The Golden Rule

Okay, I'll break off the hymns again for awhile. If you guys want more, let me know and I'll return to them. In the meantime, we'll switch to other things.

Here's something you may not have thought about. Everyone knows the "Golden Rule": "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you" (Luke 6:31). It's very well known. It's found in a variety of places in other writings and religions. It's highly venerated. All well and good.

Here's the thing. Have you ever realized that we almost exclusively think of this passage in terms of the negative? We read "Do unto others" but we think "Don't do unto others." We read "Do to others what you would like done to yourself" but we think "Don't do things to others that you wouldn't want done to yourself." Now, this is certainly a valid statement. We teach this to our kids. "How would you like it if someone did that to you?" But Jesus's statement isn't a passive negative. It is an active positive.

Jesus's "Golden Rule" is a statement of action. Think about what you like. It is important that you think in terms of principle rather than specific because what you like others may not like. What do you like done to you in principle? Do you like to be respected? Do you like to be heard? Do you like to be appreciated? Do you like to be recognized? Do you like it when people give you what you want? These are questions based on principle rather than specifics. If you like these things, it is highly likely that others will. Your task, then, is to do them to others. Note, however, that Jesus's command isn't passive; it's active. Do them. We tend to wait for them. More accurately, we tend to think in terms of trying to avoid doing things that people don't like rather than actively seeking out what others like and actively doing them.

Perhaps I'm not getting this across very well. When we think of the Golden Rule, we tend to do so passively. "If the opportunity presents itself maybe I will." Jesus's command is not passive. Ask yourself, "What have I done today to give to someone else what I myself would like? What conscious goals have I set for myself today to do things to others that I myself would have liked?"

It is a valid concern that we avoid doing to others what we ourselves would not like done to ourselves. Good. We're fine with that. But Jesus's command is a step beyond that. Who have you respected today because you like to be respected? Who have you listened to today because you appreciate it when you are listened to? Who have you thanked today because you like it when you are appreciated? Oh, here's a tough one. It's a gender problem. Guys, when you gave your wife a gift for _____ (Mother's Day, her birthday, Christmas, "just because" -- you fill in the most recent event), did you give her something that she would want or what you would want? (Ladies, the same question for you.) You see, what you want is for people to give you what you want and that may not be what they want. Guys, for instance, often like practical gifts like power tools and the like, while ladies generally prefer gifts from the heart like flowers or jewelry. This is where the principle kicks in rather than the specifics. The principle is "I like to receive gifts that are suited to me, so I should give gifts that are suited to the one receiving them." Do you see?

Any reasonably decent person can subscribe to the passive negative of the Golden Rule. "Don't do things to other people that you don't want done to yourself." We are commanded to go a step beyond. "Seek out those things to do for others that you would like done for you. Make it your goal. Put effort into it. Do it." It would certainly go a ways toward demonstrating that love that Jesus said was the mark of His disciples, wouldn't it?