THE
GOLDEN RULE
"As ye would that men should do to you, do ye also
to them likewise." Luke 6:31
If you ask different people if they can quote the
Golden Rule, I think that their response would be, "Yes I can."
If you then ask them to quote it, this would often be the response you
would get: "Don't do to others what you don't want them to do to
you." Is that really what Jesus said?
I guess in a way it is, but the Golden Rule is so
much more than that. That is a negative statement, but Jesus gave
us a rule that is both positive and far reaching. In effect it
says, "If I wish someone would do something nice for me, then I should
do that for them." This is not paying someone back for doing
something nice for me. This is my being the first to do the
kindness.
If I wish someone would say something nice to me,
then I should say something nice to them. If I wish a friend
would invite me out to lunch, then I should invite them out
first. To practice the Golden Rule, you don't wait for the other
person to act first. We need to be looking for ways to perform
"random acts of kindness."
But suppose someone mistreats you. Some would
say, "They don't deserve for me to be kind to them." We should
ask ourselves, "What do I wish they had said or done?" Then if I
apply the Golden Rule I will repay them with kindness and love.
So many situations could be diffused with a simple "I'm sorry," even
when I'm not at fault.
Troubled marriages could benefit greatly if the
partners would practice the Golden Rule. If even only one of the
partners would begin to put it into practice, God could use it to
at least open the door of communication. Even if the marriage
isn't saved, the person would know they had done their best by applying
God's principle to the situation.
Suppose Christian young people would begin to
practice the Golden Rule, especially in school. Just a few in a
school could make a tremendous difference. There are many young
people today who are waiting for someone to really see them, accept
them, and show them kindness. It just might open the door and
make them receptive to the gospel.
Notice these words in Luke 6:35 "......hoping
for nothing". We are to put the Golden Rule into practice
whatever the response, not expecting anything in return. The last
part of the verse says God "is kind to the unthankful and to the evil",
and we are to be like God. What a difference we would make in our
world if we, God's children, would practice the Golden Rule.