Then Haman said to King Xerxes, “There is a certain people dispersed among the peoples in all the provinces among the peoples of your kingdom who keep themselves separate. Their customs are different from those of all other people, and they do not obey the king’s laws; it is not in the kings best interest to tolerate them.” Esther 3:8
King Xerxes had chosen to raise Haman up into a higher position of honor among the royal officials. It was ruled that all the other officials must bow down in honor of Haman, when in his presence. Mordecai, an Israelite, refused to bow down to Haman, making him very angry. Haman then went to the king about a group of people who were defiant and refusing to follow his rules. He wanted a way to destroy those people, even though it was only one person who appeared to be defiant with him.
Standing up for something different from the normal flow of things makes a person defiant and a type of rebel. Most people do not like someone who stands out differently than themselves. As a whole most want everyone to live in conformity to everyone else. They want unity among everyone. There is no tolerance for those who live a different life.
Believers stand out as different. Every believer is a stranger in this world. They are to live by a different set of rules. These rules are those of God. The rules are made to love and honor God first, and then love every person. Any thing less than this is not acceptable to a believer.
The world does not like that type of living. Those in the world want to be honored first over God or anyone else. When they are not honored, the world will find ways to make the Christian look bad and defiant, refusing to be obedient. This has been seen in America with rules against speaking against various sinful lifestyles.
You have to be willing to stand for God first and foremost in your life. Live the life God is calling you to live. You are different. You are to be defiant against living in sin. You are to be a rebel against doing things against God. As the world is not tolerant of believers, you must not be tolerant with sin in your life.
What are you tolerant of today?
I pray today that God will strengthen you to live for Him; that you will not fear the world’s rules; that you will be separate to God alone; and that the world will see you as a believer in Jesus.
Amen and amen! I wrote a blog on tolerance once – Tolerant Intolerance. Our society cannot see its own hypocrisy. Nor can the church. Great statements you have in here – we cannot tolerate sin. Thank you, again!
You are welcome. It is sad to see some things that are being allowed in the church. Thanks for the comments.
Yes, it is, but I am learning to expect it and just pray and wait for God to deliver. Thank you for stopping by!