There is a tremendous push in our society for tolerance. In one sense, that is admirable. We need to be tolerant of the preferences of others, the opinions of others, the weaknesses of others, and so on. Tolerance seems to embrace the idea of love.
And yet, tolerance in our society isn’t what it seems. All too often, tolerance is more accurately: “You need to be tolerant of me.”
When tolerance becomes “You, tolerate me,” then I am embracing me, not love. That is what happens when you put second things first.
When the second great command is placed ahead of the first…
- Man is glorified.
- Man is central.
- Man becomes like...man.
- Man is the motivation.
However, when we keep first things first, the first and greatest command is given priority:
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.—Mark 12:30
When we put first things first…
- God is glorified.
- God is central.
- Man becomes like...God!
- God is the motivation for all that we do.
Do you remember the teaching of Jesus…?
Whoever forces you to go one mile, go with him two.—Matthew 5:41
This teaching, from the Sermon on the Mount, acknowledged that a Roman soldier could force a person to carry his load for a mile. Naturally, that was distasteful to a Jew. The Jewish teachers taught that a disciple of the law should not be pressed into service by the king’s soldiers. Jesus, however, taught people to have a different frame of mind. Voluntarily go another mile.
Now, thinking of that teaching, how absurd would it be for a person to volunteer to a Roman soldier, “Hey, I’d be happy to carry your things a second mile.” That kind of thinking is laughable. A person cannot possibly go the second mile until after going the first.
In a similar way, how absurd is it to think that there is benefit in following the second great command without first observing the first great command? In fact, it is impossible to truly love your neighbor as yourself if God is not first in your life.
“For God so loved the world…” is not about how much God loved, but about the way in which God loved. God’s love is sacrificial; He gave His only begotten Son.
When a person loves God first, they embrace that same kind of sacrificial love and extend it outward to others. Tolerance then becomes exactly what it sounds like, “I will be tolerant of you by sacrificing for your good.”
Tolerance must never sacrifice the holiness and purity of God. Tolerance must never embrace sin. God’s tolerance does not embrace every thought and every lifestyle because not every thought and lifestyle glorifies God.
God loved sacrificially, but He did not cease to be God. We are to love our neighbor, but not without first devoting ourselves to God in love.
Keep first things first! Then, and only then, will the second have relevance.
Mark Stinnett
October 6, 2024
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