Recently, we have heard a lot of discussion on the topic of “reasonable accommodation.” Should we accommodate people according to the demands of their culture or religion? Many automatically say no to these demands stating that people who immigrate to our country should integrate into our culture. And what about religion? Does it mean that they should also adopt our religion?

The question is not whether these people are right or wrong, or even if their religion is better than ours, but rather if we should accommodate their differences.
Let’s apply this to ourselves and use the “golden rule” found in Matthew 7:12 as our guide, “So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.” If your boss requires his employees to work on Sundays, would you not like if he gave you permission to attend services and worship God each Sunday morning with your brothers and sisters in Christ?

If we can reasonably accommodate others, we should do so. I don’t believe that reasonable accommodations, if indeed they are reasonable, should hinder those making the concessions, and as Christians we should be ready to do for others what we would want others to do for us.

I must admit that I admire the zeal of these people and think that this same zeal may be making us jealous. Do you really think that if Christians showed the same zeal, most stores would be open on Sundays and that the government could remove religion from schools and public places?

I believe that we ourselves should become more zealous and demand our own reasonable accommodations.