Tolerance & Love

 

This is a bit of a ramble but had to get this off my chest...

More and more we are told these days, directly or indirectly, that we should tolerate everyone and just about everything. Are we called to be tolerant or to be lovers… first lovers of God and Truth and then lovers of our fellow men?

Tolerance is a big word today. I have heard that tolerance will not tolerate intolerance. To most to be intolerant means to be bigoted, narrow-minded and exclusive and no one wants to be thought of as belonging to that category. We all want to be known as people who tolerate others and their opinions and beliefs.

Say something that in even a slight way opposes a belief system or viewpoint of someone else and you are “intolerant”. People automatically seem to think that if you are intolerant you will be quick to condemn and to judge another person for their ‘choices’ in life and that such “intolerance” eventually will lead to abuse, hate and all that history has shown us in the light of fanatics who have at one time or another ruled the land and treated other human beings as inferior and not worthy to live.

What is truth and what is true love? I believe that there is an ultimate Truth (hence I guess I am labeled intolerant by all those out there with belief systems that proclaim to be true based on man-made facts or myths) but does that mean I do not care for or love people who do believe differently than me? Absolutely not!!! I have a diverse group of friends and some, to be honest, believe and practice things that I believe are very wrong and will ultimately lead to death and eternal destruction but that does not mean I cannot love these people, nor does it mean that they are not loved and cannot be forgiven by the Creator once under the Blood! On the contrary!!! If I care deeply for someone I will try to sound a warning if they are about to be run over by a train! I will speak Truth to them BECAUSE I care, even when running the risk of being thought of as intolerant and narrow minded. If I just tolerated them wanting to drive of a cliff…and not shout out a warning, would that be right and caring????

Every Human being is worthy of respect and love due to the fact that they are created in God’s image. I am not to judge but I can voice and believe what is true and agree to disagree with others. Shouldn’t those who preach tolerance be ‘tolerant’ of me, even if I do not agree with them???? and not agreeing does not mean that I don't "tolerate" them or their beliefs.....

The enemy has ALWAYS been a liar. He is the FATHER OF ALL LIES. Of course he does not necessarily tell a blatant lie, lest he be found out immediately, but he will always mix truth with a little dose of lies and thus try and deceive and make feel guilty all those who would stand up for truth.

We are to love those trapped in darkness and bring light into the darkness. How can we do that, if, for the sake of peace, we agree with a lie and falsehood? Religion is one of the biggest lies out there but when we turn our back on religion, lets make sure we turn our face towards the One who calls Himself The Way, The Truth and The Life and not into the wind of the world that wants to lull us into tolerating everyone and everything. We are not called to tolerance but to love and true love lays down one’s life for one’s friends.

True Love is patient and kind. It is not jealous, it does not brag. It does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things and love endures all things, true love even loves one’s enemies!!!