Spirit of the Golden Rule

Chuckle: A man writing to the meteorologist: “I thought you may be interested in knowing that I shoveled eighteen inches of ‘partly cloudy’ from my sidewalk this morning.”

Quote: “Blessed is he who does good to others and desires not that others should to him good.” – Br Giles Little Flowers of St Francis

“in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the law and the prophets” (Matthew 7:12 NIV.

Near the end of His Sermon on the mount Jesus introduced His famous Golden Rule. Unlike similar sayings by other Jewish teachers, Jesus stated the rule in a positive way – by telling us what to do rather than what not to do. This rule represents the very essence of Jesus’ teaching concerning human relationships. He wants us to apply the principles of this rule by positive actions toward others in the same way we want others to treat us. However, our desire to have others do good to us should not be our motivation for doing good. Our motivation should be our obedience to our Lord and genuine love and concern for others. Our quote for today says it quite well.

The Golden Rule, provides the basis for how we should relate to other people; that is unless we distort its meaning to fit our selfish and self-centered attitude. Sometimes, mainly in jest, I’ve heard it stated like this: “Do unto others before they do it unto you.” Or, “do unto others as they do unto you.” These tongue-in-cheek distortions of the Golden Rule, seem to describe the attitudes of some in our selfish, greedy, and materialistic society. If we care only for ourselves, we violate the spirit of the Golden Rule by our unconcern for others.

It is relatively easy to refrain from harming others, but much more difficult to take the initiative and do something good and uplifting for them. Remember, these are the words of Jesus – His Golden Rule. As He formulated it, He described the very foundation of genuine goodness and mercy. It’s not possible to live by the Rule unless we love others with the kind of love God shows to us every day. As we study the Golden Rule together, I’m sure God would have each of us to think of someone whom we can bless today by our good, kind, and merciful actions that demonstrate our love.

No doubt the way we relate to others will determine how we are treated and God is pleased when we treat our brothers and sister will love and compassion, regardless of how they treat us in return.

Love, Jerry & Dotse