Luke 6:31 And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise.
Trust God, Not Manipulation
We’re going to talk about a verse that you have preached. You say, “Brother Wil, I’m not a preacher.” Well, you may not be, but I’m pretty sure that every adult looking at this has preached this before. Luke 6:31 says, “And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise.” We sometimes call this the Golden Rule. There’s hardly a teacher, parent, uncle, aunt, or camp counselor that has not said this to some young person. The thought is that if you’ll be nice to people, people will be nice to you.
It is true. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. If I will do right by people, people will do right by me. The question is, “Why?” Is this merely psychological? Because of the way people are wired, they just can’t help but respond in accordance with the way I treat them? Is this manipulation of people? Is this merely a way to get what I want from people?
If you look at Mark 6:32-34, you find that if you do good to people merely because they’ve done good to you, it’s nothing special. Jesus says that sinners do the same thing. It’s natural, not supernatural. It’s human, not divine.
Jesus says in verse 35, “But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again.” Do you do that? The Bible says that your reward shall be great if you do these things. Verse 35 continues, “Ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil.” That is supernatural. When I, as God’s child, follow His example, then I live in God’s power, and God is the One Who rewards.
Now, God is the source, but people are very often the means. Verse 38 says, “Give, and it shall be given unto you.” When I give, men will give unto me. God gives, but He doesn’t usually sprinkle dollar bills from the sky. So what’s happening here? God is the source: people are the means.
The bottom line is this: a man who trusts God will not feel the need to manipulate people. If I am trusting in God and enabled by God, I will do what He would do. I will treat others as I would want to be treated, and I will treat others as God has treated me. In short, I will do what is right and trust God to reward that in my life.