This is the Golden Rule. Do they still teach about the Golden Rule in schools? If so, I bet they don’t talk about the fact that it’s a teaching of Jesus. A lot of non-Christians (and some Christians too!) have Jesus all wrong. Jesus gets a bad name because of His so-called followers who get all scared and worked up by all the wrong things. Jesus came to teach us how to love, not judge. This Golden Rule is part of that, and it’s clearly aimed at an audience who doesn’t get it yet. Jesus is appealing here to my selfish nature to get me to love. Do I want to be loved? Yes. Then I should love others! Do I want to be treated with fairness, dignity, and respect? Yes. Then I should treat everyone else with fairness, dignity, and respect! Do I want people to listen to me? Yes. Then I first have to spend time listening to them! Do I want people to jump to conclusions about me and judge me? No! Then I should not jump to conclusions about other people or judge them. Do I want people to yell at me or post hateful things about me when they disagree with me? No! Then I should not yell at people I disagree with or post anything negative about them. None of this is rocket science. And yet it seems so hard. If I can’t remember to love people, maybe I can remind myself how I want to be treated and start there.
Dear God,
Thank you for this simple guide in how you want me to behave. Please remind me of this verse when I reach for retaliation instead of love. Help me to react to offenses with how I would like someone else to react when I am offensive. Forgive me when I respond poorly, with escalating words or actions instead. Teach me about your love and give me the strength to live it out.
CamDevo 