May 13 ─ The Golden Rule, part 1

        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."

         It is 2018, and this verse has been weighing on my mind lately. I can remember growing up in the 70s, and hearing this verse being touted outside of its Biblical context  – as if it were a mantra for living, when one did not even care about the other teachings of Jesus. And it was! Notwithstanding the negative connotations of ignoring the rest of Jesus' teachings, society still accepted the wisdom of this verse as stand-alone decent behavior. And why not? The simple keeping of this command has ramifications throughout society and individuals alike.

         How much more peaceful our lives would be if everyone followed this command in detailed ways everyday! Let me give a few examples. Most people like to keep their home electric bills as low as possible. We turn off lights when not needed; we don't leave the TV on all night. The list goes on. So, why would I leave the lights and TV on in my hotel room when my stay has ended? (I see this regularly, as I work at a hotel.) The cumulative effect of this causes the business owner to pay more for electricity, which may cause his room rate to rise, which in turn may cause potential guests to look elsewhere for cheaper lodging, which in turn causes the business owner to not make money, which could effect his bottom line, as well as taxes that he would normally pay to the state and local governments. All of this, because someone thoughtlessly left the lights on – after all, I don't have to pay the business owner's electric bill. Oh, how short-sighted we are!

        How grouchy do we get when someone tramples our rights? It is because the other person is usually doing something selfish, which affects me directly or indirectly. That selfish act may be something needful, but he doesn't think how it will affect those around him. For example, a couple of years ago, there were a string of burglaries at residences around me. I even had an air compressor in my garage stolen at this time. The neighbor across the street also had some items taken from his outbuildings. As a reaction to this phenomena, he erected a large, bright dusk-to-dawn light on the side of this house, closest to his outbuildings. Never mind that the light now constantly shines in my bedroom window every night. Why could he not have erected a motion-sensor light, which would shine only if there were motion, and then shut itself off shortly thereafter? He wasn't thinking about how it would affect others around him. He was not following the golden rule. And my peace has been disturbed.

        When I play my non-vocal music at work, it is at a level that suits me, but does not bother the other areas of my workplace. The level is audible to guests, but not obnoxious in any way. It is background music, which is where it belongs – in the background, not in anyone's face, disrupting a respectful conversation. How rude and disrespectful when the opposite happens to me in my own workplace! Peace is disrupted because someone else is not thinking of others in relation to their own actions.

        How many more common examples could we think of? Life would be much more peaceful, if we simply thought of how our own commonplace actions would affect others.