The Golden Rule

Treat others the same way you want them to treat you.

If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. If you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners in order to receive back the same amount. But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men.

Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

Do not judge, and you will not be judged; and do not condemn, and you will not be condemned; pardon, and you will be pardoned. Give, and it will be given to you. They will pour into your lap a good measure — pressed down, shaken together, and running over. For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return.Jesus spoke those words. Many in His audience would have reeled in their offense upon hearing such things. The scribes and the Pharisees, and their followers, would have been especially offended, given their affinity for judging those they deemed “enemies”. Unmerciful people, like the religious folks during Jesus’ time, have no compassion for others. Instead of taking the opportunity to help another in need, they say things like, “I told you so!” Instead of praying for the weak, they punish them, they oppress them, they show them the very opposite of love. If said people claim to be Christians, they are damaging the good name of the One who embodied love, Jesus Christ, who said:You have heard that it was said, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.Who among us hasn’t been weak? Only an outrageously arrogant person would deny ever being weak (that person wouldn’t likely be subscribed to my blogs, either). So, if we can all agree that we’re all weak in our flesh, then can we all agree that, as individuals, we’re weak in different ways? In other words, we don’t sin the same way. In fact, some of us sin publicly more than others. For example, suppose your weakness is a lack of trust in God to provide for you and your family. What might you do that others might eventually find out about???No man trusts God implicitly, despite the presence of Holy Scripture that states he ought to. If he did, he’d never sin. He’d never lie, cheat, or steal to compensate for his lack of faith. “For all these things the nations of the world eagerly seek; but your Father knows that you need these things. But seek His kingdom, and these things will be added to you” (Luke 12:30-31). You might say, “That doesn’t apply to me!” For the record, that’d be your ‘arrogant voice’ speaking…just sayin’. Ever lied about and/or stolen even the smallest thing? I guess you didn’t trust God’s Word regarding integrity to truth and/or His divine providence, huh? Just because some of what you’ve done in the past out of weakness isn’t public knowledge doesn’t mean it’s any less vile to God. So let’s stop judging one another, proclaiming this or that sin is worse than our own. That type of thinking is missing the mark set by Jesus, Himself.The flesh is so ready to categorically dismiss public sinners, yet Jesus made a point of spending time, publicly, with such people! How about you? If you thought a prostitute needed Jesus, would you take her out to lunch and give her the Gospel? No? Why not? What are you worried about? What others might think? Every believer is a prostitute, only their trespasses aren’t always publicly known…for we merchandise with the world system daily to “get ahead”. Ask yourself, what’s worse, physical or spiritual prostitution? You know the answer - and you’re grateful God has mercy on you, aren’t you? Then why don’t you have mercy on those with the lesser sin…say the prostitute, or the thief, or the addict?Then it happened that as Jesus was reclining at the table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and were dining with Jesus and His disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they said to His disciples, “Why is your Teacher eating with the tax collectors and sinners?” But when Jesus heard this, He said, “It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick. But go and learn what this means: ‘I DESIRE COMPASSION, AND NOT SACRIFICE,’ for I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”Treat others the same way you want them to treat you.One of the greatest things that Jesus left His disciples, and consequently all of us, is perspective on sinners. There are two basic, opposing ways we can approach a fellow sinner (I say “fellow” because I never want to lose sight of the fact that we’re all sinners). First, we may choose to approach a sinner with the Law in one hand and a pointing finger protruding from the other. This is condemnation personified. The other option, the one that Jesus employed, is to approach a sinner with mercy and compassion. This is grace personified.No person has ever been willingly or unwillingly saved (delivered) in the absence of grace.Who among us doesn’t appreciate God’s grace? I mean, imagine our lives without it for a moment…phew! We’d all get exactly what we deserve, now and in Hell. How is it, then, that we turn up our noses to those with sins more public than our own? Nobody has ever understood, seen, and felt the impact of sin in this world more than our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Yet, under the fullest disclosure of the ugliness of mankind, His preeminent qualities were love and compassion for sinners. This love motivated Him, “the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross” (Hebrews 12:2).When Jesus saw lost people, He felt compassion for them. He looked beyond the symptoms to the root cause. “He Himself knew what was in man” (John 2:25b). Instead of judging them, He sought to save them, ”for I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world” (John 12:47). If a person’s a prostitute, something’s broken inside of them. The same goes for the drunkard, the abuser, the adulterer, etc. We are born broken, sick in the head, in desperate need of a Savior. That’s the point. An honest person already knows this about themselves. They don’t need others pointing out their problems. Let them pray to God, their true Judge, about their failures.People are born lost. They are broken inside. Their destiny is futile, searching and only finding misery. Quick fixes and bandaids never hold up. Life becomes oppressive and depressing. This is their lot in life - darkness. Instead of telling them what they already know, shouldn’t we give them a compass that guides them to the Light, the Gospel for starters? “Seeing the people, He felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dispirited like sheep without a shepherd” (Matthew 9:36).Let’s approach others while leaving our fleshly instincts behind. Let’s not see a person for who they are as sinners, but rather who they might be or become in Christ, our brothers and sisters. Let us love them. “Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins” (1 Peter 4:8). Let’s leave the judging part up to the One with the authority to judge. Love knows no boundaries, and it certainly doesn’t differentiate based on sins that have already been paid for on the Cross.Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor; not lagging behind in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer, contributing to the needs of the saints, practicing hospitality.Love in Christ,Ed Collins