From the Pastor's
Heart...
TOLERANCE & DIVERSITY
Tolerance and diversity seem to be two popular words, and we often hear them directed toward the Christian. The thinking that seems to dominate our culture is Christians have no right to propagate their opinions, and the only thing that isn't tolerated is intolerance. At the same time, even in some religious circles, the word diversity is used to the point of exhaustion. Oftentimes there is a belittling of those who would be defined as being intolerant in their theology and practice. However, there are certain thoughts and practices established by God that are intolerant and exclusive. For instance, the Bible records in John 14:6 that Jesus lays claim to being the only way to God, ". . . No one comes to the Father except through Me." I agree that this is a pretty intolerant statement, and it does seem to be a bit exclusive, but we must face the issues of our day and discern how we will respond to them
.
The upshot of the whole deal is exactly this:
there are boundaries in diversity, tolerance and
inclusiveness. There are boundaries to accepting every person into the
fellowship of believers. Jesus said that one must be born again! There are
boundaries in what constitutes a marriage relationship. It is
between a man and a woman! There
are boundaries! I suppose the
difficulty may be discerning what those boundaries
are and to respond humbly and gently to those
who may differ. We can so easily be obnoxious as we confidently draw the
"line in the sand" with an attitude as if we are challenging someone
to a duel. With an attitude like
that, we can be sure that even if we
happen to win the argument, we may also have lost an opportunity to gain a
listener to the new concept being
shared. I Peter 3:15-16 talk about giving
an answer about one’s Christian hope: "But you
must do so in a gentle and respectful way."
Obviously we live in a cultural setting where
tolerance, acceptance and diversity are applauded. That is not all bad,
and I want to be the first in line giving
a standing ovation when it comes to respecting all people. However, I cannot get
around the fact that God has stated some things in black and white. Either we
accept those as truths (gasp), or we must rip
out large portions of the Bible and redefine what it
means to follow Jesus. At the risk of being labeled narrow-minded,
intolerant, and exclusive, I am a follower of Jesus Christ, who has put
boundaries into life's issues. It may
be hard to understand, but if you're searching for
freedom and satisfaction in life, check out God's
boundaries.
May
God give us much grace and discernment!
Your
pastor, Tim