In the world it is called Tolerance, but in hell it is called Despair, the sin that believes in nothing, cares for nothing, seeks to know nothing, interferes with nothing, enjoys nothing, hates nothing, finds purpose in nothing, lives for nothing, and remains alive because there is nothing for which it will die.
Dorothy Sayers
I have often wondered why people make such a virtue out of tolerance. It is an attitude almost prescribed in modern Western society, we are to show "tolerance" to other opinions, lifestyles, kinds of human beings (eg race, gender abilities), moral choices etc. It doesn't make sense. What minorities want isn't "tolerance", but justice for their wrongs, and a fair go. I have yet to meet somebody (though doubtless such a person exists) who actually wants to be tolerated. We don't want to be tolerated, we want to be loved. Indifference is spiritual and emotional laziness, it also devalues both the giver and the receiver. What most of us really want isn't to be tolerated, but to be wanted, admired and cherished. we don't want to be accepted with an indifferent shrug (except by those to whom we are, ourselves, indifferent), we want our value restored to us. Indifference belittles what we are, just as powerfully, in its own way, as hatred. We all need to know that we matter, somewhere to someone; and to have enduring value, we need to know that we matter to God.
1 comment:
Yes this is true. We want our voice to be heard by one who understands. The wonderfull story in Genesis contains this concept too. None of the animals spoke Adam lanugage except Eve- flesh of my flesh bone of my bone.
Hence Jesus- who came down to understand us- to experience our trials and tribulations. Jesus doesn't tolerate us or our sin he took it upon himself so we could be free and full aceptance would occur.
The spirit of the Living God also brings us all together as a body to love, to cherish to understand and to accept.
Where we fail is in the rules we create for this body life. Religon is mans attempt as providing aceptance ( not tolerance) but with conditions- you have to jump through this hoop, hurdle that fence, be at church at this time, join this commitee to be accepted.
Yes, we have lost something very deep and rich here. In creating our religons. We terrorrize each other with hints of abandonment if we don't keep jumping through the hoops. We all so desperatly need aceptence and our voices to be heard that we willingly subscribe to the relgious hierachy without much thought as to what we are lossing.
At the end of the day the promise of aceptance and love becomes merely tolerance simply because of the hoops we make each other jump through.
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