Your Spiritual Journey
Tolerance
Tolerance
We live in a society where the voices of “tolerance” are increasingly intolerant! These loud and angry voices decry views and beliefs that fail to conform to our own beliefs and faith. Under the banner of “freedom of speech” modern secular voices emphatically denounce the freedom of Christians (and Jews) to assert their convictions regarding God’s written revelation, Christ’s Lordship, and the biblical data regarding the coming judgment.
I can sympathize with the natural tendency to shutter at the assertion of these sobering realities, but one cannot rationally claim to be “open-minded”, “accepting of diversity” or “tolerant”, while aggressively attacking those who are convinced of the reality of God and a pending accountability. For centuries the idea of “tolerance” described the peaceful coexistence of those with differing views. Today our culture employs the word “tolerance” to justify a verbal campaign to insist that everyone conform to THEIR intemperate values. That somehow I have to compromise my beliefs to accept yours! NO!!!
2 Timothy Chapter 3 verses 1-5 gives us these profound thoughts to consider: But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. 2 People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, 4 treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— 5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people.
The last part of verse 5 struck me hard this week as I watched much civil unrest on our college campuses and other narratives around the world. Have nothing to do with them … flee from them!
We can be sure that until the return of the Lord Jesus Christ we will live in a world that battles against the authority of God and his written revelation. That will continue. But we should not buy the rhetoric that holding to an increasingly unpopular view is “intolerant.” Christians should continue to peacefully and respectfully stand up and speak up for the things that we will all be held accountable for one day.
Stand firm in your faith … in all that you do!
Mark
