Tolerance

Webster's defines the word Tolerance as sympathy or indulgence for beliefs or practices differing from or conflicting with one's own (this is one of 4). Recently a friend of mine wrote about how she was being tolerant of something going on in her life. I have had times in which I was tolerant of things going on in  my life and the lives of those that I loved. I didn't want to loose them from my life so I decided it was ok to be tolerant of their behavior rather than to be objective of it.

You see Jesus taught about tolerance. In his day Jesus communed with people who were the outcast of the society of that time. He did not judge them for the things they did or who they were. He loved them all the same. John 15:12 says This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.

Right there in that verse he says that we need to love each other as he loves us. That is unconditionally without fault. This theme is found many more times in the bible. This must have been a very important concept that Jesus wanted to make sure that we got.

Tolerance is a concept that a lot of churches today are missing. A lot of churches have not tolerance for people who do not fit into their preconceived cookie cutter idea of what a Christian is to be like. If someone comes into their church and does not fit their idea of a Christian then they will not tolerate them being at their church or having any part in the church.

Then there is the work place. Sometimes co-workers can be cruel with intolerance. They will not tolerate you if you don't conform and do what they think is the right way to do things. Their intolerance of you makes it hard to do your job. You begin to wonder each day what is going to happen bad to you. You feel uneasy. It is like they are trying to break you down so you will quit and that they can find someone else to replace you with that will follow their rules.

I have felt intolerance. It is not a good thing. When this happens to me I pray and let God be in control. Things like this are out of my hands. There is no need in getting all bent out of shape over it. A lot of times the person being intolerant has no right to do so. They just want to make themselves look better. 

This is all to often the case. People hear something that they don't like so they want to gossip about it. They may even want to those involved what to do in the situation. We need to be more tolerant of things. If it does not affect us then we need to be tolerant of it and move on. Let people live their lives. 

Remember that God loved all people. He didn't care. He was tolerant. We need to be more like him.