The Golden Rule

Matthew 7:7-12

(Use the link below to read the verses.)

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%207%3A7-12&version=NIV;NLT

 

 

“Do unto others as you would have them do onto you”.

 

Be nice to others; be generous; do good deeds; show mercy and grace. These are excellent guidelines for us to live by, but when it comes to the daily grind of living, they’re not so easy. In fact, the Golden Rule is easy to quote, but hard to live by. Take driving for instance.

 

I spend about an hour and a half each week day driving to and from work. And I’ve got to confess that it is virtually impossible for me to apply the Golden Rule to my driving. When we moved here in 1985, if you let another driver merge in front of you, they would wave to you to say thanks.

Today, you’re lucky if they don’t flip you off.

 

I’m pretty sure Jesus didn’t have driving in mind when he preached about the Golden Rule.

 

What about work? What if you suffer some injustice at work? Maybe you get looked over for a promotion, or a brand new inexperienced employee gets more salary and benefits than you. Maybe a coworker gets a higher bonus because they’re a guy and you’re a girl. Does the Golden Rule apply then?

 

Indeed, it is a hard rule to live by, but Jesus preached about it in his most famous sermon - “The Sermon on the Mount”. Plus he said that it “sums up the Law and the Prophets”. In a corollary statement, he said that “all the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments”; to love God and love others as yourself.

 

How we treat others is paramount in our relationship with God. When we try to live by faith according to the Golden Rule; when we try to love God and love others as ourselves, we are seeking to show mercy and grace to others by approaching God’s throne of grace.

 

The opening verses of the passage today encourage us to not give up. “Keep on asking… keep on seeking… keep on knocking”. When you do, God will answer; you will find Him; and the door of opportunity will be opened.

 

 

 

 

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Laundry and Letters

Deuteronomy 5:32-33, 6:4-9

 

Before I left for college my Mom showed me how to do my laundry. My Dad told me that he expected me to write a letter to them every week. I guess their expectations had been laid out for me: keep my clothes clean and write home often.

 

In today’s passage Moses laid out the Lord’s expectations for the Israelites. Israel had been wondering through the wilderness for forty years in preparation to go into the Promised Land. The time had finally arrived, only Moses would not be the one leading them. Therefore, he was giving them their final instructions; their final marching orders before they crossed the Jordan River.

 

Although these expectations came in the form of commandments, they were based in love, faith and grace. They were intended for the wellbeing of the Israelites. In fact, they were intended to help the people of Israel grow in their faith in the Lord.

 

^“Therefore you shall pay attention and be careful to do just as the Lord your God has commanded you; you shall not turn aside to the right or to the left [deviating from My commandments]. You shall walk [that is, live each and every day] in all the ways which the Lord your God has commanded you, so that you may live and so that it may be well with you, and that you may live long in the land which you will possess.”          5:32-33 AMP

 

^“Write these commandments that I’ve given you today on your hearts. Get them inside of you and then get them inside your children. Talk about them wherever
you are, sitting at home or walking in the street; talk about them from the time you get up in the morning to when you fall into bed at night.”   6:6-8 MSG

 

These same words could be repeated to us each and every day before we go out the door as we face the pressures and stress of work; the temptations of the Internet; a world system that rewards selfish behavior; unresolved anger and resentment; and any other character defects that we may struggle with.

 

On that day when I left for college the first time, I knew that I was expected to keep my clothes clean and write my parents every week. Those expectations had been clearly communicated to me.

 

God has clearly communicated to you and to me through Moses. In fact, with a slightly different application, it’s not all that different than my parent’s expectations. The Lord has told us to keep our “hearts clean and to communicate with Him often”.

 

In other words, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.”