Do Unto Others

Luke 6:31 "Do to others as you would like them to do to you."

 A pastor tells this story: My family and I were on a six-week trip around the continental United States. While driving along the Blue Ridge Parkway somewhere in Virginia, we stopped to stretch our legs. My younger brother, who was eleven at the time, and I got into some sort of argument. I wanted him to share his snack with me, but he refused. As we began shouting at each other, Gary hit me. It didn't hurt very much, but I was incensed. So, at that point, I brought out the heavy moral artillery.

"Gary, you shouldn't have hit me." I stated. "Jesus wouldn't want you to do that."

"Yes, he would," Gary responded. "You know what He said: 'Do unto others as you would like to do unto them.' "

"Do unto others as you would like to do unto them." Now there's a rule for living! In fact, isn't it the rule that most of us follow intuitively? Don't our hearts and our culture agree that we should treat others in the way that feels right to us?

Ironically, there is a sense in which Jesus was appealing to our feelings in His version of The Golden Rule. "Do to others as you would like them to do to you". But Jesus is not telling us to do to others whatever feels good to us. Rather, He is calling us to consider how we would like to be treated by others, and to act toward them in this way.

This is surely one of the shortest and most reliable guides to behavior ever spoken. When in doubt, treat people as you would like to be treated. Just think of how it would transform our lives if we were to put this simple rule into practice. It would impact all of our relationships.

Lord, sometimes Your teaching is difficult to understand. Today, Your word to us is simple to grasp, even though it is not as simple to do. Thank you for giving us such a clear and straightforward guide to living. Amen

Inspired by The High Calling