Some Thoughts on 09/11/2025

Long, but maybe True Tolerance

We have had, are currently having, and will likely always have an ideological war in this nation. This is nothing new; humankind has faced such conflict since the first sin. The issues may change in name and appearance, but at their root they remain the same—just new battlegrounds in an old struggle.

Today, the issue at the forefront is tolerance.

The true definition of tolerance is:
“Capacity to endure pain or hardship.”

Yet if you Google it, the first definition that appears is usually:
“Sympathy or indulgence for beliefs or practices differing from or conflicting with one’s own.”

So which is it?

As someone whose family ministry serves thousands of families battling cancer, I can tell you the first definition is real tolerance. It’s about endurance. It’s about persevering through hardship. And yet, for more than a decade, we’ve been told that tolerance must mean indulgence of every idea, belief, or behavior—no matter how harmful, disrespectful, or absurd.

Should we be sympathetic toward those who hold different beliefs? As a Christian and an American, yes. But when it comes to practices, we must ask harder questions.

- What if the practice violates our laws or erodes our national standards of decency?
- What if the practice infringes on the basic rights of others?
- What if the practice is simply destructive, ridiculous, or degrading?

In such cases, we have every right—and even a duty—to oppose those things. That is not intolerance. That is discernment. Yet, we are called intolerant if we don't cave.

Seven years ago, nearly half my body was burned in an accident. I spent weeks in critical care at the Grady Burn Center in Atlanta and nearly lost my life. People often ask, “How did you handle the pain?” The truth is—you don’t have a choice. You endure. Doctors, nurses, and family can help, but at the end of the day, you tolerate it because what is the alternative?

But imagine if someone had walked in and said: “I’d like to burn another part of your body—just for fun.” Would it be “tolerant” to agree? No. That would be self-sacrifice to the point of insanity. That’s not tolerance; that’s enabling at the cost of personal harm.

And yet, in 2025, that’s exactly what we’re doing as a society. We’ve been told to keep sacrificing common sense, morality, and truth under the banner of “tolerance.” We endured COVID restrictions long past the point of harm. We’re told we’re intolerant if we believe in basic science, in protecting innocent lives, or in simply not wanting to defund the police. This isn’t tolerance. It’s bullying.

Think back to school. You probably knew someone who bragged constantly about being the strongest, the smartest, or the toughest. But usually, that over compensation came from insecurity—the louder the boast, the weaker the reality.

That’s what we see in today’s so-called “tolerant” culture. The constant shouting of tolerance is overcompensation. Deep down, many of these voices are anything but tolerant.

Our society tells kids: “Everyone is special. Everyone’s opinion is the most important. Everyone’s own truth is what matters most.”

But that is a lie.

The Bible tells us the exact opposite:
In Isaiah it says, “All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags.” (Isaiah 64:6)
And again in Romans we are told, “Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin.” (Romans 3:20)

But here is the key for us as Christians to understand. You cannot expect someone to show true tolerance if they do not have true love in their heart. Real love is not indulgence—it is endurance. It is sacrifice that leads others to truth, not away from it.

We need to be tolerant in the right way: enduring the hardshipsof this world in a spirit of love so that we can point others to the only source of true tolerance, true acceptance, and true love—Christ.

On this day, in the shadow of the nearly 3000 deaths we mourn from 9-11 over two decades ago, the tragic death we experienced yesterday, and the death that will ultimately be still to come for all of us, I am reminded of Jesus’ words as He hung on the cross:

“Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” (Luke 23:34)