Exodus 34:6 And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, 7 Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty.
Tolerate: To allow the existence occurrence, or practice of (something that one does not necessarily like or agree with)
Persons all over the world are becoming more and more intolerant. Some folks have valid reasons, and others don’t, but the spirit of intolerance is gaining sway, beyond the shadow of a doubt. There is racial intolerance whereby the color of one’s skin is the determining factor for fear or favor. There is political intolerance, by which the members of one party are constantly at odds with the other, and the vitriol and spin has become so bad, that it is hardly bearable to watch the daily news.
The hatred and intolerance oozing from politicians have indeed driven some people to watch Sesame street rather than subject themselves to a barrage of bad news. Then there is vehicular intolerance, in the form of road rage, whereby persons become annoyed and ticked off, if another driver encroaches on one’s rights. Again, there is religious intolerance gaining sway, whereby certain faiths, creeds, and religions are constantly at loggerheads when it comes to the issues of belief and practice.
Therefore, as persons who have been brought by the providence God into a situation where we have certain liberties granted to us, we must understand thoroughly, the issue of tolerance, and intolerance from the scriptural perspective, so that we may be able to deal with it just as Christ would. In order to do so we will need to study the history of God’s government through the ages, beginning in heaven, and after our world was created, for there are to be found great insights into God’s character, and the way His administration handles the issue of tolerance and intolerance.
God is love. The foundation of His government is love, and all that He does, He does it with the best of intentions, and for the good of His creatures. The very essence of Christianity is love, and even though there have been very dark pages recorded in sacred history, one day it will be seen that God has always done the best that He can do for the human family.
Therefore, in seeking to gain a better understanding of God, it will be necessary to study the operations His government, for what God does, and the way in which He does it, speaks volumes to who He is. And thus, we can expect Christ to do as He has always done, for God never changes. Let’s read:
Malachi 3:6 For I am the Lord, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.
Before the earth was created, God called billions of angels into existence in heaven, and they were to render willing obedience and reasonable service to God who created them. The very fact that God gave them the freedom of choice, just like ourselves, will always attest to the sacred truth, that God is love. But with freedom of choice comes risk, because the possibility existed that some of God’s angels might choose to go against His perfect will.
This is exactly what eventually happened when Lucifer, the angel who stood in God’s very presence decided to rebel against his Creator. And therefore, how God would handle this delicate and delicate situation would speak volumes to who He is. God could have destroyed this angel as in a moment, but He did not choose to do this, because mercy delays the execution of justice until all other remedies have been exhausted.
Let’s repeat: Mercy delays the execution of justice until all other remedies have been exhausted.
We, as earthlings would do very well to adopt this mode of thought and action, because for Christians who should be following in Jesus’ footsteps, it is of critical importance that we reflect His character in all that we say or do. God tolerated the revolt in heaven for a very long time, and He watched in sadness and grief as angel after angel joined in the rebellion against Him for no reason.
God did not agree with what was currently taking place in heaven, but His merciful side seeks to do all that can be done to save the erring from their pernicious ways. In like manner, God does not sanction or agree with much of what is taking place across America, but His mercy seeks to exhaust all remedies before justice is eventually meted out. And thus, it was in heaven, that eons went by, with God seeking to save those rebels from eternal doom, until it finally came to a head.
As parents, we sometimes find ourselves in a pretty difficult situation, where we may have a wayward child at home who is rebelling against our parental authority. We may not agree with what the child is doing, and their behavior might cause us much grief, sadness, and headache, yet in our love for the child, we may tolerate a wrong course of action, until, just like in heaven, things may come to a head.
God bore long with Lucifer in his rebellion against the government of heaven. God waited and waited patiently as millions of His angels succumbed to the devices of the one who had once been a covering cherub. Yet, He did not destroy them at once, as He could have legally done. Instead, He waited and waited, and made efforts for a change of heart in those who had risen in revolt against Him for no valid reason.
Yet the rebellion continued, and God, true to His character of love, gave every angel sufficient opportunity to make up their minds to choose whom they would serve. God tolerated Lucifer and his followers for a very long time, not impatiently as we earthlings often do, but with an earnest desire that they would track a different course. Therefore, when we read in the Revelation that there was war in heaven, we should never walk away with the thought that God looked forward eagerly to a fistfight.
We do not know of, and have never read or heard where an earthly parent looked forward to a fight with their child. Now, that’s not to say that it never occurred, but parents generally loathe to engage children in combat, because the odds are usually stacked against the kids, and such a desire goes against our natural, fallen grain.
In heaven war occurred when nothing more could be done, and even then, it was Lucifer who picked the fight and God had no other choice but to defend the other loyal angels from the tyranny of his revolt, and thus it was Lucifer who became intolerant of the other angels who chose to obey God, and thus, war began. Let’s read:
Revelation 12:7 And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, 8 And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.
Sometime after this war took place, the new earth was created by God, and Adam and Eve were also given the freedom of choice, to do good or evil, to serve or not to serve God. Some people wonder at the purposes of God in creating human beings who He knew in advance would sin against Him. But if husbands and wives refused to have children because they knew their kids would do evil, then the knowledge of evil would be made to conquer good.
The fact that we know children will definitely give some type of trouble is a very poor excuse for not having children. Just like God knew in advance what would certainly come to pass, and yet went forward with the good work of creation, we too as parents certainly know that our kids would give some trouble during those turbulent teenage years. Yet we still go ahead and have children. Thus, humans should refrain from judging God for doing good, while we do the very same thing some accuse Him of doing.
To create us was a good thing, and even if there was risk, that risk could have gone both ways through freedom of choice. God’s foreknowledge of evil never forces anyone to do either good or bad, just as how our knowledge of children doing evil does not force them to do evil. It all boils down to individual choice.
Furthermore, it is important to note, that for all of the good and evil that has taken place on this earth, at the end of the day, there are millions of human beings who would be saved in God’s kingdom, so it is not as if God’s decision to create us was in vain. Always remember that! Similarly, even though all kids do evil at some point in their history, not all turn out to be drug addicts, or gangsters.
Some actually become well respected members of society such as doctors, lawyers, and pastors, and principals, etc. so it is not to say that the decision to have kids is all bad, even though we know in advance that they would do evil. Like God, our foreknowledge of children doing evil prepares us to “Tolerate” courses of action we may not approve of, all the while, we are working for the good of any child who falls into bad behaviors, just like God does.
Thus, we reiterate again: Beware of intolerance!
After Adam and Eve fell, Cain and Abel were born unto them, and they were instructed to bring the sacrificial lamb as an offering to God. But just like it was in heaven, one chose to go contrary to God’s will, and he brought fruit instead. It is worthy of note that Abel tolerated Cain. He had watched him bringing his fruit contrary to God’s will but Abel never once tried to force Cain to obey. On the other hand, Cain became very intolerant of Abel and because of this intolerance, he slew his brother. Let’s read:
Genesis 4:8 And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him.
And now, the judge of all the earth stepped into the picture, because a grievous injustice had been done, and He calls Cain to account. In response, Cain gives a very rude answer, one that would almost certainly have triggered some type of “impromptu” reaction in an earthly parent. But although God does not agree with Cain’s course of action and in no way sanctions the killing of Abel, He tolerates Cain, and just like with satan in heaven, He grants him mercy and lots of time so that if he so chooses, he might retrace his steps. Let’s read:
Genesis 4:9 And the Lord said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother's keeper? 10 And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground. 11 And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother's blood from thy hand; 12 When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth.
13 And Cain said unto the Lord, My punishment is greater than I can bear. 14 Behold, thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the earth; and from thy face shall I be hid; and I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth; and it shall come to pass, that that everyone that finds me shall slay me. 15 And the Lord said unto him, Therefore, whoever slays Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold. And the Lord set a mark upon Cain, lest any finding him should kill him.
Beware of intolerance!
But intolerance has also made its way into religion, where some who hold apparently divergent views are not tolerated by others. This is what caused the great persecution during the dark ages, for it wasn’t that true Christians were doing anything wrong, the political/religious establishment just didn’t want to tolerate them.
The genius of true Christianity is that it allows folks to exercise their God-given freedom of choice, even if that privilege is used by some to walk contrary to all that God stands for. The desire for coercion is a satanic attribute, and that’s the arena where we are now headed to. Even in the disciples of Christ, the spirit of intolerance surfaced at times. Let’s read:
Mark 9:38 And John answered him, saying, Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name, and he followeth not us: and we forbad him, because he followeth not us. 39 But Jesus said, Forbid him not: for there is no man which shall do a miracle in my name, that can lightly speak evil of me. 40 For he that is not against us is on our part.
This was indeed an occurrence of intolerance that was manifested here, which is contrary to God’s way of handling such matters. Christ did not then and there address the issue of whether or not the person in question was genuine. That was not the point. The issue under consideration was the disposition to be intolerant; that effort to force the person to shut up because he may not have been of the same persuasion.
Not because there are false prophets, does it mean to say that they should be forced to stop preaching, because, God who has given to us the freedom of choice allows them to preach. This is one of the issues that we will soon confront, because in every theocratic government existing in the world today, there is the tendency to persecute and use force in getting those of other persuasions to submit to the particular religious creeds of the rulers in question.
From a purely human standpoint, a secular form of government is much more preferable than one that is theocratic in nature even if the mandated religion is Christianity because wherever human theocracies have been embraced, intolerance and persecution have, as a rule, followed. When God instituted His theocracy with the Hebrew nation, it became one nation under God, in which the laws and principles of God’s government were to be incorporated.
These principles included mercy and forgiveness, and even when the Hebrews had sinned against God, provision was made for their salvation and restoration. God bore long with their backslidings and He also tolerated for many years, things that He did not necessarily agree with. Thus, David was permitted to have multiple wives, and the Hebrews were also permitted to drink wine and strong drink, contrary to God’s ideal, because of their freedom of choice.
During that form of theocracy, judgments against wrongdoing was meted out at times, but that is because the people had voluntarily entered into a covenant relationship with God, with Him as their sovereign and they as His servants. They were not forced to enter into any agreement with God, to obey Him, and this fact is one of the major differences between God’s theocracy and man-made theocracies. Let’s read:
Exodus 19: 4 Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles' wings, and brought you unto myself. 5 Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine: 6 And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation.
These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel. 7 And Moses came and called for the elders of the people and laid before their faces all these words which the Lord commanded him. 8 And all the people answered together, and said, All that the Lord hath spoken we will do.
But in every man-made form of theocracy, the use of force to implement a particular form of worship has been a bedrock operating principle. We observe this with Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon when he tried to coerce the three Hebrew worthies to bow down to his golden image. We observe coercion, when Jezebel and Ahab ruled the ten northern kingdoms, under which the people of their jurisdiction were commanded to serve Baal.
And in our day every theocratic form of government across the entire globe is tracking the same course of intolerance. And because of this it has now become necessary to revisit what took place when the pilgrim fathers had fled to America’s shores. They were fleeing the hate and intolerance of Europe by which persecution had made their lot very difficult. And thus, they came to the new world to set up as it were a church without a pope and a state without a king.
But no sooner had they landed that the same spirit of intolerance began to surface, for they instituted laws by which only church members could serve in the political arena, and those of other persuasions were required to join the church if they desired to serve their country.
It was because of such developments that men like Roger Williams protested against those religious requirements that were being forced onto persons who in their heart of hearts may not have been fully persuaded, for some did meet the requirements not because of personal conviction, but because it was politically expedient to do so.
And it was thus, that in our constitution and in our declaration of independence, that essential concept of “Toleration” was to be permanently enshrined to protect against bigotry, and the ultimate abuse of power by those who favored a particular religion. Let’s read:
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal; That they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”
“No religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office of public trust under the United States.” “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.”
But!
Great changes are coming our way, for when folks in authority demonstrate a preference for any one religion, it means that some of the populace would be favored, and others would be sidelined, and it’ll be just a matter of time before mandates, dogmas, and laws favoring a particular religion are going to be enforced.
We are very blessed and happy to be Christians, but if, because of our convictions we determine to force our beliefs on others, we will inevitably end up with a protestant pope, and the spirit of intolerance will mean the end of our democracy. And with that, the end of our freedoms will soon follow. In our declaration of independence, the right to worship God according to the dictates of a person’s conscience is guaranteed and this includes Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, Atheists, Christians, Mormons, Catholics and Satanists.
But of late some folks in the Christian arena have become very intolerant to folk of other religious persuasions. This is a very dangerous course, because it savors of religious persecution on the horizon for those who may not subscribe to a particular persuasion. Those who belong to any particular religion and those who do not should be able to live on the same street, if their basic human rights are respected.
But if like Cain some believers start to forbid some unbelievers, then we’re headed for a slippery slope that would ultimately result in the kindling of those fires of persecution which burned in the dark ages. Let us therefore, as the peculiar people of God in the world, learn to tolerate those with whom we may not agree. Let’s begin at home, by tolerating things that we may not agree with.
Let’s practice tolerance at our board meetings, where those who have very strong views on a certain point may be at odds with those who beg to differ. Let’s tolerate neighbors and friends who may vote one way or the other, even if we agree or we don’t. Let’s tolerate those whom God has put in authority, even though we might have to exercise restraint on account of evils that may be countenanced.
Let us also be tolerant with bad drivers on the roads especially in places like New York and Florida where some are prone to make blunders in undue haste or in delays. Road-rage stems from intolerance and we are commanded by God to be Christlike in church as well as on the highways. And most importantly, let us cultivate the spirit of religious tolerance, where people of different faiths and persuasions are treated as Christ would treat them, for He came, not only to save the righteous, but the ungodly.
We therefore end with a passage of scripture that we would to well to memorize, because one of the peculiar characteristics of God’s people in the last days will be patience. Remember that our tolerance does not necessarily mean that we agree with any one course of action, but we should let it slide if and where it’s warranted. Let’s read:
Revelation 14:12 Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.
God Bless!