On this Memorial Day weekend, while Americans are trying to catch a little vacation, we need to pause and give thanks for our service men and women, those who stand in harm's way, and we honor the memory of all who have given their lives in the cause of freedom.

          Christianity is the oldest of the world’s religions, having its roots 2600 years before Islam, back 4000 years to God’s covenant with Abraham.  Since creation, humans have sought God.  We need God and so we have formulated religions.

          But God is not the same as religion.  Religion is a system of ideas about God, and it’s been a long time since we’ve heard of a new religion.  But some are trying to make a new one.  We might call it the Religion of Tolerance.  Its God is human opinion.  Their doctrine is that all opinions are equal.  And anyone who makes a judgment is a heretic according to the religion of Tolerance.

          Someone once said, no matter who you are, there will always be two kinds of people – the morons who are more conservative than you, and the maniacs who are more liberal.  That’s how it is in society, in church and in life.  But you and I can’t be the measure of all things - we must have an authority greater than ourselves.  Human opinion is fickle, too variable.  Emotions are a poor judge, for they are often uncontrollable.  Public opinion changes with the breeze.  People need a standard greater than us, an impartial measure of right and wrong.  That can only come from God.

          Today we are told we must be tolerant.  The dictionary defines tolerance as an attitude of patience and fairness towards those whose opinions or practices differ from ours.  Tolerance is supposed to free us of bigotry, but it doesn’t always work, especially if it’s forced.  Ironically, the apostles of tolerance are usually intolerant of those who don’t agree with them.

          Some believe the strength of the Christian faith is its ability to bring different people together, people of different color, culture or ethnic origin, those who would otherwise be separate.  And it can be true, that in Christ, barriers are torn down: between male and female, Jew and Greek, slave and free.  Such results are good, but rarely true.  Sunday morning still remains one of the most segregated hours on earth.

          Sometimes this is true because of hateful prejudice, but it can also be true because we honestly disagree on what we believe.  Our Lord Jesus said the Gospel is a sword that separates some people (Matthew 10:34).  And though sin separates us, the Gospel unites us by overcoming sin.  Following Jesus may separate people as often as it unites them.

          Some barriers may be better left in place.  Galatians 5:22-23, for example, lists lines no Christian should cross.  Paul wrote, "The acts of the sinful nature are plain: sexual immorality, impurity, debauchery, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissentions, factions, envy, drunkenness, orgies and the like."  Leave those things be.  We have no business even dabbling in such things.

          There are other attitudes, however, that ought to be common among Christians.  St. Paul continues, "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.  Against such things there is no law."  These attitudes can bring a diverse group together, different people united by faith in Jesus Christ.

          But there are things we must tolerate, things mostly unimportant in themselves.  In today’s text from Romans 14, Paul offers some practical advice about how to deal with these.  St. Paul said, "Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on disputable matters."

          Acceptance doesn't mean we agree with someone, but that we won't condemn him.  Weak people still have faith, so we try not to damage it.  For example, Jewish Christians had always been taught that certain foods must be avoided.  They'd been taught, "Thou shalt not eat this and that kind of meat."  Some of them had decided to become vegetarians which made them the point of jokes.  Paul told the others not to judge them harshly.

          But to Christians of other backgrounds, meat was meat, and some of them did ask their brothers and sisters who refused to eat meat, "What’s wrong with a pork chop?"  So soon they had two factions: the “Church of the Pot Roast” and “First Vegetarian Church”, and the problem with both was attitude.  Meat Eaters scorned Lettuce Chompers.  Vegetarians condemned the Carnivores.  They became intolerant of each other, and it was bad.  And like groups do today, each side seemed to find its rationale in the Bible.

          Here Paul reminds his readers about the importance of discernment.  He said Christians are to act out of conviction.  Not convention but conviction.  Convention is based on tradition, while conviction is based on faith.  Paul wanted them to deal with controversial issues on the basis of their conviction to Christ, not just what they’d always done.
 
          Paul said, "Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind.  He who eats meat, eats to the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; he who abstains, does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God."  You can practice different conventions and yet hold the same convictions.

          Paul also told them to stop their bickering.  To the weak, he asked, "Why do you judge your brother?"  And to the strong he said, "And why do you look down on your brother?"  They were both wrong and needed to repent.

          When differences of opinion arise about deeply held traditions, people tend to react with extremism.  Strong feelings spill over, and if the dispute becomes heated, the tendency on all sides is to dig the heels in, to isolate themselves from the other side.  When that happens, people begin attacking others, and common sense flies out the door.

          Every Christian is responsible to God, and one day each of us is going to have to explain our behavior before the Lord.  So when it comes to things that really don't matter, things of personal choice, we must stop judging!  Intolerance of little things is stupid.  Act out of conviction and stop foolish criticism of things that don't matter.

          We need to try to see things from the other person's point of view.  Don't put stumbling blocks or obstacles in your brother's way.  If he's offended by what you do, maybe you should stop doing it.  Save your battles for the important things!

          But that will not be easy.  We always feel more comfortable around people who share our views, our values, our priorities.  And the lessons we learn will be valuable.  We just might learn a lesson in wisdom and sensitivity and insight.  But unless we ignore the differences that don't matter, we won't learn anything.

          There will always be differences of opinion, especially in the church.  We're to be tolerant of people, but not wrongdoing.  We must try to live in peace.  Paul wrote in verse 17, "The Kingdom of God is not about eating or drinking, but about righteousness.  Let us make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification."

          Now that's tolerating the sinner, but not the sin!  Paul wrote, "Whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord."  We all belong to God - now that's important!  God wants to shape us different people into one Body of Christ.  Christ died for all, those like us and those unlike us.  He died for the brilliant and the simple.  He loves the beautiful and the plain.  Sin makes us all ugly, but forgiveness makes us all beautiful.  He loves each one of us, no matter what.  There will always be those with whom we disagree, especially in the Church.  We must learn to tolerate people, just not the evil they do.

          Christ accepts sinners, but He does not accept sin.  In fact, He hates sin, especially what He sees in the church.  He died on the cross for everyone, even our enemies.  Tolerance is acceptable when it overlooks the unimportant.  Yet we remain intolerant of evil.  May God give us the wisdom to know the difference, and the ability to love even the disagreeable.  Amen

Copyright © 2005 by Pastor Bob Tasler.  All rights reserved.