#tolerance...

     The turbulent times we live in, hasten without cause due to social unrest. The social and political climate of the world changes daily and rapidly. Global societies becomes more progressive and use hostile language to suit their narrative, men and women are encouraged to be more tolerant. Now, don’t get me wrong, I generally have little problem with that ideal, and I genuinely believe people have the “best of intentions” with this terminology and message. However, the problem becomes and is that I’m afraid there are some whom hold fast in the Body of the Living God whom take the positive aspects of tolerance and spun it to our demise and destruction. Therefore, I have a couple of thoughts regarding.

If you truly love someone, do you allow them to behave in a way or put themselves in a situation that would ultimately harm them? Or, would you correct them out of love and concern for their well-being and prosperity? What I’m saying is there is a HUGE difference between tolerance and compassion. Now, I do want to be crystal clear, so let me tell you what this is not. The word “tolerance” is pretty loaded, neither am I implying that we should weaponize Scripture to be hateful in any way toward people who do not believe in God or the Bible, or maybe even more importantly, toward people who don’t walk exactly as I walk in life. See, that’s the irony, tolerance can easily become a vehicle for hatefulness. I’m speaking specifically to and for people who believe in the One True God, and for community, for people living life together. For people who know each other well and want what’s best for each other.

     Now that that’s out of the way, let’s examine these two terms closer. I like the idea of the “law of first mention,” therefore, I’ll be looking at the Hebrew here. Tolerance refers to and is defined as “the ability or willingness to accept something, in particular the existence of opinions or behavior that one does not necessarily agree with. The Hebrew word is “sovlanut” (סוֹבלָנוּת/sohv-lah-noot), and is NOT found in Biblical Scripture, not even once. That in and of itself should tell people something. On the other hand, compassionate means to have concern, sympathy, mercy, or even pity for the suffering and misfortune of others. There are two Hebrew words most commonly used for compassion: “chamal” (חָמַל/khaw-mal) and “racham” (רָחַם/raw-kham). See Exodus 2:6 for the former, Deuteronomy 13:17 for the latter. Although these two words, tolerance and compassion, are often used interchangeably, can you see the difference? This subtle difference is stretching the definition beyond their purpose to satisfy agendas of any given moment and situation.

     Because of Western society’s “leap forward,” an inaccurate profile of Jesus has unfortunately taken shape. Today, He is portrayed as a mild and meek martyr who would never do anything to upset anyone under any circumstances, no matter what, even if He disagreed with them. His words, actions, and teachings have been misconstrued, misinterpreted, altered in order to be more palatable and placating.

The truth is Jesus was and was not tolerant. “Huh? Did I really just say that?” Yes, I most certainly did, Jesus was not ever “tolerant.” He was, however, compassionate. Please, bear with me, and hear me out. Opposed to the traits I already mentioned above, Jesus was not afraid to “step on toes” and make others uncomfortable to teach a lesson. He himself said, “I and the Father are one,” so is it so hard to believe that Jesus showed His love like that of a father, or more specifically, THE Father? When I mess up, my dad is often the first to correct me and put me back on track, even if it requires a bit of a “kick to the rear end,” “Tough love” so to speak. My father does this because he wants what is best for me, he wants me to succeed, he wants me to rise up out of the negative situational moment. It’s done out of compassion and love. Jesus taught in the same exact manner. There are plenty of examples throughout scriptures we could look to, however I want to use one in particular many men and women may even know by heart. There is an important verse in this passage that is often completely ignored. Please read John 8:1-11. I love this passage for verse 7’s sake. I love to use it to justify myself and at times the behavior of others. Context is key here, though. As incredible as that verse is, it’s just one part of an amazing lesson the Master is teaching, it is NOT the whole lesson. This one passage, amazingly, shows Jesus being compassionate for the woman (verse 7, verses 10-11), and intolerant of her sinfulness. He doesn’t command her to “Just believe in me and love me so that you can continue to live life your way.” No! He commands her to “…go and sin no more…” That might sound kind of harsh, impossible even, depending on how you understand sin. But, do you want to talk about the wisdom, grace, and mercy of Jesus? Here’s what he effectively said: “Hey, so now that you’re ok, take this experience and learn from it to avoid other potential messes like this.” If that is not compassion, I don’t know what is. He wants better for her, He loves her, and He wants her to align herself with the Word and with the Father. Period. So then, to truly love someone is to NOT be tolerant of their destructive behavior. We need to start to understand that correcting one another and holding one another accountable with love and tact is NOT “judgment” nor is it “casting stones.” I know that I’m not always so great at this thing called “life,” and not if, but when I mess up please, help me out, help me get right with loving compassion instead of merely using tolerant injustice. I would be more offended if you didn’t, because I’ll be held accountable at some point, and I’ll be worse off by then. In fact, I contend and would argue tolerance and compassion CANNOT coexist when it comes to building relationships especially for the Kingdom. We can’t and won’t grow if we’re not corrected. I’ve brought up the Kingdom a couple of times now and this passage is the perfect example of our walk and our responsibility when we come to Jesus and enter the Kingdom. We were all once “sinful,” deserving of the consequences of our actions, but Jesus stands in the gap and teaches us how to live life correctly, and gave Himself up to save us from said consequences. Once we come into the Kingdom through Him, it becomes our duty to do our best to live as He lived, to do our best to “go and sin no more,” not to be saved, but because He saved us. We need each other for that. The secular ideal of tolerance isn’t completely off. It’s just not complete. If you make a minor change in the Hebrew word for tolerance you get “savlanut,” (סַבְלָנוּת/sahv-lah-noot) a word closely related, meaning “patience.” Its root is “saval” (סָבַל/saw-vahl), meaning to bear (a burden). People must be patient with one another, help each other with the burdens we each bear, and encourage change in each other’s lives. Patience combined with compassion trumps tolerance any day. You know, there’s a certain commandment in Scripture that Jesus thought was pretty important, that is to “love your neighbor as yourself.” With this one instruction in mind... ask yourself:

  - When it comes to tolerance and compassion, which requires more understanding and maturity?

  - Which would you want for yourself and in turn for your neighbor?

     I hope everyone who reads this understands my heart here, and this gives you a new point of view benefiting both men and women alike, as you walk your paths, within your relationships.

    This is not open for debate or criticism. This is solely my opinion based upon my knowledge and life experiences. I will immediately block those who attempt. I have Little to NO tolerance for such low negative behavior.