Tolerance

Sermon given at Sydenstricker UMC 8/5/18

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^NIV Matthew 7:1 "Do not judge, or you too will be judged. ² For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. ³ "Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? ⁴ How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? ⁵ You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.

Today I want to broach a difficult aspect of our human nature. The inherent desire to judge other people against a backdrop of perfection for them and imperfection for us. When Jesus speaks these words that have been captured in Matthew, I can imagine that more than a few winced. Did you? Imagine for a moment that you see the flaws in someone else and instead of being compassionate and understanding you lash out at them as if you are special and they are not. Imagine for a moment what hurt you could cause without getting the whole story. How many times do we judge others for behavior that we ourselves have exhibited? Charles Swindoll in his book, Simple Faith, says that when we pass judgment on others we take on the role of God, suggesting that we are superior in some way.

I love the story of David who has at this point in his life has committed adultery and murder. Nathan, the prophet comes to him and relates a story of a man who was poor and a rich man who stole from him. Upon hearing the story, David gets angry and wants to lash out at the rich man. It is at that moment that Nathan tells him that he is the rich man. David comes to his senses and asks for repentance. How many of us have had a similar experience but we maybe did not have a Nathan to show us our own failures.  

In Adam Hamilton’s book, Half Truths, he shares the idea that we have often heard, Love the sinner, hate the sin. Here is the issue with that statement. Jesus never said it. In fact, Jesus never implied it or would have said it and never once lived His life in a way that would make us think it was correct. What He did say was Love your neighbor. We all fall short of the glory of God; hence, we are all sinners. Adam Hamilton writes when “Love the sinner” is our mantra; we’ve put ourselves in a position of seeing others as sinners rather than neighbors” (Page 153, Half Truths)

Paul writes in Romans 14: 1-4, these words, ^NRS Romans 14:1 Welcome those who are weak in faith, but not for the purpose of quarreling over opinions. ² Some believe in eating anything, while the weak eat only vegetables. ³ Those who eat must not despise those who abstain, and those who abstain must not pass judgment on those who eat; for God has welcomed them. ⁴ Who are you to pass judgment on servants of another? It is before their own lord that they stand or fall. And they will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make them stand.

Listen carefully to what Paul is saying. Welcome those who are weak in their faith. In other words, we should be spending our time loving our neighbors into relationship in a caring, compassionate and loving way. He continues by saying that we should not welcome them for the purpose of quarreling over opinions. I think about our world today and we spend excessively too much time quarreling over opinions. We all have them. But my opinion is my opinion. It does not make it right or wrong. It is simply what I believe. Paul would tell us to invite people into relationship in spite of what they think or believe.

I think about the world today and its true diversity. We are all different and yet we are all God’s creation and children. So in our differences there is a place for finding connection.

So what does it mean to be tolerant? What does Jesus say about it? In Acts 10:28 we hear these words, ^NRS Acts 10:28 and he said to them, "You yourselves know that it is unlawful for a Jew to associate with or to visit a Gentile; but God has shown me that I should not call anyone profane or unclean. Jesus tells us not to call anyone profane or unclean, a first century term for undesirable. Jesus spent His time with sinners and never hated their sin as much as He loved them and spoke of God’s forgiveness. Jesus only seems to hate the sin when it is religious leaders who are being judgmental, hypocrites and prejudice.

So what are we to do?

1.      We should never look down on people; rather we should love one another just as Jesus loves us. Jesus loved us even when we turn our back on Him. Jesus loved everyone the same, whether they were the hated tax collector, the prostitute, the leper or the non-Jew. The writer of Acts reminds us that the law of their day said to not interact with a non-Jew, not sit at their table or share their food. Yet, Jesus reminds us that there is no distinction between one another.

2.      Treat everyone as an equal, deserving of our compassion, grace and mercy remembering that God does not show favoritism. God accepts everyone from every nation. The person you see in the homeless shelter could be you if suddenly you no longer had a paycheck coming or a catastrophic illness that left you broke and alone. When we have compassion for each other, we realize that every person has value and sacred worth.

3.      Do not judge someone on what you see; rather, realize that every book has amazing text between the covers. We do not know the full story. I remember a story once of a man stealing food from a store. When he was arrested, they discovered that he was trying to feed a family of four on the streets and was too proud to ask for help. May not make the crime ok, but it certainly sets a different spin on it.

4.      We can love one another without accepting their sinful nature just as we hope they can love us in ours. We all sin and fall short of the glory of God. What if we focused on helping and loving each other? We do not have to walk in their ways to be a friend, a supporter and a Godly person.

5.      Share what is right and just with patience and tolerance. Sometimes we forget that not everyone had the privilege to be blessed with success and affluence. Sometimes those we encounter did not share the breaks we received in life.

6.      Be patient and compassionate to everyone. 1 Peter 3:8 reminds us to be of one-mid, having compassion for one another, love as brothers, be tenderhearted and courteous.

7.      Be the light of the world to all people. In order to be the light we must share the light. We must learn to associate with and be involved with people from all walks of life. When we share the Good news of the Gospel, we help people find a relationship with God.

8.      Remember that God loves us even in our failures. Can we do anything less for those around us?

Tolerance means that we find ways to share God with each other even when we disagree with the most basic of issues. We may not share the same love of music or language, or food or even lifestyle choices. But what we do know is that God created all of us to love one another. When we encounter situations where we have a choice to lash back at someone or stop, let us learn from the Anatomy of Peace. Before making critical choices to change the situation by allowing our basic personality to prevail, ask ourselves what our mindset is toward the other person. When we begin to listen to their story, often, we begin to understand. If we examine ourselves to make sure, we are not judging, rather we are listening, we can change a paradigm.

Often we need to ask God to forgive us for our sins, those logs in our eyes as we judge those who have splinters in theirs. When we put ourselves in the place of others, we can learn much about their struggles and find common ground to connect. Remember, we called by God to bring people into relationship, not find ways to convict and exclude. I remember the golden rule to treat others as you would have them treat you. If we judge one another then we cannot cry out in anguish when we ourselves are judged.

I remember a young woman who lashed out at some of us who were older than she, claiming we did not understand the struggles of prejudice and bias in the world. I remember sharing with her the early days of the late 60’s and 70’s when many of the people in the room she was judging were in the streets trying to change the very things she was trying to change. When we only see differences, inadequacies, or shortcomings of other, we tend to convict rather than love.

Let us learn to live in peace with each other, walking together in harmony and let it begin with me. Let us be compassionate, full of grace and loving, not hypocritical or judgmental. Let us show the world that we can come to the table together from all nations, all people in peace and harmony.