This is the only time the word “tolerance”
appears in the Bible. (Its other English
counterpart word, forbearance, appears also in Romans 3:25). It says that God is tolerant toward us, despite
our sinfulness.
The word means "patiently putting
up with someone in love and kindness."
So should Christians be that way with
the rest of the world? Yes. The Bible talks many times about loving
outsiders, foreigners, sinners and our enemies.
However, tolerance has taken on a new
meaning these days. The world defines it
as "acceptance." They want
Christians to:
·
Accept other religions or personal practices as
equal and permissible
·
Stay quiet and not make people feel bad about their
beliefs or try to change them
·
Not judge others
Christians cannot accept things that
are wrong or they would be compromising the truth they believe. However, they can be patient, loving and kind
to those people engaging in those practices.
There are not many biblical examples of
people who kept quiet when there was injustice.
Moses spoke out to Pharaoh (the leader of
the Egyptian government) when the Israelites were held as slaves.
Prophets spoke to the nation telling them they
had lost their focus on spiritual matters.
Jesus attacked the religious institutions
for their lack of compassion and loss of truth.
Stephen spoke out to the Jewish authorities
and got stoned in the process.
Paul walked into cities and stood in their
public squares and arenas challenging their belief system.
By being "intolerant" are
Christians judging? There are two types
of judgment. One is right and one is
wrong.
WRONG: I look down on you
because of your behavior and thought process and believe I am better than you.
RIGHT: I want to help you
and warn you that your thought/behavior could hurt you now or for eternity and
I want you to align your thought/behavior to God’s word so you can /have
eternal life.
The one type of judgment judges other
people's behavior to make the judger feel better about himself. Wrong!
The other type of judgment judges other
people's behavior to help/save them from death.
Right!
If I saw a person drowning and was
tolerant - kept quiet and did not want to evade the person's personal privacy -
I would be lacking in compassion.
So Christians must be bold, loving,
caring, persistent and compassionate to save a lost and dying world.