Matthew 7:12 Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.
The Golden Rule
Do you realize how often we think about “them?” You and I spend a big portion of our day thinking about “them,” our students, our customers, our friends, our family. If we’re not careful, we spend all that time thinking about what our duty may be, and sometimes resenting it. I’d like to give you permission to make this a “you” day. That’s right, we’re officially declaring that today is You Day. Now there’s one little caveat to that: you are free to think about what you would have other people do for you, so long as you use that as a reference in how you treat them.
In Matthew 7:12 the Bible records Jesus saying, “Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.” We often call this the golden rule, and it is found in other variations in all kinds of literature. It has been quoted for centuries in various religions. This tends to highlight the essential nature of what God has mandated and what Jesus has said.
Can you imagine how different your day would be if you simply treated everyone the way you would want to be treated? Too often we wait until some rule is made, and we’re forced to do something we should be doing anyway-treating people with what might be called common decency. The irony is that common decency is sometimes anything but common. We need to remember that we will reap what we sow. If everyone in my world is sarcastic, or stingy, or guarded with me, it may well be a mirror of what I am being to them. Sometimes a man is the last person to see himself as he really is.
The wonderful truth is that if I will put others first by treating them the way I would want them to treat me, I will reap the blessings in my life, and be the blessing in the lives of others.