"Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets."
Matthew 7:12 (NKJV)
When I was growing up I remember hearing people talk about what they called "The Golden Rule". The Golden Rule is something some people take from what Jesus said in Matthew 7:12 with the idea being that you should treat people the way that you want to be treated. This is generally a very good concept and Matthew 7:12 also says that this "Golden Rule" is what the Law and the Prophets is all about. Much of what is known as the 10 Commandments refers to our relationships with others and this is how treating people the right way relates to the Law and the Prophets.
In the New Testament we are told that love, walking in love, fulfills the Law (Romans 13:10) and that the Law is fulfilled in loving your neighbor as yourself (Galatians 5:14). If we are walking in love then we will treat others exactly the way that we would wish to be treated. Think about what it would be like if people, and especially Christians who have the love of God within them (Romans 5:5), would treat others the way they wanted to be treated. Often we want other people to treat us like kings and queens while we treat those same people as servants.
If we looked at situations from the standpoint of what is best for the other person and we then acted accordingly it would be a shocking experience for many people. If we did everything we possibly could to help someone, considering how much help we would want to have if we were the other person in the situation, we would not only be a great help to those around us but we would be making use of the love of God that is in us. We need to look for opportunities to put the love of God in us into action and treat others the same way that we would like them to treat us.
Matthew 7:12 (NKJV)
When I was growing up I remember hearing people talk about what they called "The Golden Rule". The Golden Rule is something some people take from what Jesus said in Matthew 7:12 with the idea being that you should treat people the way that you want to be treated. This is generally a very good concept and Matthew 7:12 also says that this "Golden Rule" is what the Law and the Prophets is all about. Much of what is known as the 10 Commandments refers to our relationships with others and this is how treating people the right way relates to the Law and the Prophets.
In the New Testament we are told that love, walking in love, fulfills the Law (Romans 13:10) and that the Law is fulfilled in loving your neighbor as yourself (Galatians 5:14). If we are walking in love then we will treat others exactly the way that we would wish to be treated. Think about what it would be like if people, and especially Christians who have the love of God within them (Romans 5:5), would treat others the way they wanted to be treated. Often we want other people to treat us like kings and queens while we treat those same people as servants.
If we looked at situations from the standpoint of what is best for the other person and we then acted accordingly it would be a shocking experience for many people. If we did everything we possibly could to help someone, considering how much help we would want to have if we were the other person in the situation, we would not only be a great help to those around us but we would be making use of the love of God that is in us. We need to look for opportunities to put the love of God in us into action and treat others the same way that we would like them to treat us.
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