"I Don't Want To Be Tolerant!"

This is no Punk Rocker, just a girl who likes the guitar!

Spoken by a guest speaker at our church, I knew what he meant. He was saying that he didn't want to be tolerant of sin.

With all of the talk of tolerance in our society, I can understand the Christian's aversion to the very word.

But if we aren't careful we will move in the wrong direction. The world says be tolerant of everyone-regardless of what they do, unless of course they're Christians.

However, as Christians we are to be tolerant of those different than us. In our home we have artists, writers, mathematicians, athletes, and drama queens. What if the athlete mocked the artist for not pursuing something more worthwhile? What if the historian claimed that writing isn't a real job? (I actually heard that once!)

We are so busy about making disciples that we often forget what we are disciplining others to do. The definition of a disciple is one who follows Christ. Are we training others to follow Christ or ourselves?

There is a sense in which we want others to follow us as we follow Christ.

Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ. I Corinthians 11:1

But would Christ say, "Personally, I don't like that, so you aren't allowed to do that?"(Insert whatever "that" is, as long as it isn't sin.)

This is especially true of parenting. What are issues parents lay down rules about that may not be scriptural? We aren't talking about sin issues that the Bible speaks clearly to or even rules that might help a family function better, but laws of preference for the sake of convenience (to the parents.) I could think of several easily - clothing, hobbies, books, food, silly words, hair styles, color preferences. (Yes, we know someone who forbids anyone to wear black because it's the color of sin!)

Think about people in general that you see on a day to day basis. For me, I see the young clerks and baggers at Kroger often. Because a certain young man has gages in his ears is no excuse for me to avoid him. While he worked at Kroger, I actually tried to go through his line to check out just to talk to him. Was I being a creepy old woman stalker? No! Somehow, I found out that he has a baby the same age as Abigail. I was able to mention how gracious God is to give us the good gift of children even when we didn't deserve it, that God knows best in timing of His good gifts. I was able to witness to him gently and where he was at the time.

The teenager in the car who listens to her music too loudly isn't hurting you and probably isn't in sin, she just has different preferences than you. Please don't look at her like she is going to die and go to Hell. The loud babies at the table beside you aren't trying to annoy you, they are learning how to live in a world of adults. The mother wrestling with her small children isn't neglecting discipline of her children, she's probably trying to keep them from drawing too many unapproving looks.

So the next time you see a person covered from head to toe in tattooes and green hair spiked on his head, don't automatically think, "Sinner!" Don't avoid the sullen girl at the coffee shop, she might need your smile at the moment you see her. 

And you might need the encouragement that a rowdy group of teenagers can give when they admire your two year old singing.