The Golden Rule

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

“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.
For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.
Matthew 5:17, 20

Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.
I John 4:7-8

Why Golden Rule is brilliant

1. It is simple
2. It points us in the right direction
3. It channels our naturally self-focused thoughts and desires

The Golden Rule doesn’t answer all the specifics about what love looks like, but it does get us asking the right questions.

Bottom Line

Jesus wants to transform your self-focus into other-focused love.

How to channel that self-focus into love

1. Pray for God’s insight, wisdom, and power to love
2. Resist caricatures and enemy making
3. Get proactive about learning and expanding your empathetic imagination
4. Train yourself to see self-focused reactions, thoughts, and feelings as triggers to love more deeply

While we were still sinners Jesus died for us
Romans 5:8

Action Steps

Prayerful reflection

• Who do you struggle to have empathy for? Who do you repeatedly find yourself turning into a caricature or having zero patience for?
• Why do you think that is? What do you think God wants you to know about that?

Practice

• Create space to pray for the people in your life you’re struggling to empathize with and love.
• Meditate on Jesus’ words in your interactions with people this week