Of course I have tolerance...as long as you agree with me

Has anybody noticed that the tolerance movement is a little hypocritical lately? It seems as though you can't ever voice any of your opinions UNLESS you agree with that person. A lot of people have either gotten involved with ridiculous arguments or (if you are like me) have avoided voicing your opinions because you are afraid you'll make someone mad or offend someone.

This is absurd, in my opinion. I'm tired of walking on eggshells just because everyone cannot handle that someone actually disagrees with them about something. We live in a culture where topics that shouldn't even be sensitive are becoming too touchy to talk about. And those topics that are tough to discuss, no one knows how to approach their discussion because everyone gets too upset about it.

But what if there's a better way?

Maybe we can improve this culture of offense and move towards a place where everyone can simply agree to disagree. Instead of giving into the lie that we have to get offended, we can move on and not allow it to negatively impact the rest of our day (or week or life or whatever).

Instead of reacting negatively, why don't we agree to disagree and continue our relationship with that person as though there was no disagreement at all? Disagreements don't have to change the way we treat people. It doesn't have to determine who gets to be our friend or who we show the love of Christ to.

In the past year, there have been numerous people who believe completely different things than I do. People who don't hold the same beliefs as me on religion, abortion, homosexual marriage, presidential candidates, etc. At first I stayed away from them or stayed away from sensitive topics, but I am learning that it's okay to disagree. It's perfectly fine to hold your own opinions and beliefs, even if you are in the minority.

Tolerance is not agreeing with someone. It's disagreeing completely and still respecting and loving that person. It's not allowing yourself to caught up in the offense you may feel at someone else believing you're wrong. And overall, it's choosing LOVE over hate.

So next time you feel tempted to respond with anything less than kindness...remember, YOU can determine the way the discussion goes. YOU alone can turn hate into love.