What is tolerance?

Tolerance is not the highest virtue; love is the highest virtue. Tolerance is presented in our world as a way to make everyone agree with a certain position. This is not tolerance. To tolerate, by its very definition, means that I don't agree with something. If I agree with something then it is not something I have to tolerate. I can tolerate my neighbor being Catholic if I am Protestant. This means that I don't agree with his position; I don't agree with Catholicism. It also means that I will allow him to continue to be Catholic while I continue to preach what I preach. We will be civil to one another and may even be friends because that is the true definition of tolerance. Tolerance is a good thing when seen in the right light.

There are some things I should not have to tolerate. Any parent knows that they will not tolerate their child coming in after curfew without asking where they have been. They will not tolerate a child smoking or drinking behind the parent's back. This is just common sense. As a Christian, there are some things my belief system will not allow me to tolerate, no matter who is offended by it. I will still be civil to everyone but I will still continue to preach that the things they are doing are wrong.

There are certain sexual behaviors that our government does not tolerate such as polygamy, child -adult relationships, and incest. These are deemed harmful to both the individual and society as a whole. Not that long ago homosexuality was on this list. Then it became tolerated. Now it is more than tolerated; it is being promoted. When our government begins to demand that a Christian businessman do business with someone against his own conscience, this is no longer tolerance. It is promoting one religious belief system over another and demanding that everyone adhere to it. This goes against the very reason our country was founded - to give us freedom of religion. Our country is in upheaval but we as the true church of the living God must be anchored in the truth and not swayed by this so-called spirit of tolerance. It is tolerant to everything but Christianity and we can not afford to tolerate that mindset.

God Bless, 

The Righteous and the Wicked

Proverbs 4: 14, 16
Enter not into the path of the wicked, and go not in the way of evil men. 
For they sleep not, except they have done mischief; and their sleep is taken away, unless they cause some to fall. 

The above verse paints a pretty gruesome picture  of the mindset of some people. There are people in this world who live to do wickedness. If they have not caused heartache to someone that day then they can't sleep at night. The very thought of it makes me shudder. But more than the thought of how evil some people can be, it gives me a picture of the distinction God makes between the righteous and the wicked.

Proverbs 24:16 says, "For a righteous man may fall seven times and rise again, but the wicked shall fall by calamity. 

Without a doubt, none of us is perfect. Those who don't want to do what is right often point to the faults of the Christian to justify their own sins. The prevailing thought seems to be, if the Christian is not perfect, then why do I have to worry about how I live. And that is the demarcation line between the righteous and the wicked.

The righteous may fall down but he keeps getting back up and trying to do better. He is aware of his humanity but does not make excuses for his sin. He is constantly in a state of growth. He does have a struggle but it is probably not the same thing he struggled with last year or two years ago at this time. Why? Because God has helped him to overcome some things. He is maturing and everyone around him can see the difference in his life.

The wicked, on the other hand, does not concern himself with growth. He lives for what satisfies his own desires for the moment. He is not concerned about the feelings of others nor with what God thinks. He justifies his sins by pointing to the struggles of the righteous; he absolutely never repents of his sins. He delights when he sees someone else fall down because it gives strength to his creed that no one can live any better than he does.

The fine line of demarcation between the righteous and the wicked is two-fold: attitude and growth. If someone is struggling and trying to do better, God sees that man in the category of the righteous. He may not have it all together but he will overcome his struggles as long as he doesn't give up. If someone is justifying their own sin with no desire to change, that man is in the category of the wicked. Where are we today? Do we earnestly want to do God's will or do we just want to see someone else fall so that we  can justify our own sin? The difference may determine how God sees and deals with us!

God help me never to rejoice when someone else falls but to pray for him that he might be restored to God. After all, it could be me that falls the next time and I would want God to have mercy on me and someone to pray for me.

In Christ's Love,

Rev. Sullivan Jones

Ambiguous

I just started a new Critical Thinking class yesterday. This week's lesson is on language and reasoning which is right up my alley, so to speak. One of the lectures is on ambiguity. One of the types of ambiguity we discussed is semantic ambiguity. This is where words have more than one meaning. We might better understand this as semantic" figures of speech". Most every English speaker knows that "pulling my leg" means that someone is joking. The teacher gave several  cases of ambiguity that came from the newspaper headlines. Consider the following:

Iraqi head seeks arms

Drunk gets nine months in violin case

Toilet seat stolen. Police have nothing to go on.

While these are pretty funny, I couldn't help but think how ambiguous we can be in a church service. Those of us who have been around any type of evangelistic church are used to such things as "praying through" or "getting right with God." What exactly does "praying through" mean anyway? Praying through what? Does it mean to pray until I receive an answer? My personal explanation is that it means praying until I have peace in my own mind about what I am struggling with internally. But does my unchurched friend realize that?

We are all prone to use church speak on occasion. Who can help it? As Christians we spend a lot of time with our church "families". This is wonderful but we must remember that not everyone has had the opportunity to spend time in a church environment. When new people come they probably already feel uncomfortable at first. We don't want to make them even more uncomfortable by using language they are unfamiliar with. I think it behooves us all to try and make things as plain as possible for the newcomer. The fact that our lifestyles are often so different from unchurched people is a big enough bridge. Let's not make the bridge harder to cross by using language that people can't relate to.

Church speak is not necessarily a bad thing. After all, it displays our emotions which is what language is supposed to do. I'm sure I will continue to use it, as will we all. But will you join me in trying to think about some of the things we say that visitors to our church might not understand? Maybe we can express somethings a little more plainly.  It might mean the difference in someone's salvation.

Yours in Christ's Service,

Rev. Sullivan Jones 

Journey of a Thousand Miles

It has often been said that "the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step" and how true it is. Every big project that has ever been brought to completion had to have a beginning. It might have been while friends were having a cup of coffee discussing their dreams. The starting point might have been when someone thought they made a "mistake" but ended up in the right place after all. One thing is sure, every journey has a beginning.

The adult student who goes back to school must sign up for the first class or he will never graduate. The owner of a large food chain had to make his first hamburger. You get the picture. Someone had to make a move. Sometimes moves frighten us. As human beings we do not like change. We are the most comfortable when things are left alone. But change is inevitable in this world; nothing stays the same. Whether by improvement or decay, things always change. Many times we are hesitant to begin repairs on something for fear of making a mess. If we leave it alone, however, decay will eventually set in.

Is there a dream in your life that you haven't seen fulfilled? Something you've been holding on to but don't know where to start? Start somewhere and let God lead. You must take the first step. But what if I fail, you might ask. Trying something and seeing that it is not quite right is not failure. It is far worse to try nothing and remain stagnant.

Are you wanting to go back to school? Take one class and see how it works. Wanting to play the piano? You'll never know if you have the aptitude if you don't try. Want to learn a foreign language but think its too hard? Learn good morning and good night. Everyone has to start somewhere. Want to increase your prayer life? If you haven't been praying at all start with ten minutes every day. Set your alarm ten minutes early. Anyone can do ten minutes.

Many times we fail in our pursuits because we don't know how to make reasonable goals. Don't bite off more than you can chew as the old saying goes. Try one step at a time. Make the first move and one day you'll look back and be amazed at how far you've come. Life is too short to sit around wishing for things we may never have. It is the will of God for us to be happy, healthy, and fulfilled in his kingdom. Find something you've always wanted to do and give it a try. You never know where it might lead.

Most of all enjoy the ride! Life is short so give it all you've got and let God do the rest!

God Bless,

Sullivan Jones