Less Tolerance Needed

There is a great emphasis this time of year on the need for peace in the world. Amazingly, there are still those who cling to hope that we will actually achieve global peace and that somehow we will put aside all of the many differences that divide us along political, ethic, philosophical and religious lines. Who wouldn’t want to see that happen?! Whether it’s totalitarian dictatorships on the other side of the planet that perpetrate great atrocities against their own citizens, or whether it is the bully at school who makes your child’s life miserable and threatens their well-being, the thought of a world of peace causes any sane heart to sigh with longing.

There are, of course, many obstacles to seeing that actually happen and I do not share the optimism that we will see it happen of our own accord. It will take nothing short of the return of the Prince of Peace to make it a reality. That truth is overwhelmingly obvious and I am amazed that anyone could think anything else to be possible considering the consistent decline in civility we have witnessed in our own lifetimes. The world is not becoming a more peaceful place. It just isn’t.

There is also a serious flaw in the way people go about trying to create peace on earth. Not only do we lack the capacity to make it happen, we don’t even understand what it really consists of. This is a big part of the problem because there is a desperate push for peace in the world today that is being built on a completely faulty foundation. It is the idea that living at peace with others means being in agreement with them, sanctioning their choices even when we believe them to be wrong. This method is embraced with great moral zeal in our present culture and it is being pushed down the throats of all who would hold sincere convictions otherwise. But it is doomed to fail utterly. It is the mantra of tolerance. Tolerance has been elected to the status of supreme virtue by today’s ethical elite, a place of prominence that it is woefully unworthy of. What we actually need in the world today is not more tolerance. What we need in the world today is less tolerance. And lest that leave you scratching your head, I’ll let this quote from Josh McDowell finish these thoughts here. He says it well:



Tolerance vs. Love

Tolerance says, "You must approve of what I do." Love responds, "I must do something harder: I will love you, even when your behavior offends me."

Tolerance says, "You must agree with me." Love responds, "I must do something harder: I will tell you the truth, because I am convinced 'the truth will set you free.'"

Tolerance says, "You must allow me to have my way." Love responds, "I must do something harder: I will plead with you to follow the right way, because I believe you are worth the risk."

Tolerance seeks to be inoffensive; love takes risks. Tolerance glorifies division; love seeks unity. Tolerance costs nothing; love costs everything.

Josh McDowell, in Focus on the Family Magazine (August 1999)