Note: This article from the archives was first published in the August 2000 edition of Outpost News. The contents are reprinted as originally written.
The world is clamoring for acceptance and love. And why not? Everyone needs them. They are not optional for the human being. They are required.
The strategy the world uses to achieve this acceptance, however, is a faulty one. They are demanding tolerance.
When I think of the word tolerance, I think of brussel sprouts. That is, I think of the distasteful distress I went through in order to tolerate vegetables. My own father tolerated broccoli for years while we kids were growing up. After we left home, he invited us back. But never once more did he entertain broccoli on his plate. He hated it.
You see, one can hate and tolerate at the same time. You can be apathetic about someone while tolerating him. But you cannot be apathetic toward someone if you love him. The oil and vinegar do not mix in this dressing, and require constant agitation in order to be dispensed proportionately to tastefully garnish the salad. But, oh the difference this dressing makes!
I think you are following the analogy correctly. Our culture is a jar of salad dressing, as it were. It is being shaken and tossed to make the vinegar and oil mix to the proper proportion for the social salad. There are tons of veggies and lettuces to provide nutrition and fiber to the cultural diet. But that darn whisking of the dressing is no fun!
Right now, we have a bland tasting salad. We need to have the complementarity of the oil and the vinegar in our dressing to make the salad interesting and pleasing to the palate. I submit to you the oil is love, not tolerance, and the vinegar is the discernment between right and wrong. It may seem acrid and harsh, but combined with the oil, it makes a great salad. Imagine a salad with only the oil. It would be too sweet, too bland. And that is our society without the discernment of sin regarding homosexuality*: saccharin sweet. We can handle only so much of it. We need a little zip to make things interesting!
Our country’s forebears called this pluralism, and I think we are losing it. Our voices and viewpoints on the homosexual issue** need to be heard, lest this “salad” become passé. Consider what you might do to make your voice heard about this important social and moral issue. Jesus said, “You are the salt of the earth” (Matthew 5:13). Shake it up!
We are so thankful to Dan for sharing his heart for Gospel love in our world. While we have seen shifts in our culture since 2000, God remains sovereign and gracious as He calls all people to repentance. As Dan wrote at the end, we encourage you to prayerfully consider the ways you can tangibly love people in the truth. (For further discussion on this subject, check out the June 2024 article “Truth, Love, & Pronouns.”)
We want to celebrate with you all the ways God continues to equip and empower us to live out of the new and abundant life in Christ. Check out the Event Calendar for more information on HOPE 2026, Outpost’s Got Talent, and our big 50th anniversary celebration. We hope to see you at these events!
Thanks be to God for His love and grace that go beyond our culture’s offerings! Amen.
* The term “homosexuality” here refers to homosexual behavior and identity.
** In 2000, our ministry primarily was focused on issues of same-sex attraction. Today, we would rephrase this as “Our voices and viewpoints on broken sexual identity…”
