The Golden Rule the World Over, 6

There are several key truths at the heart of The Golden Rule. We all want to be treated fairly. We all want to be treated kindly. We all want to live in a world where this is the norm. Neo-Confucianist Chu Hsi (circa 13th century) wrote about the elements that are needed to help find this balance: “Love contains the idea of flowing movement and activity put forth, but its operation is tender and gentle. Righteousness contains the idea of deliberation as to what is in accord with right, but its operation is decisive and distinct.”

In other words, kindness and fairness require both grace and judgement. In the Christian tradition this core pairing—-this yin and yang, if you will—-is called Law and Gospel. And, just as we all fail to live out The Golden Rule, many Christians suffer a great imbalance in their understanding of how to apply the law and the gospel in daily life.

This imbalance is extremely confusing to the culture, which is left wondering why some Christians seem so harsh and others so caring. The simplest explanation is that Jesus is, frankly, the biggest tent on earth. And the people who have been called to live out His story are an almost inexplicably diverse range of characters born in given places and times, with specific influences and tendencies, languages and life experiences, desires and agendas, blessings and wounds——not one like the other.

The one thing we have in common is that somehow, someway——over decades or in an instant——we knew God was calling us to draw closer. As we drew closer, we were brought into a specific community with people who taught us what they knew about Scripture and the life of faith and love and what it means to belong to the Body of Christ.

Now here’s where things get tricky. These faith communities are only human and, as such, they have their own leanings on the spectrum of Law and Gospel, tending towards one side or the other, and——perhaps, unwittingly——to groom others to do the same. Love or Hate. Good or Bad. In or Out.

But if we are brave enough, we will both admit and teach that we can’t have one without the other. Jesus tell us this quite clearly: “Don’t misunderstand why I have come. I did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. No, I came to accomplish their purpose.” (Matthew 5:17)

In other words, without guidelines and grace, and a genuine desire to understand which is required in any given situation, there can be no Golden Rule.

The Golden Rule the World Over, 5

Yesterday we considered why it is that every civilization in recorded history includes the much-need wisdom of The Golden Rule. Dylan Thomas nails it.

The Golden Rule the World Over, 4

The Mahabharata was likely crafted as far back as 800 BC. This epic Sanskrit poem is considered to be one of the great works of world civilization and contains the wisdom we continue to find in every recorded family of man. “The knowing person is minded to treat all beings as himself.” The question is this: why is it necessary for every culture in the world to assert the need to treat other people well——not just adequately, but with the same high standard of care we wish for ourselves? If this was an automatic behavior there would be no need to say it. If this were easy, there would be no need to aspire to it. And yet we nod and say, yes, of course, yes, we must do that. We must treat everyone the way we would like to be treated. And then we fail. Daily, hourly, even as we speak. Why? Well, I think that Paul said it best:

“I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I that do it, but sin that dwells within me.” Romans 7: 19-20

The Golden Rule the World Over, 3

Confucius was a Chinese teacher, editor, politician and philosopher born in 551 BC. He emphasized good order in all things, including how we are to treat others. He was a strong believer in the idea that the family was the foundation for a strong community and government, and that justice and integrity would be learned and practiced in those relationships. His expression of The Golden Rule is nearly identical to the one we find in the New Testament: “What you do not like if done to yourself, do not do to others.”
In an era where we reject rules and paradigms, we would be wise to consider that every culture that has ever taken seriously what is best for the whole of its people has put forth principles of good order and structure. Wherever men seek to live together in peace, there The Golden Rule will be found.

The Golden Rule the World Over, 2

Epictetus, a Greek sage and Stoic philosopher, was born a slave circa 55 AD in what would be present-day Turkey. He spoke of the Golden Rule in terms of earthly enslavement: “What you do not want to suffer, do not attempt to make others suffer. You avoid enslavement; make sure then to make no one your slave.” This is easier said than done, especially in the climate of “earthly enslavement” in which we all now dwell. Harder still is to recognize that we are all slaves to the desire to be our own God. And from this no rule can ever free us.