Is God Tolerant? Or does He wants us to be Tolerant?

Question: Is God Tolerant?

First of all I want to say, I am not entirely set on the answer to this so I wanted to explore it more. The Bible references tolerance only 6 times in the KJV translation. However, it is not an instruction set of how to be tolerant, but as an example that explains how tolerant God would be to people who act a certain way at the judgement. 

Luke 10:12 - "I tell you, it will be more tolerable in that day for Sedom than for that city."

Luke 10:14 - "But it will be more tolerable for Tzor and Tzidon in the judgment than for you." 

Matthew 10:15 - "Most assuredly I tell you, It will be more tolerable for the land of Sedom and `Amorah in the day of judgment than for that city."

Matthew 11:22 - "But I tell you, it will be more tolerable for Tzor and Tzidon in the day of judgment than for you."

Matthew 11:24 - "But I tell you that it will be more tolerable for the land of Sedom, in the day of judgment, than for you."

Mark 6:11 - "Whoever will not receive you nor hear you, as you depart from there, shake off the dust that is under your feet for a testimony against them. Assuredly, I tell you, it will be more tolerable for Sedom and `Amorah in the day of judgment than for that city!"

Each of these verses represent Jesus telling his disciples, that when He sends them out to these different cities, that those who are there and hear their teachings, yet they do not listen will not be tolerated during the judgement. 

Tolerate defined in the Merriam-Webster Dictionary is 
1. 

    a. to allow to be or to be done without prohibition, hindrance, or contradiction

    b. to put up with

2.

    a. to endure or resist the action of (something, such as a drug or food) without serious side effects or discomfort

With the understanding of these definitions, then we can see that God, will Allow them to be until judgement, at which point He will not be as lenient. He will not hinder them, or prohibit them, or contradict their actions, until judgement. He will endure what they are doing. 

But, He will exact judgement on them for their lack of acceptance, or Belief in who God is and how their actions are contradictory to what He wants from them. 

From this I would say God has Tolerance, but only to a point, which means, His tolerance is of no consequence to Him, but it will have consequences when it comes to His judgement. 

Answer: God is Tolerant for now.

Question: Does God want us to be tolerant?

I have to say absolutely without a doubt He does want us to be tolerant. God is abundantly accepting of everyone, He will not turn any away, if they turn to Him. God accepts everyone, when they turn to Him, Believe in Him, accept Him as Lord and Savior, and through faith believe in His death on the cross as atonement for our sins, and His resurrection. The main elements that prove He wants us to be tolerant are in multiple verses that do not specifically say "be tolerant" but, imply that we as Christians should be tolerant and accepting of all people. 

Matthew 7:1 - "Judge not, that ye be not judged." - I reference this verse because it tells us specifically to not judge others in ways that we ourselves can be judged. If we couple this verse with the previous verses we can see that we, as a people, do not need to worry about judgement, since we all will be judged, and it is something He will take care of. 

Romans 14:4 - "Who art thou that judgest another man's servant? to his own master he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be holden up: for God is able to make him stand." - I reference this as a supporting verse that confirms that God will be the ultimate judge. 

I use these following verse as the directives that Jesus has provided for how we are to tolerate others, no matter their offense. 

Matthew 5:44 - " But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;"

This verse is possibly the most simple to understand and yet the hardest to accomplish. It saysin the simplest of ways, if someone is your enemy, then  love them still.

There are some main definitions that say what an enemy is but without copying again the Merriam-Webster definitions I will just say that it gives us an understanding of how someone would become an enemy, they are potentially antagonistic, dangerous, harmful, a military adversary or are hostile. Each of these could cause someone to become another's enemy. I am sure there are other things and in today's day an age, just being a different political party, or saying certain things can categorize someone into one of these definitions. 

But, to radically treat them differently as Jesus suggests and to "LOVE" them. In the Bible it is not just love but "Agape" love which would be even more radical than, to just tolerate someone, but, given that this is the direction given to us, it means that we should love those who would have differeing opinions of us, because after all isn't an opinion or a simple action of someone that we may not accept a much lower offense than something an actual enemy would do?

Answer: Yes, God wants us to be tolerant. 

The bottom line, God will tolerate sin, because he is indifferent to it, until the day of judgement, then those people who used their free will to do as they please will be held to answer for their actions. God wants us to be tolerant because He is the ultimate judge and for us, we need to be tolerant because it is a good thing and shows that we are not someone else's judge, but we should keep our own lives straight and let God worry about judgement when the time comes. 

Remember being Tolerant, is not the same as acceptance. Tolerance is the act of putting up with something that we do not accept. 

Is Jealousy a Sin? Make it Strengthen your Faith, change it!

 When we think about Jealousy as related to Prayer, we can begin to see how it can be sinful, and is related to envy and covetousness. Many the world presents "7 deadly sins", however, biblically speaking there are many sins, and none in the Bible are actually called "deadly" nor are the referred to specifically as "The Seven Deadly Sins" 

Proverb 6:16-19 describes 6 sins that are an "abomination" to God

"These six things the Lord hates, Yes, seven are an abomination to Him: 17 A proud look, A lying tongue, Hands that shed innocent blood, 18 A heart that devises wicked plans, Feet that are swift in running to evil, 19 A false witness who speaks lies, And one who sows discord among brethren."

Also Sins are deadly, and actually are the cause of death which the Bible does scripturally support. 

Romans 6:23 "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."

And if we look for lists of Sin in the Bible we can find many but those that are related to Jealousy we find these. 

Romans 1:29-32 "29 being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers, 30 backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, 31 undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful; 32 who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them." 

I highlighted "covetousness" because it relates to jealousy, and I highlighted "unloving" because it is the opposite of envy, love is a virtue which is anti-envious. 

Galatians 5:19-21 "19 Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, 21 envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God."

I highlighted "jealousies" for obvious reasons but, also "envy" as it relates to jealousy. If we review the difference between each we can see that envy is when you want something someone has, and jealousy is when you feel someone is trying to take something you have. The reason for these to be correlated is because sometimes envy, is the result of jealousy, because what someone has, is sometimes believed to be something you should have had. You wanted it, they got it, so not only do they have it and you want it but they have it and YOU should have gotten it to you think they took it from you. 

Now, to the reason it is not only a Sin but also a very evil way of thinking of something and a way to blaspheme God in the process. Prayer. 

Imagine that you are neighbors with someone, you know that they are going through something tough, or are having financial struggles, or are going through some trial, or trouble. You as a good Christian are praying and you pray for them to come through their trouble, you pray.

God, please help my neighbor with the struggle that they are going through, I pray that Your will be done in their lives, that You help them through this trouble and You send your Holy Spirit to show them the way and the truth of Your will. 

The struggle is God does is asked, God makes things right, God hears your prayers and answers them. rather than be happy for your neighbor, and happy that God's will was done, you are jealous, envious, covetous. Why? If you truly prayed for them, and you truly wanted God to intercede for them you should NEVER be jealous, or envious, or covetous. What you should do is praise God for what he has done. You should be happy, joyous, thankful, knowing that your faith and God's good grace has been shown. The faith you had in God to pray, was answered and demonstrated. 

Don't let your faith be weakened by praying and then being upset because good things happen, Pray, Listen to what God wants, and then be thankful and faithful that God will answer those prayers. When he does, hold it up as an example of his awesome and unending power. Let the success of others that you have prayed for be a source of strengthening your faith. God is Good! 

How do we Pray? (PRAY/LISTEN)

Have you ever sit down to pray, or laid down at night and you close your eyes and you are about to go to sleep and you start to pray and then, blankness, nothing comes to mind? In my daily prayers I sometimes struggle with how to pray. I think of a few things a few people that come to mind and then my mind seems to go blank. However this is when I need help. The good thing is Jesus sent us a Helper. 

John 14 is a great place to draw inspiration. Because it contains the message of the greatest inspirer, the Holy Spirit! He who indwells in all believers, He who Jesus sent to us from the Father to intercede, provide comfort, to compel and guide us. He is our Helper. 

John 14:16 "And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever—"

John 14:26 "But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you."

John 14:18 "I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you."

John tells us that the Holy Spirit will be our guide. 

John 16"13 "However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come."

During a recent Bible Study on the Holy Spirit, there was a section on Praying and while reading through it and thinking on the guidance is was providing it hit me that there are a lot of people that struggle with praying, not just when we are sitting around the dinner table, but with their own prayers at night. 

The section provided some scriptural references and examples but, the basics of it were to ask the Holy Spirit for guidance and help. "If you want to receive the Holy Spirit's help in prayer, all you need to do is ask for it."

1 Corinthians 2:9-10 "But as it is written: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.” 10 But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God."

I would also add 1 Corinthians 2:11-12 "For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. 12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God."

Charles F. Stanley tells us. "First, the Holy Spirit understands the situations we are facing. Second, the Holy Spirit understands your needs within the situation." And. "Third, the Holy Spirit understands the Plan of God." These words really resonated within me as I studied, they gave me a deep understanding that I do not have to be alone when I pray, and I don't need to know everything that I should say. It also brought to remembrance what Jesus said about praying and what NOT to do while praying. 

Matthew 6:7-8 "And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words."

with all this guidance and scripture to point us in the right direction I think all of this combines into what Charles Stanley said in a lengthy set of instructions. but it comes down to a simplified set of instructions which is; PRAY and LISTEN. 

PRAY, pray for the things you remember when you start, pray for the things that are in your mind. 

BUT THEN, 

LISTEN, stop when you feel you have prayed for all you can think of or remember, Stop, be silent and listen, listen for more, listen for additional things, words thoughts. When you are quiet focused on God, focused on the good that God is, you can hear what he says. The Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God, He will give you more. in the quiet is when GOD WILL SPEAK TO YOU. The Holy Spirit will add to you the things that are of God, God's will God's plan. Those things you remember, those thoughts that you think are from you are not, they are the manifested will of God given to you from the Holy Spirit as guidance to you. The direct words of God, "... freely given to us by God."

PRAY --- LISTEN!