BIGOTRY

Its a nasty word. Dictionary definition: bigot -- someone who intolerantly holds to an opinion, belief, party, etc. As used in our current society, the degree of intolerance is one of pure hatred. We accept this definition.

There are groups of individuals who can legitimately yell "bigot" despite their own sinful behavior. There are some people who hate abortionists, homosexuals, prostitutes, etc. (name any sin for that matter). The practitioners of these sins take great consolation in accusing all those who oppose their sinful behavior of the sin of bigotry. Like all partial truths, this is a complete lie. Even if bigotry exists, it does not justify their behavior.

But people buy it! If the guilty yell bigot loud enough and long enough, the perception of evil is transferred from the sinner to the identifier of sin; from the one who commits all kinds of heinous acts to the preacher of righteousness.

On the other hand, these underhanded and subtle acts of deceitful manipulation have the tendency to aggravate and frustrate even the most righteous. This builds anger within us. There is a very strong tendency for this anger to turn to hatred toward them, thus making their charge of bigotry accurate.

We need to get angry (Mk. 3:5, Eph. 4:26), but we also need to control our anger to assure that it does not turn into hatred (Mt. 5:43-48). We dare not retreat from our overt opposition to sin (2 Tim. 4:2), but we do not need to become bigots to do it.

Jesus used some of his strongest words on the false leaders and religious deceivers of his day. Listen to the emotion: "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and
land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves" (Mt. 23:15).

Read the whole chapter as Jesus unloads volley upon volley on them. This is an angry man. He is certainly intolerant. He would definitely be classified as a bigot by our modern-day scribes and Pharisees. But is He hateful to them?

To answer that question, read on to the end of the chapter. To these very same people he pleads: "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!" (Mt. 23:37-38)

Indeed, it was Jesus love for the sinner that motivated him to hate and oppose sin with every fiber of his being.