Serious about being like Jesus?

Jesus said, So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the law and the prophets. Matthew 7:12

“Do to others what you would have them do to you…”

This is “The Golden Rule”. Not that Jesus or the early church ever called it that, but that is how it is generally known. Jesus tells us that it “sums up the law and the prophets”; in other words, it is as perfect a distillation of Old Testament religion as you could hope to find.

It’s often been remarked that if all of us did indeed obey this rule, the world would be a very, very, different place. And it’s hard to argue with that!

But that makes it sound as if it’s a simple thing, like a d-i-y kit that I’ll be able to assemble unaided in no time at all. But it isn’t. Human nature isn’t like that, because it is weakened and corrupted by sin. Only with the help of the Holy Spirit can we hope to be successful in obeying Jesus’ command.

As a saying it trips easily off the tongue. But it’s worth pausing for a bit to ask the question: Yes - but what in practice do I want other people do to me?

Some answers to that question are simple enough…

If I’m in trouble, I want them to help me. If I’m lonely, to befriend me. If I have wronged them, to forgive me. If I’m hungry, to feed me. If I’m insecure, to encourage me. If I’m confused, to point me the way. If I’m in despair, to comfort me.

Come to think of it, two other great passages perfectly flesh out what this tiny command might mean in practice.

First, there is Jesus’ rather alarming story of the sheep and the goats (Matthew 25:31-46), which is in essence a damning indictment of religion that is “all talk and no walk”, religion which is destined for “the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels”. Mmm.

And then there is the wonderful story of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:10-37), the man who sacrificed time, money and effort to help someone - a total stranger - for whom he had no personal responsibility.

I can’t be in any doubt that if ever I was in need I would be grateful for a “sheep” or two to be there for me, not to mention a Samaritan. Wouldn’t you?

And now, if I stop to think about my responsibility to do such things to others, I begin to see just what a high standard Jesus is setting. This is, as they say, a “big ask”! But that doesn’t mean we should quietly leave it as just a vague aim, conveniently tucked away in the “good intentions” file. No: Jesus meant exactly what he said.

The things I have listed probably would come to the minds of most of us. But there is something else that deserves a mention, something that perhaps we tend not to think of: I want people to take me to task when I’m in the wrong.

As I look back in my life, I can’t help wondering how much better a person I might have been if friends had taken a deep breath from time to time and said, “Er, Colin, we need to have a bit of a chat…” and told me things I didn’t want to know. No doubt I would have bridled indignantly: how dare they say such things to me! But if I knew deep in my heart that what they said was true – well, surely a day would come when I would be grateful for their loving honesty.

Are we Christians sometimes just too “nice” to one another? True, we shrink from judging our fellow-believers, and so we should. But are there not times when such a rebuke may be an act of truest love?

A footnote…

The Golden Rule appears in Matthew’s Gospel in the “Sermon on the Mount”. But Luke has the same saying in a different place (sometimes called the “Sermon on the Plain”).

So? Well, the context in Luke is very different from that in Matthew. In Matthew the “others” to whom we must “do as we would be done by” seem to be mainly those with whom we have good relationships. But in Luke Jesus is talking explicitly about loving not your friends but “your enemies” (6:27).

We are to do good to those who hate us, to bless those who curse us, to pray for those who ill-treat us, to turn the other cheek to those who hit us…

I’ve don’t know why Luke has this saying in a different setting from Matthew. But who cares? All I do know is that his take on it gives it a sharper and more challenging edge.

In fact, if you happen to be looking for a new year resolution, perhaps it’s a case of… look no further! If Luke 6:27-31 doesn’t make us better people, what will?

Loving Father, teach me the skill of putting myself into the shoes of other people, even other people I may not like or respect, and so acting towards them how I want other people to act towards me. Amen.