Tolerance or Love?

I read this article today over at MTV.com about the "Equality Ride" put on by members of Soul Force. They are an organization promoting tolerance of homosexuals in all aspects of life. They are led by former evangelical preacher and ghost writer, Mel White.

Equality Ride leader Jacob Reitan at Liberty University
Photo: MTV News

Here is an excerpt from a reply I wrote to MTV.com:

"The third assumption is that tolerance is the highest end. Christianity (and thereby Liberty University) teaches that tolerance is not the highest standard, love is. Love says Â?I care so much about your well being that I will at times say things that you may disagree with so that you at least hear it from someone who cares.Â? A majority of students at Liberty University come from the public school system. Many have homosexual friends. When they go home on breaks some will hang out with friends with whom they disagree on this issue. Disagreeing does not mean that these students have any animosity towards those of the homosexual community.

In the interest of ?tolerance and love?, I would hope that outlets such as MTV would take the time to sit down and truly understand where many conservative young people are coming from. There is a national movement among young evangelical Christians to better articulate their views and demonstrate love to all people at all levels while maintaining their belief in scripture. There are many homosexuals who attend conservative evangelical churches and they remain because the sexual issue is only one part of who they are. Homosexuals should not only be defined by their sexuality and conservative evangelicals should not only be defined by their belief in this one issue either. There is much more common ground than there is division. It is possible to disagree without being disagreeable."

Tolerance sounds like a wonderful word but it is nothing when compared to love. It was in fact out of a LACK OF TOLERANCE FOR SIN that Jesus demonstrated the ULTIMATE ACT OF LOVE. In that case I'm very glad that tolerance wasn't the highest standard.

I have family members who are alcoholics, drug users, prisoners, you name it... but I cannot in honest faith say that tolerance is how I approach them. I don't. I do not tolerate self-destructive behavior. In fact it is out of love that at times I am very forthright and stern in expressing my concern over various self-destructive issues... the issues outside the realm of mere opinion.

It appears to me that Christians have allowed themselves to be painted into a corner because of the vocal minority on both sides of these divisive issues. The silent majority just gets pushed around and leaves their critical thinking caps at the door in favor of trying to appease everyone. On one hand we have our denominational leaders we don't want to tick off and on the other hand we have our missional hearts that want to speak Jesus' love so we ignore what may seem offensive. Being confident in God's word and being a loving communicator of that word are not mutually exclusive.

I for one believe that we should follow the fantastic advice found in 1 Peter:

"But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, 16keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander."

So... Tolerance or Love?