First Discourse in Matthew: The Golden Rule

“In everything do to others as you would have them do to you; for this is the law and the prophets. ~ Matthew 7:12
Worthiness doesn't have prerequisites. ~ Brene Brown
The good you do today will often be forgotten. Do good anyway. ~ attributed to Mother Teresa

The Golden Rule isn't a zero sum game.

 I'll do good to you - unless I don't like what you do to me. I won't do good to you if you've shown yourself to be unworthy.

 Jesus' Golden Rule gets quoted a lot, but sometimes we forget the last part if it.

 "For this is the law and the prophets."

 The law: "This is what I'm telling you it's all about."

 The prophets: "These are the dudes that I kept sending to remind you what it's all about."

 Do good.

 To Democrats and Republicans.

 To people who watch CNN and to people who watch FOX News.

 To men and women and transgendered.

 To poor and rich.

 To black, white, and brown.

 To citizens and non-citizens.

 To gay and straight.

 To Christians and Jews.

 To Muslims and Hindus.

 To Atheists and Agnostics.

 To the guy who doesn't pick up his dog's poop from your yard.

 To the lady who cut in front of you in the grocery store line.

 To the teenager whose loud party kept you up til 1 in the morning.

 Do good to them. Treat them as you'd want them to treat you.

 Treat them as if you got a handwritten, gold-starred note from God telling you they were worthy of your goodness.

 And if treating them well means bringing on a little discomfort to yourself, so be it. If it means your slice of the pie feels smaller, shrug it off. Because hopefully someone will be treating you how they want to be treated. 

 But if they don't?

 Do good anyway. Treat them the way you want to be treated anyway. Love them anyway, because their worthiness isn't dependent on you or me. It doesn't have any prerequisites.

 It just is.

 The law and the prophets say so.
Meditation: Bring to mind the people who are tough for you to bear in mind with the Golden Rule. Pray for them. 



Popular posts from this blog

The Gospel of Mark: Women at a Distance

There were also women looking on from a distance; among them were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and Salome.  These used to follow him and provided for him when he was in Galilee; and there were many other women who had come up with him to Jerusalem. ~ Mark 15:40-41 Where have all the disciples gone?  What about the crowds? Whose left? Some women. Standing at a distance. These two verses have always been poignant to me. We get so little in any of the gospels about the women following Jesus. But here's what we know about them. First, they paid the bills. And second: they stuck around. They would be the ones to watch Jesus die and the ones to visit his tomb. One of the things I've noticed about Mark is how he is able to say so much about people even by using so few words.  About Judas we know his character despite getting so little about him. About the woman who anoints Jesus, we know her generosity despite not even knowing her n...
Read more

Transformed through Courage: Esther

Then Esther spoke to Hathach and gave him a message for Mordecai, saying,  “All the king’s servants and the people of the king’s provinces know that if any man or woman goes to the king inside the inner court without being called, there is but one law—all alike are to be put to death. Only if the king holds out the golden scepter to someone, may that person live. I myself have not been called to come in to the king for thirty days.”  When they told Mordecai what Esther had said,  Mordecai told them to reply to Esther, “Do not think that in the king’s palace you will escape any more than all the other Jews.  For if you keep silence at such a time as this, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another quarter, but you and your father’s family will perish. Who knows? Perhaps you have come to royal dignity for just such a time as this.”  Then Esther said in reply to Mordecai,  “Go, gather all the Jews to be found in Susa, and hold a fast on my beha...
Read more

The Gospel of Mark: The Crucifixion of Jesus

They compelled a passer-by, who was coming in from the country, to carry his cross; it was Simon of Cyrene, the father of Alexander and Rufus.  Then they brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha (which means the place of a skull).  And they offered him wine mixed with myrrh; but he did not take it.  And they crucified him, and divided his clothes among them, casting lots to decide what each should take. It was nine o’clock in the morning when they crucified him.  The inscription of the charge against him read, “The King of the Jews.”  And with him they crucified two bandits, one on his right and one on his left.  Those who passed by derided him, shaking their heads and saying, “Aha! You who would destroy the temple and build it in three days,  save yourself, and come down from the cross!”  In the same way the chief priests, along with the scribes, were also mocking him among themselves and saying, “He saved others; he cannot save himse...
Read more