Intolerance

I was mulling over that story last week of the DC private school that refused to play sports at the Immanuel Christian School -- the school that Mike Pence's wife, Karen, teaches at part time -- because they have a policy regarding sexual sin for their students and staff and the students at the DC school were scared. They would play home games against them but planned to wear "gay rights" colors to protest the Virginia school's policies.

I thought, "How is that different than, say, the Greensboro Four sit ins in the early '60's when four black men sat at a 'whites only' Woolworth's lunch counter to protest their segregation policies?" Well, clearly it was offensive to the bigoted whites, and the DC school hopes to be offensive to the "bigoted Christians," but was it the same? Not quite. The message in Greensboro was "It is our right to be here." The message in the school protest is "It's not your right to think the way you do." No one in the Christian school says, "It's wrong to wear rainbow colors," so it's not like they're saying, "It's our right to wear things that might offend you." It is a protest of Christian values.

It struck me as odd, since the "message of the Left" is tolerance. But the message is never really about tolerance, is it? While they carry a continuous cry of "Tolerance!", they don't actually mean "allow to exist that with which you disagree" (the actual definition of tolerance). They mean, "Agree! Embrace our view!" In the same manner, the DC school wasn't looking to teach their students tolerance -- "Learn how to get along with people who hold different beliefs than you do." No, they were looking to teach them "Fight against ideas you oppose!"

And then I thought, "What would I want to teach my kids given similar circumstances?" That Christian school is supposed to play the DC school at the DC school's site. What would I hope they're telling their students to do? I've always argued for ... well ... tolerance. If you think you have a disagreement, find out what it is. Find out what they actually think. Engage them, not to fight, but to learn. How well can you learn to see things from their perspective? I would urge my kids to love those with whom they disagree. Stand on the truth, absolutely. Speak the truth, absolutely. But always in love. Always with the best interest of others in mind. And always let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven (Matt 5:16).

The goal of Christianity has never been to make the world a moral place, to coerce agreement. Jesus didn't come to make bad people better. He wasn't about force, about protest, about making others think like He did. He spoke the truth in love and let God do the rest. Sometimes "the rest" is repentance and faith and sometimes it's damnation, but that's God's job, not ours. I have no need to get in the face of sinners and tell them to change. That's not my assignment. Tell them they need Jesus? Sure. Nor is it my job to make the Left agree with God or the Muslims convert to Christ. Tell them the truth in love? Absolutely. But I can still "play sports" with them or whatever without having to protest. That's not my job. I don't have to get angry because sinners are sinning. I just have to love my God and love my neighbor enough to tell them about Jesus. It's called tolerance.