental. In the name of tolerance, we are asked to accept every faith as equal, every decision as right, every standard as valid. Nothing is black and white. Don't rock the boat. Don't ever risk offending.

God's standards have not changed. The Bible is the standard for truth; and holding up that standard does not make us close-minded; it makes us Christ-minded (1 Cor. 2:16 b)

It's true that The Bible says "Judge not..." Actually, it says:
Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. --Matthew 7:1-2

However, when Jesus said that, He was not telling us to ignore sin or to count wrong as right, to avoid offending the sinner. When He rescued the adulteress, He never claimed she was innocent. He simply said that we are all just as guilty as she ever was. He was not dissolving the standard of right and wrong. He was pointing out that none of us meet the standard.

Calling sin a sin is not being judgmental. It's exercising discernment, honestly. Discernment is a gift from God, through The Holy Spirit.
...but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God.–1 Cor. 2:10

But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.--John 14:26

We are supposed to use discernment. It should color every facet of our lives--in choosing friends, in being a friend, at work, at school, as spouses, and as parents. Exercising discernment keeps us spiritually safe. Discernment works like a compass or radar, to help us find and stay in the center of God's Will. Lord, help me be like Peter, more concerned with honoring God than I am with pleasing men.

It is not our place to look down on those whose sins we can discern. Ridicule is not our right. Those actions would be judgemental, and would fall under the warning in Matthew 7:1.

May we have the courage to hold up the standard and stand up for the truth--not because we are right, but because He is Righteous. As we reach out to the lost, in love (1 John 4:19), May we never forget the power of the Truth upon which we stand (Romans 1:16)

Hang in there... :)

From my old e-mail... more rope.