Tolerance: Patient endurance of another’s humanness.
(Eph. 4:2, Col. 3:16)
Have you ever had a time when you were sitting in church and the sermon was just for you? Well, it was probably not specifically for you, but it seemed like it! That describes this last Sunday for me, and I wanted to share a bit of what I learned about tolerance.
Our country is so divided. We all have our opinions. We have those causes about which we feel deeply. Families, church families, neighbors, people on our social media…we can get under one another’s skin at times. The following is what I learned about tolerance.
I am pretty relaxed when it comes to other people’s opinions and ideas, even when I don’t agree with them. BUT, one thing that makes my temperature rise is when people hurt and disrespect cops just because of the uniform. See, my baby boy (well man) is a cop, so it hits home on a very personal level. Here is the thing though….yes, I get offended, but it is what I do with the offense that makes a difference.
I can choose to rise up and lash out about all the things that hurt me about this subject, OR I can not let bitterness take root by allowing the offense to sit inside my heart. Just as I see this police matter from my personal perspective, I have to remember that others may see the same situation differently. In situations like this, that is when we need to choose to be tolerant of one another.
My pastor illustrated that offenses WILL come into your life, but it is a choice to LIVE offended. He said an offense is like a piece of bait that leads to a trap…anger and bitterness. Bitterness fuels division because hurt people, hurt people. He gave a visual example with pieces of paper, (the bait) with different things that people get offended about. For example: On a paper could be for my personal trigger point, “DEFUND THE POLICE”. He throws the paper, the bait onto the floor. I see the bait, it offends me and then I have to choose what to do with the offense. I can step over it and go on or I can pick it up and be offended.
As believers and decent human beings, we need to extend tolerance with one another because everyone of us has our own personal story that others may not always see or know. We just can’t know the deep personal hurts another may carry. For me, when people hate officers I take that directly to heart for my son. I learned Sunday that I can “take the bait” or I can see the offense and step over it. I am going to do my best to step over it and remember my brothers and sisters may be carrying something I can’t see from my view point.