“Do to others whatever you would have them do to you. This is the Law and the Prophets.” Jesus gives us The Golden Rule in today’s Gospel reading from Matthew 7:12. In the first reading from Genesis 13, a wise, 75 year old man by the name of Abram, soon to be Abraham, shows us an example of The Golden Rule through his wisdom.
Abram tells his nephew Lot that he wants peace between them and no quarrels with their herdsmen. So he tells Lot he can have whatever he wants. I really like how he tells this to Lot. He tells him, “Please separate from me. If you prefer the left, I will go to the right; if you prefer the right, I will go to the left.” So, thinking about The Golden Rule, he is being very generous just as God is generous with him and God was extremely generous with Abram.
I must admit that I often forget about this rule. Pride and selfishness kick in and my thought process can be all about me. What if I would think about The Golden Rule before I speak or act? I would be a much better example of Jesus living in me! One of my daily scripture passages I reflect on is Philippians 2:3-4 which says “do nothing out of selfishness or out of vain glory.” I could pretty much stop there because that will be a lifetime of work for me. But the passage continues, “rather, humbly regard others as more important than yourselves.”
Well, the passage does continue but following The Golden Rule would help me decrease my selfishness and vain glory. At this stage of my life, I definitely have a ways to go to humbly regard others as more important than me. By God’s grace, I put my hope and trust in Jesus that He will help and teach me to live The Golden Rule. Then as He tells His disciples as the Gospel continues, “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the road broad that leads to destruction, and those who enter through it are many. How narrow the gate and constricted the road that leads to life. And those who find it are few.”
May the following of The Golden Rule lead us all through the narrow gate to Heaven. Let us ask this in the name of the narrow gate Himself, Jesus Christ. Amen.
Seeking To Reflect Jesus 