November 13 ─ The Golden Rule, part 2

        Matthew 7:12 – "So in everything, do to others what you want them to do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets."

        What a simple statement! Yet, how often do we go about our normal days thinking about this command from Jesus? This command is directly related to the principle of sowing and reaping, found in Galatians 6:7. For the measure that we use is the same measure that will come back upon us. We do get what we deserve, because God is not unjust.

        Would I like roadside assistance if my car breaks down? Then, provide the same to someone broken down. Would I like detailed directions to a Christian concert venue, while walking in downtown Baltimore? Then give directions to the simple-minded person who asks for directions to the local palm-reader. Wait a minute! Am I suggesting that I directly help a person in their pursuit of Satanic things? Not if it is in my power to re-direct them. However, regardless of my influence in that situation, it doesn't leave me off the hook of obeying Jesus, or of somehow thwarting someone else's free will to their own fate. To not show someone a simple kindness like giving directions when asked is simply sabotaging my own point in time when I will need the same.

        Have you ever heard the phrase "pay it forward"? It means doing something now so that good will happen to me later. This principle is really understated in our culture, because of the ever-decreasing growth of love and morality. People in Buddhist cultures who are serious about their beliefs understand this quite well. The same principle is called karma, and even pre-dates the life of Jesus on earth. Now we know that Jesus did not get his teaching from the Buddha; but God's simple truths can sometimes be found in other cultures and religions. After all, the deceitfulness of Satan contains just enough truth to cause confusion.

        I don't know how the name "The Golden Rule" came to be associated with this principle. Maybe someone thought it was a philosophy of high worthiness. The upshot of the argument is that the Golden Rule principle is very important to what happens to us, as our own actions to others comes full circle in the same manner.

October 25 – Keeping the Commandments on the Outside

        1 Kings 15:5 – " For David had done what was right in the eyes of Yahweh and had not failed to keep any of Yahweh's commands all the days of his life – except in the case of Uriah the Hittite." © 1973, NIV

        On the surface, this verse sounds as if it implies that King David was nearly perfect all his life, only failing to keep two commands from the law of Moses – adultery and murder. Well, David knew his heart better than that. Including the obscure sin of taking a census of the army in 2 Samuel 24, David repeatedly in the Psalms, both claims reliance on his own uprightness as well as confesses his own sinfulness, which was in him at birth (the concept of an inherited sinful nature). Is it possible that the above verse was written instead as an example of David's otherwise lifelong devotion to God as a man who "pursued God's heart" (Acts 13:22)?

        One can also look at this verse in light of how Jesus explained how our motives were part of keeping God's commands. The Pharisees were known for their penchant for obeying the letter of the law, but their hearts were far from pleasing God. In Matthew 5 Jesus gives us several examples of keeping the letter of the law, but utterly failing to do so, when the real motives of the heart are revealed. He mentions adultery of the eyes, murder of the heart, loving others in the smallest way possible, divorcing quietly, and bringing gifts to God's altar, while a dispute is still brewing with a brother. In verse 20, Jesus states, "Unless your righteousness exceeds that of the Pharisees and teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.

        Pleasing God is more than just keeping his commands. It requires a change of heart, a desire to go beyond keeping the letter of the law, and to possibly sacrificing, in order to keep the spirit of the law.