RE: WHEN WE ARE WRONG

ah yes !

The Golden Rule is one of the most often mis-quoted and misinterpreted sections of Scripture.

“So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.

These words from Matthew 7:12 have permeated our collective consciousness and become part of our lexicon. Most of us quote a semi-King James version of this New Testament Proverb:

Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

But over the years, it’s become apparent how many people don’t actually know what Matthew 7:12 says, let alone what it really means. I’ve heard people say things like…

Don’t do to others what you don’t want done to you

Do unto others like they do to you

Don’t do unto others unless they do it first

Do unto others before they do unto you

and more…

On top of these and others, “The Golden Rule” has become a way to describe the most important elements of a particular discipline: “The Golden Rule of Business” or “The 10 Golden Rules of Proper Dinner Table Etiquette.”

And before anyone accuses me of criticizing “people” for misquoting this verse, let me tell you what this post is actually about. I have misquoted this verse to myself for years, and it wasn’t until recently that I realized the error of my ways. My personal misquotation of Matt 7:12 goes something like this:

Do unto others so that they will do unto you

In other words, I often lived as though if I treated others the way I want to be treated, they would respond in kind. I felt like I deserved to be treated a certain way because I was doing my part to obey the Golden Rule.

Now there are so many things wrong with this situation… so many things. But the one that gets me is how backward my perception of what I deserved really was. Jesus clearly does not promise that people will treat you like you want to be treated, and he certainly does not say we deserve special treatment because we follow the Golden Rule. He simply says that we should treat people the way we want to be treated out of obedience to God’s Law.

The whole sermon on the Mount is built around the idea that living in accordance with the Gospel brings heavenly rewards, not earthly rewards. Living for the kind treatment of others, or praise for good works, or monetary gain is its own reward, Jesus says. And when the day is done, we have nothing left to show for it. But if we live for the joy of the Lord and “treasures stored up in heaven” our reward will be eternal.

So while I was whining to myself about the treatment I “deserved” but wasn’t getting, I was missing out on heavenly blessings that come with laying ourselves down for the joy of the Lord and the good of others. But thanks be to God that He transforms hearts, clears up misconceptions, and continually offers chances to turn our eyes back to Him.

big hugs🩷