The golden rule

“Do to others as you would have them do to you.” Luke 6:31
This saying of Jesus – which occurs in both Luke 6:31 and Matt. 7:12 – has been given the nickname ‘the golden rule’. At face value it is something which seems to have been echoed by many other teachers and philosophers over the years – but there is a fundamental difference.
The common way of expressing the ‘golden rule’ is ‘Don’t do to others what you don’t want them to do to you.’ That is, don’t hurt other people, because you don’t like being hurt, do you? Don’t spread gossip about other people, because you don’t like it when people spread gossip about you. Or even in the words of Thumper to Bambi: ‘If you can’t say something nice, don’t say nothing at all.’
However, the ‘golden rule’ that Jesus gave us goes far beyond these. We can easily live by the world’s ‘golden rule’ of not doing bad things to others – the easiest way is not to do anything for other people. We sit by passively. But Jesus challenges us, instead of refraining from doing evil, to actively do good for others. Leave extra change in the parking meter. Mow your neighbour’s lawn when they’re out. Cook meals for people. Be spontaneously generous. It will spice up your life – you’ll have fun doing it – and God will bless you for it.