APPLICATIONS OF “THE GOLDEN RULE”
In the 2005 Memphis School of Preaching lectureship
book, What Is Man?, Gideon Rodriguez,
who preaches the gospel in the Philippines, wrote a chapter titled: “Man’s
Relationship With Fellow Man,” in which he presents a list of applications of
“the golden rule” from brother James McGill (2:743-44). Of course, the point was made that what Jesus
taught in Matthew 7:12 is the highest standard ever taught among men. The idea of refraining from doing harm to
others was a step in the right direction, but to actually treat others the way
we want to be treated is even more powerful.
Below are some of those that brother McGill suggested.
1.
“I want to be able to trust
in and confide in a friend.” Thus, I
would not betray a confidence given to me.
Many learn who their friends are the hard way. Many years ago this naïve writer thought he
was friends with someone for several weeks.
Conversations included future plans, as well as observations about daily
living and work. No one said, “Keep this
confidential”; it did not seem to be necessary.
Then one evening he repeated and ridiculed in front of the other workers
a private comment, and he did so maliciously, thus proving that he was not the
friend he had pretended to be. More than
one freshman has written in a composition about the same type of treatment. Obviously,
some have either never heard of this Biblical principle, or they do not care to
apply it.
2.
“I do not want what I have
said to be misquoted.” A good name does
not deserve to be sullied. It takes a
lifetime to build up people’s trust; to blacken someone’s reputation through
innuendo and spin is certainly not in keeping with Jesus’ teaching. It is among the lowest things that can be
done—to vilify other people when they have no opportunity to defend
themselves. To deliberately misquote or
change the emphasis of what another said or to fail to provide the proper
context so as to mislead others is contemptible. Some may repeat the
statement accurately but then render their judgment as to why it was said. How many of us would want to be treated that
way? In fact, even if a piece of
information is true, it does not need to be repeated. How effective would Peter have been on the
Day of Pentecost if someone had gone through the crowd, whispering, “I heard
him deny Christ three times before He was crucified; he cursed and swore,
too”?
3.
“I would like for others to
give me the benefit of the doubt.”
Suppose I said or did something questionable. It would be nice for others to put the best
possible construct on it. For example,
if I sent someone (or several people) an e-mail containing certain information,
I would not expect to be condemned for doing so without anyone even asking my
motivation. Someone practicing “the golden
rule” would not send letters to a number of people, accusing me of being merciless
and full of malice, would he? And if I
apologized for causing harm, I would not expect to be ostracized anyway. Jesus had more than sufficient reason to
demote Peter to the very least of the apostles after his three denials, yet He
still allowed him to use the keys of the kingdom of heaven on Pentecost so that
people could enter in. All of us have
made mistakes—are we going to demand perfection in others while we ourselves
are deficient?
4.
“I would not like for
someone to spread slander about me after my death….” The reason is that the individual will not be
able to defend himself. Added to this
statement should be “…or when I am not present to defend myself while alive.” How many preachers have been asked to leave and
not allowed to address the congregation?
Those in authority are free to say all manner of evil about the one who
is no longer there. He does not know
what is being said and cannot defend himself.
These are a few of the outstanding
principles listed in the lectureship book, but more come to mind, and they are
listed below.
5.
I am loyal to others; I
expect others to remain loyal to me when I have done nothing to merit
disfavor. A female student described her
labors in trying to find a house for her and her three high school friends as
they attended college. She finally found
a place with four bedrooms, but along the way one of the girls brought a friend
into the group. The four of them
contracted for the house, and the girl who found it was squeezed out. Would any of the other girls have wanted to
be treated that way?
Jonathan did the best he could at
remaining loyal to his friend David and to his father Saul. When a conflict arose between the two, he
determined which one was right and which one was wrong. When forced to make a decision, he came down
on the side of right—regardless of the consequences.
A few years ago a family began attending
the congregation with which I was working.
When my wife and I visited them, they explained to us why they were
leaving the congregation where they had been worshipping for two years. Apparently, there was an elite faction within
that church, of which they were not a part.
They were excluded from being in charge of anything. Eventually, they left. Since it was a small community, it was not
uncommon to encounter other members in the grocery store. One day the wife chanced upon one of the “sisters,”
whom she greeted. The woman just ignored
her and passed on by. She confided how
hurtful that was (and certainly not reflective of “the golden rule”). Naturally, we sympathized. Two years later, however, when we were
departing from the congregation, she behaved the same way toward us, although
we had been close friends.
6. I am
grateful to others for what they have done and expect the same treatment from
others. One of the reasons Pharaoh is
such a callous and arrogant person is that he displayed ingratitude. He chose not to remember what Joseph had done
for
How many people, however, are selfish
instead? How many instances have we all
heard about in which children have been ungrateful to their parents? Many times parents sacrifice for their children
and then are treated shabbily by them when they reach “adulthood.” Sometimes, they disrespect their parents’
wishes and their Christian convictions.
One woman had left the Baptists when she learned the truth about
salvation. She was a member of the
congregation with which I worked. She
suffered from pancreatic cancer for a few months and passed away. Imagine the congregation’s surprise when the
paper announced a Baptist preacher was going to conduct the funeral. One of the ladies in the congregation
commented, “If she knew what her children were going to do, she’d have had a
fit.” How could her children disregard
her commitment to the truth this way?
Obviously, they were not treating their mother the way they would have
liked to have been treated.
All of us probably have taken an interest
in someone, expressed kindness to someone, been helpful and encouraging to
someone—not expecting anything in return but rather just because it is the
right thing to do—only to witness that person make himself our enemy. Frequently, there is no disagreement,
argument, or blowup between the two parties—one just suddenly changes his
attitude and refuses to talk to the other—about him, perhaps, but not to
him. When such things occur, we all sit
in astonishment, wondering why all of the good will we had exercised toward our
“friend” was being trampled upon. How
sad for the individual who, as Judas betrayed Christ without cause, likewise
turns against us when we have done no wrong.
Solomon said of him: “Whoever rewards evil for good, evil will not
depart from his house” (Pr. 17: 13).
7.
I will talk to someone
directly if I have a problem with him, as the Scriptures teach (Matt.
These are but a few applications of “the
golden rule” that Jesus gave in Matthew 7:12, but they are important ones,
dealing with correct communication and treatment between brethren (and
others). Perhaps if all of us spent more
time thinking about how we would like to be treated—and then doing those things
for others, we might escape precarious situations. But even if personal relationships never
improve, at least, we will know that we have been obedient and done what we
could to benefit the kingdom.
ART IS THE HAMMER?
Neal Noey
While Clooney may like to be “out of touch,” I don’t like
to be “in the dark.” So, as I watched
and listened to the hoopla surrounding and including the 70th annual
Academy Awards, there were a few things which caught my attention.
A
few days prior to the “Awards” someone expressed their surprise that the “red
states” had not gone into a frenzy to denounce the Academy’s nominations, especially
the ones for Brokeback Mountain (about gay cowboys, but they
are sheep herders). The next day someone
pointed out that the conservatives had spoken—
They
will come to regret voting “It’s Hard Out Here For a
Pimp” as the “best” original music. Even
a four- year-old could apply the basic “
When
one of the winners, I forget who, said that “Art is the hammer by which society
is shaped,” I immediately thought of idolatry.
Art is created by man. Art used a
hammer and graving tools to create a golden calf (Ex. 32).
The
truth is: It is the love of the world that is the hammer that shapes the
ungodly art of
Much
of what takes place at the Academy Awards is the gathering of an insolent group
of unbelievers showing approval of those who practice and promote immorality. Every once in a while someone with real talent
will be rewarded for actual accomplishment.
Those moments while cherished, in perspective, will always pale to the
creation of God! Should we not honor
Him?
—from the bulletin of the Lincolnway Church of Christ
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