Revelation 2:18-3:6 - How Wide are Your Tolerances?

Remember the 1993 Nissan Altima commercial with the ball bearing? The announcer says that Nissan got the idea from Lexus engineers, who used a ball bearing to test the tight tolerances of their craftsmanship. Careful, high quality manufacturing allows for tighter fitting parts and narrower openings between sections like doors and frames, and hoods and fenders. Yes, in some cases it's good for tolerances to be narrow.

Stan Gaede wrote the book, "When Tolerance is No Virtue," and describes how the idea of tolerance as a virtue is really an unfinished thought. To say that someone is tolerant is much like saying that someone is "very." Very what? you ask. "Exactly," Dr. Gaede would reply. Tolerance must also have a modifier. Tolerant of what? With a little exploration we can quickly see that some things can be tolerated and others can not. It's OK to crate my dog overnight. It's not OK to leave him there for days. The one is comforting; the other is cruel.

Today's text in Revelation contains two more of the letters Jesus dictated to John. Both letters appear to have an inappropriate tolerance at their center. In the letter to Thyatira, the church is told not to tolerate a self-proclaimed prophetess nicknamed "Jezebel." She is teaching in a way that is leading people into idolatry and sexual immorality. These are clearly anti-Christian and should not be tolerated.

The letter to the church at Sardis identifies a more subtle tolerance. There, the congregation was tolerating unfinished ministry. On the surface they looked like a fine, upstanding church - alive. But Jesus sees beneath the facade - 'you're dead.' The call to fight the good fight, and keep the faith, and finish the race - that's the call they have fallen asleep on. "Wake up!" Jesus cries. He says that those who have succumbed to carelessness have "soiled their clothes." It is sin both to do the wrong thing, as in Thyatira, and to not do the right thing, as in Sardis.

So, break out the ball bearing on a regular basis. Test your tolerances. Are you permitting something in your life that ought not to be there? What sort of sin is sliding through the wider cracks of our overly tolerant consciences? Tolerance is a virtue only when it permits that which is edifying and prevents that which is destructive. And the micrometer for that is the righteous character of Christ. Let's see if we can re-calibrate and engineer lives that are truly Christian.

Pray: Jesus, this same John to whom you dictated the seven letters is the one who described you as "full of grace and truth." Help me to be like that; like You. Help me with grace to tolerate the unfinished nature of my self, my neighbors and the world. And with truth, assist me to stay narrow and focused on what is right and good, intolerant of sin in all its forms.