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Matthew 7:12 – Fundamental Misunderstandings of the Golden Rule
Fundamental Misunderstandings of the Golden Rule
Do we have a fundamental misconception of one of Jesus’s fundamental “rules”?
“Do unto others as you would have them do unto you” is another way of phrasing the 2nd Great Command – “Love your neighbor as yourself.” The difference between them is “love” is worded as action – “do”. First lesson then is, love is not love without showing it, anymore than faith is faith without showing it (James 2).
Second lesson is, The Golden Rule does not mean treat people the way we want to be treated. Rather than that rather selfish interpretation, it means treat people the way they want to be treated which is how we want to be treated.
What’s the difference? I like motorcycles.
• Because I would enjoy gifts about bikes, does that mean I should buy my wife motorcycle presents?
• Because I like straight forward talk or playful sacrcasm, does that mean I treat others how I like to be treated even if they prefer tact?
The way some people act, you would think they enjoy public pain and humiliation because they think it is their sole responsibility to comfort the afflicted (those who agree with them) and afflict the comfortable (those who disagree with them). But what happens when they are afflicted when someone treats them the way they treated others? Preachers can often be guilty of this by using the “bully pulpit” to bully people from the pulpit! Others do the opposite where everthing is behind the back. Apparently their misunderstanding of the Golden Rule goes one direction. That’s the third lesson.
The Golden Rule takes more than just understanding ourselves. It takes loving our neighbors enough to understand them and then acting on it. That is fundamental.
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