noun \ˈtä-lə-rən(t)s, ˈtäl-rən(t)s\
: willingness to accept feelings, habits, or beliefs that are different from your own
: the ability to accept, experience, or survive something harmful or unpleasant
These seem to be straight forward in how we understand and engage tolerance in our world. Whether we correctly understand tolerance is debatable because of bias infused into our understanding. There seems to be a struggle between being tolerant and being intolerant in a secular sense as well as religious. No matter how much we claim to be tolerant there will always be ways we are intolerant in our lives. I'm not just talking about your hate of vegetables or the driver who goes too slow in the fast lane. I'm not just talking about your idea of right and wrong. Though they too are very important. Without a guideline there is little to talk about. Without a law everything becomes permissible. Without moral inclination we are without a stand on which to either tolerate or be intolerant in the ways we are.
I don't tolerate situations where I'm feeling pressure to "go along" with the crowd. I am intolerant of people who hurt children. There is a definite tolerance for those who struggle with the many issues of life. Special tolerance goes to the veterans who lost part of themselves so that you and I could be free to be tolerant or intolerant. People can present their tolerance or intolerance in many different ways. Why? Because those two words mean different things to different people or people groups. Sometimes our intolerance is seen as prejudice. Sometimes our tolerance is seen as prejudice. Sometimes we just don't want to deal with people or situations so in an intolerant moment we move to the rural Alaskan country and catch salmon (and not paying $14.99 per pound!). You see, it's not so simple as saying I tolerate or don't tolerate. There is context to contend with and that throws so much more fuel on the fire.
In the 60's there were bumper stickers that proclaimed everything. One of my favorites was "Different but not wrong." I hate to be the one to say it but, that's not true. Yet, that one phrase was applied to ALL people and ALL situations. We do not have all things in common and thus cannot be defined by one quip. I'm different and yet not the same. So, is that wrong? Those who beat the drum and carried the flowers in their hair were different just as the generation before and after them. Being different was sometimes wrong. Terrorist groups from anywhere in the world are different and are wrong. Yet, it was the very revolution that brought the United States into being. We did not tolerate and did not feel or think we were wrong. We advised like minded people to be intolerant of what the mother country, England, wanted. In the end, "right" prevailed in the minds of the new Americas and "right" did not prevail in the minds of the English.
Don't mix up our lack of ability to stand up for what we believe as being tolerant. It's cowardice. Whether we cannot stand up against that which is within us and wrong or stand up against what is external to us; it's still cowardice. Before we get too close to hanging me, I'd like to give an example. Jesus. Jesus saw that there were hypocrites in the temple doing wrong. He took the time to braid a whip and then cleared out the temple. All in the name of God. Then he quietly and without any resistance carried his cross on which he was killed. So, was Jesus tolerant? Was he intolerant? Yes. Jesus was and is both. He tells us to be like him. Where does that leave you? Answer the question for yourself before you try to put your definition on anyone else. That's what Jesus would do and did.
: the ability to accept, experience, or survive something harmful or unpleasant
These seem to be straight forward in how we understand and engage tolerance in our world. Whether we correctly understand tolerance is debatable because of bias infused into our understanding. There seems to be a struggle between being tolerant and being intolerant in a secular sense as well as religious. No matter how much we claim to be tolerant there will always be ways we are intolerant in our lives. I'm not just talking about your hate of vegetables or the driver who goes too slow in the fast lane. I'm not just talking about your idea of right and wrong. Though they too are very important. Without a guideline there is little to talk about. Without a law everything becomes permissible. Without moral inclination we are without a stand on which to either tolerate or be intolerant in the ways we are.
I don't tolerate situations where I'm feeling pressure to "go along" with the crowd. I am intolerant of people who hurt children. There is a definite tolerance for those who struggle with the many issues of life. Special tolerance goes to the veterans who lost part of themselves so that you and I could be free to be tolerant or intolerant. People can present their tolerance or intolerance in many different ways. Why? Because those two words mean different things to different people or people groups. Sometimes our intolerance is seen as prejudice. Sometimes our tolerance is seen as prejudice. Sometimes we just don't want to deal with people or situations so in an intolerant moment we move to the rural Alaskan country and catch salmon (and not paying $14.99 per pound!). You see, it's not so simple as saying I tolerate or don't tolerate. There is context to contend with and that throws so much more fuel on the fire.
In the 60's there were bumper stickers that proclaimed everything. One of my favorites was "Different but not wrong." I hate to be the one to say it but, that's not true. Yet, that one phrase was applied to ALL people and ALL situations. We do not have all things in common and thus cannot be defined by one quip. I'm different and yet not the same. So, is that wrong? Those who beat the drum and carried the flowers in their hair were different just as the generation before and after them. Being different was sometimes wrong. Terrorist groups from anywhere in the world are different and are wrong. Yet, it was the very revolution that brought the United States into being. We did not tolerate and did not feel or think we were wrong. We advised like minded people to be intolerant of what the mother country, England, wanted. In the end, "right" prevailed in the minds of the new Americas and "right" did not prevail in the minds of the English.
Don't mix up our lack of ability to stand up for what we believe as being tolerant. It's cowardice. Whether we cannot stand up against that which is within us and wrong or stand up against what is external to us; it's still cowardice. Before we get too close to hanging me, I'd like to give an example. Jesus. Jesus saw that there were hypocrites in the temple doing wrong. He took the time to braid a whip and then cleared out the temple. All in the name of God. Then he quietly and without any resistance carried his cross on which he was killed. So, was Jesus tolerant? Was he intolerant? Yes. Jesus was and is both. He tells us to be like him. Where does that leave you? Answer the question for yourself before you try to put your definition on anyone else. That's what Jesus would do and did.
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