If you were to ask a wide sampling of people living in your area what rule of life they seek to follow, many of them would say, 'I seek to live according to the Golden Rule!' But if you would press them as to what that means and to explain how the Golden Rule works, you might find that many of them are actually living by another rule or rules, that sound similar to the rule Jesus gives, but misses it by a mile. For many live by the rule, 'Do unto others as they have done unto you' or the rule of reciprocity or equal treatment. 'You scratch my back and I'll scratch yours!' Or many live by the rule first stated by Confucius, 500 years before Christ. 'What you do not want done to yourself, do not do to others.' At first glance it appears to be a negative statement of the positive rule of love- 'Do unto others as you would have them do to you.', but in reality, it is not an expression of love, but rather it is the rule of Self-preservation! I refrain from harming you so that you will not harm me. I only do things that benefit me and protect me. But the rule of love or the 'Golden Rule" is selfless. It is a willingness on our part to put ourselves in the place of another and then act accordingly for their benefit, not ours. That's how God treated us! Jesus Christ put himself in our place and then did what was most beneficial for us-- provided salvation, the forgiveness of our sins! That is the epitome of LOVE. And He calls upon us, his followers, to love as He loved us. To live according to the 'Rule of Love'! |
