Today’s message is about acceptance. We live in a world where it seems like everyone wants to live in a bubble in which only those who look, feel, act, and talk the same are allowed in. There seems to be very little acceptance of those who are different or who believe differently.  That’s what I want to talk about today, the concept of Acceptance.

I want to answer some questions. How can we learn to accept those who are different from us? What if a person has done something to us? Are there times when we should not be accepting? How can I accept all of life’s circumstances? What should I do if others don’t accept me?

How can we learn to accept someone who is different than we are? There’s an old saying about walk a mile in another’s shoes, it simply means to try and look at life through their eyes. We live in a global community, regardless of how some folks want to pretend that we don’t, so try to understand the other person’s culture. It’s natural for us to want to be around those who are like us, and sometimes we have a tendency to judge others based on our own biases. In Matthew 9:11-12, we read about an encounter Jesus had with the Pharisees. Jesus was meeting with some folks that the upper crust of Jewish society looked down upon. “ When the Pharisees saw this, they said to His disciples, “Why is your Teacher eating with the tax collectors and sinners?”  But when Jesus heard this, He said, “It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick.”  Jesus knew that in order for his message to be heard, it had to be shared with those who are different.  Today we tend to look down upon those who hang out with folks that are not special, or not as well off as we are. Heck, in today’s society, many democrats won’t accept republicans, republicans reject democrats, liberals and conservative are against each other and so on. Heck,  I know folks who have stopped talking to me because I don’t agree with their politics. This sickness is very prevalent in today’s cancel society, if you write or say something that some folks don’t like they will yell and scream and do their best to silence you.  So how should WE act if someone does something we don’t like?

What if a person has done something to us? What if somebody calls us a name, or tries to cancel us? How should we react? The one thing we cannot do is allow their action to poison our soul. We cannot allow ourselves to fall into the trap of isolating ourselves from our neighbors. In Romans 8:38-39, we find “For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Now I realize that none of us have the ability to show unlimited love and care for our neighbors, but we can all attempt to understand what others are going through. Over the years, I’ve found that most often when someone is criticizing me about something, it’s because they see themselves in one way or another. Other times some folks are just very self-righteous, and they truly believe it’s their way or the highway. When we encounter people like that all we can do is care for them and be there for them. If they never come around, at least our conscience will be clear. But are there times when we shouldn’t really accept someone?

Are there times when we should not be accepting? I do think there are some moments and times when we shouldn’t accept what is happening. We should never accept injustice in any form. When people are hurting children we should step in and do our best to stop them. For some reason we have become almost numb to how poorly we treat each other. You can see it all the time, we look down on the homeless, we get angry over little things, we have a tough time accepting life.

How can I accept all of life’s circumstances?