While it has been suggested that the world would be an enormously better place if people would “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you,” we human beings most often live by the words, “Do unto others before they do unto you!” So, what is the practical purpose of the Golden Rule? Is it a cliché to bring up just to sound pious, or did Jesus, who gave humanity the Golden Rule, have more in mind?
A full reading of the Gospel accounts describes in quite a bit of detail the Golden Rule life. Jesus said,
“Love your enemies.”
“Turn the other cheek when someone hits you.”
“Don’t take revenge.”
“Borrow and don’t expect to get the money back.”
“Forgive other people the way God forgives you.”
Are you thinking, “There’s no way anyone can even come close to living like that”? I believe most of us would agree with you. The lifestyle standard Jesus sets is beyond even the most moral human being. So why did he talk that way?
It could be Jesus was stating the obvious because when it comes to right living, most of us have conned ourselves big time into thinking we’re a whole lot better than we are. We generally say, “Good people go to heaven and I think I am one of them!” Now Jesus comes along and says, “Well, if good people go to heaven, here’s my definition of ‘good’. How do you rate now?” Kind of a humbling question, isn’t it? And it is meant to be.
If we are ever going to get things right with God, we have to come to God on his terms. And the Golden Rule is one of those terms. We can never keep it perfectly and Jesus knew that. He gave it to us in order to lead us to the realization of how much we need his forgiveness and the changes he needs to make in our lives.
No one will ever get the Golden Rule 100% in this life. But knowing Jesus Christ as one’s Savior and Lord gets us right with God and on the right path to learning how to live out the Golden Rule.
Sunday Morning Worship: 10:00 am