Thinking back on my days of church camp at Camp Christian in Houston, OH, memories of the nightly campfire jump to mind. One of the songs we always sang around the campfire was, “They’ll Know We Are Christians.” If you’ve ever sat around a campfire at church camp, then that song is already going through your head (and will be for the rest of the day — you’re welcome.)

Whether you know it or not, the chorus goes:

And they’ll know we are Christians by our love, by our love.
Yes, they’ll know we are Christians by our love.

What Identifies Christians Today?

One of the questions we ask the inmates when we go into jail ministry is, “what comes to mind when you think about Christians?” We get all kinds of answers — some of them are good, but not all of them. “Hypocrites,” “boring,” and, “judgmental,” usually make the list when they are being honest. And, “intolerant.” Christians are widely believed today to be intolerant of other people, other beliefs, other lifestyles.

I learned early in life that if you are going to present an argument or have a dialogue, you must first define your terms.

Intolerance: The unwillingness or refusal to tolerate, accept, or respect

The label is applied with malice and contempt, but you know what? I am quite comfortable with my own intolerance. As Christians, called to love God and love others, I must be intolerant. If I truly love my fellow man as God has called me to do, there are many things and circumstances I absolutely cannot tolerate.

Here are just a few of the issues I refuse to tolerate, accept, or respect.

Hunger, Homelessness, Poverty

As Christians, we are commanded to share the good news of Christ with others, but we are also commissioned to notice and address the physical needs of those around us.

What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don’t show it by your actions? Can that kind of faith save anyone? Suppose you see a brother or sister who has no food or clothing, and you say, “Good-bye and have a good day; stay warm and eat well”—but then you don’t give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do? So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless. James 2:14-17

I cannot tolerate the poverty of my fellow man.

Mistreatment of Children

Jesus demonstrated love toward little children by allowing them to come close and hear him teach. He wasn’t annoyed or upset by them and even challenged us all to be more child-like. There are so many evils in our world today that violate the innocence of children and cause them harm. God makes it clear to us how unacceptable this is to Him.

Beware that you don’t look down on any of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven their angels are always in the presence of my heavenly Father. Matthew 18:10

We should not accept it either.

Human Trafficking & Sexual Abuse

There are those in our world who seek to profit or feed their own depravity by exploiting others. Men, women, and even children, are treated as objects instead of humans who are precious to God our Father. It is our duty to speak out for those who are exploited. Pray for those who are in bondage of human slavery. Pray for our legislators to have conviction and wisdom, creating and enforcing laws to protect victims of modern day slavery. Watch out for those among us who might be susceptible to predatory tactics of those who would seek to enslave them.

Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Proverbs 31:8

Terrorism

Whatever the motivation — political or religious — using terror, torture, and murder to further a cause is wrong. God makes it abundantly clear how He feels about such tactics. I agree. I cannot tolerate terrorism.

There are six things the Lord hates—
no, seven things he detests:
haughty eyes,
a lying tongue,
hands that kill the innocent,
a heart that plots evil,
feet that race to do wrong,
a false witness who pours out lies,
a person who sows discord in a family.
Proverbs 6:16-19

The Marginalization of People

Anything we do to make other people feel “less than” is intolerable. When we think of or treat people differently based on their socioeconomic status, race, gender, etc., it is wrong. Prejudice, racism, sexism, and bigotry have no place in the heart of one who professes to love God.

To everyone, from strangers we meet on the street to our own family members, we should speak respectfully, politely, and with kindness. The people who service our car, those who pour our coffee at the cafe, those begging on the street — they are all precious to God and we should treat them as such.

This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you. John 15:12

The second chapter of James warns us against favoring certain people or groups of people over others. In God’s economy, we are all equal — we are all precious to Him in spite of our shortcomings and sinful nature. It is easy to look down on those who have less or who have made mistakes in life and feel like we are far superior to them. In fact, we have much more in common with “the least of these” than we do with Christ Jesus, whom we are called to emulate.

When we treat our fellow man with compassion, kindness, and love, it is as though we are doing it for Christ Himself.

‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?’
“And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’ Matthew 25:37-40

The Violation of Free Will

God gave mankind free will. Who is man to take it away?

But the Lord God warned him, “You may freely eat the fruit of every tree in the garden— except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If you eat its fruit, you are sure to die.” Genesis 2:16-17

God does not force His will on anyone and we shouldn’t force His will (or ours) on anyone either. I believe Christians misdirect our efforts to legislation and court cases. We work to outlaw social issues to which we have moral objection. True change will not happen because of laws or court victories, change happens in the heart. As the saying goes, “You can’t legislate morality.” You can, however, model what you believe is a moral lifestyle and live in such a way that others are intrigued and even envious of it.

The Misrepresentation of Christ

I believe people who have rejected Christianity or stepped away from the church weren’t turned off by Christ, but by Christians. If we as a church truly represented the love of Christ through genuine compassion, acts of kindness, and absolute selflessness, people couldn’t help but be enamored. Christ was willing to sacrifice His very life for us and we often won’t allow ourselves to be slightly inconvenienced to help another.

I’m not just pointing fingers either. I know this to be true because I know it about myself.

We must be emptied of our human natures and filled with the Holy Spirit. When I give in to my human weaknesses, I demonstrate selfishness, impatience, unkindness — nothing that would attract anyone to me in any way.

When I am filled with the Holy Spirit, I will demonstrate love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. (Galatians 5:22-23)

Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Jesus did. I John 2:6

When Tolerance Is Not a Good Thing

“Tolerance” is accepted colloquially to describe respect and acceptance of others, but there is another definition of the word. The word tolerance can also be used to describe the condition of becoming desensitized to the effects of something — like a drug. Antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria threaten our society because we have developed a tolerance to these medications. As a pain medication is used for an extended period, it becomes less effective as the user develops a tolerance. When we are exposed to a foul smell for a while, we notice it less as we become desensitized, or tolerant of it. When evil becomes such a regular part of our daily existence that we stop noticing it — we have become desensitized, or tolerant.

Christ spoke in the New Testament of many things He couldn’t tolerate — disunity among believers, judgement of our fellow man, failure to take care of our family or the needy among us. Christ exhibited righteous anger when the money lenders were misusing the church — His Father’s house.

Perhaps it’s time for Christians of today to show some righteous anger about these circumstances that would be detestable to God. It’s time for us to keep the greatest commandment — to love our neighbor as ourselves. We have been too tolerant of these injustices for too long. I don’t want to become tolerant of those things that should offend me.

It’s time for Christians to demonstrate the love of Christ and to show the world just how intolerant we can truly be.