The Golden Rule(s)

Christianity’s most famous directive for right living is found in Luke 6:31 – “Do to others as you would have them do to you.” Matthew 7:12 adds a phrase: “ So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you.” In everything! There’s no carving out exceptions, darn it!. We can all look and sound good when things are going our way, but how about the times they’re not? I know I’m faced with those challenges every day, from a surly store clerk to someone with different political views to the driver who pulls out in front of me. Jesus doesn’t tell me I’m responsible for my feelings about these things but makes it clear that I am for my actions. Perhaps it will help us understand the Golden Rule better if we recast it. Five centuries before Jesus, the great Chinese philosopher Confucius wrote a kind of manual for living a moral and ethical life. And here’s his version of what Jesus later commanded us: “Do not to others what you do not want done to yourself.” Got it!

Let us pray:
Merciful God, you loved us so much that you sent your beloved Son to be born as one of us, walk among us, teach us, heal us, and lead us to right living through his example. Fill our hearts with gratitude for this priceless gift, we pray, so that we are inspired to live out his example in our own life. We’re not going to do it perfectly, and you understand that, but inspire us to work mindfully toward living out the goal so lovingly set for us. Amen