Jon demonstrated the true definition of tolerance a few days ago.

After a haircut he wandered down the plaza to the sub shop. We ordered, took the front booth, closest to the door and settled in for a long evening.

Several hours later a young couple, with a baby in a car seat, came in and sat in the booth behind us.

Jon has a problem with babies. They cry, scream and are often loud even when they are happy, squealing as they test their vocal chords. High pitched baby sounds have always bothered him, a lot.

As soon as the baby family sat down, Jon collected his sub, drink, two bags of chips and other items he had spread out on the table and moved to the table farthest away from baby, at the back of the building.

He methodically organized his food on the table top and sat down with his back to us. I was chatting with a couple of friends who had shown up to keep me company and was explaining to them why he moved so suddenly, when one of them told me to turn around and look.

Jon had gone to the back of the restaurant, picked up a wooden high chair and was carrying it to the baby’s table. He set it down gently, nodded and smiled ever so slightly at the baby, then turned around and walked back to his table. He stayed there until the baby left and then came back up with us.

In a society where the word, tolerance, has been redefined as accept me, approve me, love everything about me or you don’t like me at all,  Jon showed us that you don’t have to love someone’s behavior to treat them well.

The true meaning of tolerance is displayed in kindness and grace being extended to people who annoy us, even those whose behavior we disagree with.

Thanks Jon for the visual!

Go here to read my other post on Tolerance

Philippians 2:1-8 “Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus,”