Tolerance or affirmation

Back to the garden. The story begins with “the serpent” sowing a seed of doubt that Eve attempts to answer. Here is the first thought about tolerance. Perhaps it is not wise to tolerate the questions of those who have harm in mind for us. It is one thing to genuinely struggle or doubt, even. Those questions should be discussed and addressed. It is quite another to intentionally damage the faith of another with one’s latest insight or nugget of wisdom. In today’s environment these show up on Tik Toc, Instagram, FB, and other social media. The serpent’s question was not for the benefit of Adam and Eve — it was to cause them to doubt what God told them to be true.

Adam and Eve soon realized that there was some merit in what the serpent had told them. So, they chose to “have their eyes opened” and “become like God.” What they “learned” was that they were now ashamed to be seen by God. They were exposed and they tried to cover themselves, but even that was not enough. We can call this “sin” and we can call this “disobedience,” but it is much more than that. They now understood the gap between themselves and God — and fear came into the world: and as we shall soon learn, jealousy, vengeance, greed, pride, and the need for justice.

The curses pronounced on the serpent, the woman, and the man are the tragic consequences. Some may say they are prescriptive, meaning God said it would be this way from now on because he made it that way. Others will say they are descriptive, meaning this was the natural consequence until things were put back the way they were supposed to be.

In the tragic final scene there is God, so full of sorrow he cannot even complete the sentence, “. . . and now if he puts his hand out and takes of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever . . . (the sentence stops here with the hint that it should finish with “like this.”) (Gen.3:22). God sent them away so that they would not live forever like that — recall “. . . or else you will die.” (3:3).

God decided then that he would tolerate their condition (if only for a while) but not affirm it. If one believes the message of the Bible, from that day to this, God pursues us despite our knowing good from evil and often choosing evil and calling it good. He still does not affirm it, but he does tolerate it. He still loves us enough to wait and, for Christians, to become flesh and show us the way back to the state of Eden through resurrection.

We still have trouble with this. I do my best to love everyone (that is, seek their good). I can tolerate a lot of behavior and still love someone. I need not affirm it. I hope for the same treatment from others. It seems that our society is at a point where we have conflated love, tolerance, and affirmation. “If you love me, you will affirm me just as I am.” In truth, no one does this — least of all those who claim they do.

I can affirm my love for you by being patient and tolerant even though an attitude or behavior may offend me. The more time we spend with people we must tolerate the better human beings we will be. The more we will grow to love and appreciate each other. And the more we will change without that change being forced upon us.

Understand that I believe this leaves room for demonstration, peaceful protest, vigorous debate, and profound differences of opinion. We are all inadequate before God — it is the serpent that would tell us otherwise. We are all slaves to our own wisdom and experience — it is the serpent that would tell us we alone are right in our thinking. I believe that God saves us through Christ — not everyone believes this.

I also believe that we are among each other’s best chance of having a fuller understanding of God.