I’m in Israel right now.  Jerusalem, to be exact.  I’ll be here for 5 more weeks, Lord-willing.  We’ve been seeing and learning incredible things for the past week on various tours with Todd Bolen, and today was our first free day.

We visited Yad VaShem, a Holocaust Museum.  It is the most incredible museum I have ever seen because of the combination of its beauty and the import of what it commemorates.  There was a quote that jumped out at me while reading in the museum:

“A country is not just what it does–it is also what it tolerates.”  — German essayist of Jewish origin, Kurt Tucholsky

The direct implications of this quote must be applied to areas such as social justice.  But there are massive implications for your and my personal lives, as well.  It would serve us well to know what those implications are.

If you were a German in 1940 and you did not work at Auschwitz, you are not thereby excused.  Because you are more than what you do.  You are also what you tolerate.  I must be careful what I tolerate, and I must be careful what I get used to.

I read for 2 straight hours today at Yad VaShem, presentation after presentation, caption after caption.  Two hours is all we had today.  It is fascinating, and it is horrifying.  I am going to go back for many more hours sometime on this trip.