Do Unto Others

“So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.” (Matthew 7:12 ESV). We know this verse as the “Golden Rule” and in the form we probably all learned it as children it was, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” In the positive sense you treat others like you want to be treated or in the negative sense you do not treat others in ways that you don’t want to be treated. This is a concept that is found in some form in nearly every religion and extents back to ancient days.

This principal of reciprocity is found in various forms in the New Testament. For example: Matthew 6:15: As we forgive others, our Father will forgive us; Galatians 5:14: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”; John 3:16: God gave Jesus that he might receive us; 1 Peter 3:9: “not returning evil for evil or reviling for reviling”; Matthew 7:1 – 5: As you judge others you will also be judged. The example set for us is that God loved us enough to sacrifice his son on a cross so that he might receive us and our love. If we were to live to meet God’s desire the world would sure be a different place to live.

Prayer

Father, as I worked on this command I was intrigued by the thought that you loved us and desired that we freely love you. To make that possible and as a demonstration of your love for us, you were willing to sacrifice your Son. We desire others to love us, but what are we willing to sacrifice for that love? Doing unto others as we would have them do unto us, generally involves some form of sacrifice, but is our desire strong enough and are we willing to benefit the other person to receive what we desire? Father, it appears from the trends in our nation that we need more good reciprocity today.

See "The Commands of Jesus" Index to view other commands.