Can I Tolerate Everything?

We do not have to agree about everything. We can differ concerning our opinions and feelings without issue. Feelings and opinions are, by their nature, subjective. But not everything is. Some things are truth, objective and unchanging. Jesus identified God's Word as truth in John 17:17. God's Word is unchanging and unalterable, just as He is (Heb. 13:8), and it brings life to those who obey its message (Jn. 12:50).

The world continues to press that all disagreements should be tolerated and that truth is not persistent but malleable, like clay. The phrase "your truth" has gained traction, encouraging individuals to shape reality with their feelings and emotions. Men and women who feel differently than their biology are heralded as heroes for requesting that all refer to them with mismatched pronouns.

When Christians proclaim the persistence of unchanging truth in the Scriptures, they are often rebuked for devaluing the feelings of others. Truthfully, God's Word recognizes and accepts subjective differences between individuals. In 1 Corinthians 9:19-23, the apostle Paul discussed his willingness to change everything about himself, except his obedience to God, to teach the gospel's unchangeable message more effectively. In verse 27, he described his lifestyle as a daily discipline of his body for that purpose. All subjective differences were of little importance to Paul as he considered his responsibility to spread the truth.

When Christians cry out against the delusion of malleable truth, they are not minimizing your feelings. They are calling you to recognize that the truth of God remains unchanged by them. Your feelings do not change the path of salvation through the gospel of Jesus Christ, and your feelings will not change your eternal dwelling after the day of judgment. Your obedience to the gospel will (2 Thess. 1:8). As a Christian, can I tolerate everything? No. But I can take our subjective differences lightly to reach you more effectively with the gospel's unchanging truth.