“A man with leprosy came and knelt in front of Jesus, begging to be healed. “If you are willing, you can heal me and make me clean,” he said. Moved with compassion, Jesus reached out and touched him. “I am willing,” he said. “Be healed!” (Mark 1:40-41 NLT)
“When Jesus saw the huge crowd as he stepped from the boat, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick.” (Matthew 14:14 NLT)
“When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, “Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?” She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said to her, “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.” (John 8:10-11 NJKV)
We hear the word “tolerance” tossed around a lot these days. I have had this word shoved in my face on a number of occasions by individuals who didn’t care for my opinion about certain behaviors or lifestyles. It seems that we live in an age in which only those who hold certain progressive values are free to share what they think. Anyone else is “intolerant,” and thus quickly labeled a “hater.” As a follower of Jesus, it is my goal to think and act the same as He thinks and acts, regardless of how I am treated in response.. Interestingly, when I study His life, words, and works in the Bible, I find a whole lot about “compassion” but nothing on being “tolerant.” Based on this, I have made it one of my major life goals to show the same compassion for others that Jesus did.
Jesus healed, delivered, and set free from oppression everyone who came to Him. His primary motivation was “compassion.” In the Gospels, over and over we find the phrase, “moved by compassion,” and then we see Jesus take action to meet someone’s need. After He showed compassion in a tangible way, He would confront any need for change. He never condoned wrong behavior, or values, however He never let the need for change stop Him from acting in compassion. He always loved first.
Jesus never allowed His compassion to lead Him into compromise. Even though He loved everyone, He never compromised truth in order to be “tolerant.” When there were those corrupting the House of Worship, by selling blemished sacrificial animals to make a personal profit ,He responded by turning over their tables. When He confronted the hypocrisy of the religious leaders, He pulled no punches. When dealing with the woman caught in adultery, He began with compassion ,and then told her to “go and sin no more.” Compassion confronts without any hint of condemnation, however it is not tolerant of what is in need of confrontation.
I have noticed that many of those who claim “tolerance” as a key element of their value system have very little compassion for those that they label as “intolerant.” And what stands out to me most (at least in my own personal experience) is just how little tolerance is shown to anyone labeled as being “intolerant.” It appears that compassion is universal, while tolerance (at least as it is popularly used today) is selective.
I will stick with…
…Eric’s Life Lesson # 25: “Compassion does not condemn, condone, or compromise (I’ll take compassion over tolerance every time).”