Let's Stop Tolerating Each Other

I just got off the phone with John Armstrong, and as is the case with all of our conversations a great many things have come into focus for me. I must state again the importance of relationships. The thoughts in our heads are useless until someone begins to dialogue with you and feed those ideas to strengthen them.

John began the conversation by talking about a PBS special called "Peter and Paul". N.T. Wright was in it as one of the scholars. The concluding premise was that the rift between Jew and Gentile is seen all throughout the New Testament, and polarized by these two leaders: Peter being the Apostle to the Jews, and Paul being the Apostle to the Gentiles. What brought them together (and it's very clear if you survey the New Testament) is the way in which they treated the poor. Their ministry to the poor for the sake of Christ is what united them in cause.

This made me think of something I learned at the Racial Justice Initiative I attended through the Lancaster YWCA. It was said that the idea of "Tolerance" is inadequate. As one of the ladies of color proclaimed boldly:

"I don't want you to tolerate me, I want you to accept me."

And while the scope of this training was geared toward something other than unity among Christians, the lesson still applies. 

But sadly, I realized in conversation with John, that Christians aren't even at the place of tolerance. Christians live in a state of total segregation with their Christian brethren.

If a pastor says something that you disagree with, you can veto him by making the commute to a different church. We have the terrible luxury of casting our Christian brothers and sisters out of our company by choosing who we will associate/fellowship with. As I said before, a true loving relationship means that you don't get to walk away from the other person when circumstances or conversation is difficult. We become stagnant when we do this. We need people in our lives, even difficult people, for us to continue to grow.

Perhaps if we began to unite under what was done for Christ rather than what we think about him, unity could become a possibility.

It's time to move past segregation and tolerance. Let us move to acceptance. Let us embrace and accept our brothers and sisters, for that is what we are.