With everything that’s been going on in our world, I’ve found myself thinking a lot about ‘the Golden Rule.’
You know that one, right?
Do unto others as they would have them do unto you.
The well-known saying originates from Matthew 7:12, in which Jesus says, “so in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.” For example, if you want people to be generous to you, then be a generous person. If you’d want someone to give you a hand up, then give someone around you a hand up.
We understand this, mostly. We’re taught the Golden Rule as early on as preschool, and hopefully it stays with us through adolescence and into adulthood. But lately, I’ve realized that the rule that most people actually observe is a not-so-golden rule. It’s more like a ‘silver rule’, as author Ken Wytsma calls it.
The silver rule isn’t quite the opposite of the golden rule, but just a little bit twisted around. The silver rule is “DON’T do to others as you WOULDN’T have them do unto you.” For example, don’t hit someone if you don’t want to be hit.
Do you see the subtle but profound difference? The golden rule requires action: “do unto others.” But the silver rule allows you to simply not do anything and then assume that nothing negative will happen to you!
But Jesus didn’t preach the silver rule. He preached the Golden Rule. It’s easy to see how we have morphed his words into something he didn’t actually say; the silver rule is much easier to follow.
The golden rule requires something of me. It requires me to act – to love, give, sacrifice, serve, initiate, speak up, create, listen, and in the words of Psalm 34, to “turn from evil and do good; to seek peace and pursue it.” The silver rule simply requires me to not harm anyone. This is not at all the end goal of a relationship with Jesus.
Following Jesus requires action, not indifference. It requires sacrifice, not avoidance. James tells us that Christianity is about doing, not just hearing. I think that we can recapture the spirit of the Golden Rule by simply getting out and actively doing some good this week – for your neighbor, for your community, for your family. I pray that we would hear the call of God to action this week, and that He would lead us to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with Him.
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