It is worthwhile to consider in our understanding of what would come to be called the “Golden Rule”—treating others exactly as we would like other people to treat us—where Matthew and Luke place this teaching of Jesus in their Gospels. In Matthew’s Gospel it is squeezed between what Jesus says about God’s generosity toward us in response to our prayers and what he says about entering by the narrow gate. In Luke it forms a part of Jesus’ teaching about loving our enemies—those who are ill-disposed toward us and may hate us and wish to harm us one way or another.
The placement of this teaching in Mathhew’s Gospel and Luke’s Gospel is not accidental. Rather it reflects the two evangelists’ understanding of this teaching and its place in the life of a disciple of Jesus. While Matthew and Luke may on the surface appear to have different understandings of this teaching, their understandings do not conflict. It is not that one is right and the other wrong. In fact, they compliment each other. They go hand in hand.
In the passage that precedes this teaching in Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus draws to our attention that God is openhanded in giving good things to us. God is ready to give us more than what we may need or expect. God is lavish in showing us his kindness. If we who are evil, as Jesus points out, are kind to a child, how much more will God who is good show us kindness. In his choice of words Jesus is emphasizing God’s goodness and kindness.
After Jesus instructs us to treat other people exactly as we would like to be treated by them, he points out, doing so is the essence of all true religion. Jesus goes on to instruct us to go in by the narrow gate. The narrow gate and the hard road lead out into life and few find it. What he is saying is treating other people as we would like to be treated by them is not the easy way, but it is the right way to take.
There is more than a hint here that treating other people exactly like we would like them to treat us entails showing them the kindness that God shows us. We are generous toward them. We are not mean-spirited. We do not delight in causing trouble for other people or seeing them suffer harm.
In Luke’s Gospel Jesus’ instruction to treat other people the way we would like to be treated follows his teaching to love our enemies, to do good to them, and not to do them harm. In other words, Jesus is telling us we should be kind to them as God is kind to us. We should act benevolently toward them as God acts benevolently toward us. We are to be bighearted toward them.
Treating other people exactly as we would like to be treated by them does not mean indulging their inclination to surrender to temptation and to gratify their inward desires out of our own wish that they in turn will indulge our own inclination to do the same. This is not an act of kindness because it can affect their relationship with God and with other people. It can do them harm, not good.
Treating other people exactly the way that we would like them to treat us means that we do not to judge them harshly and we make allowances for them. Unlike God, we are not all-knowing, and we do not know what has happened to them at the different stages in their lives. While God in showing love toward us acts with full knowledge of ourselves, we in showing love toward other people act from faith in God, faith in Jesus, faith in his teaching and example.
We might wish that we had God’s knowledge of other people but having such knowledge might cause us to shy away from loving them. We might say to ourselves, “I can’t love someone like that. They did such an awful thing!” Jesus taught us to love other people no matter what, not just those we see as “good people,” but also those we see as “bad people.” This is the kind of outrageous love, the kind of radical love to which Jesus has called us.
A song from the musical Godspell, based upon the Prayer of Saint Richard of Chichester, comes to mind.
Day by day
Day by day
Oh, Dear Lord
Three things I pray
To see thee more clearly
Love thee more dearly
Follow thee more nearly
Day by day
Oh
Day by day
Day by day
Oh, Dear Lord
Three things I pray
To see thee more clearly
Love thee more dearly
Follow thee more nearly
Day by day
Day by day
Day by day
Oh, Dear Lord
Three things I pray
To see thee more clearly
Love thee more dearly
Follow thee more nearly
Day by day
Day by day
Day by day
Oh, Dear Lord
Three things I pray
To see thee more clearly
Love thee more dearly
Follow thee more nearly
Day by day
Day by day
Day by day
Oh, Dear Lord
Three things I pray
To see thee more clearly
Love thee more dearly
Follow thee more nearly
Day by day
Day by day
Day by day
Oh, Dear Lord
Three things I pray
To see thee more clearly
Love thee more dearly
Follow thee more nearly
Day by day
Day by day by day by day
In seeing Jesus more clearly, loving him more dearly, in following him more nearly, we love other people with his love, we treat them with his kindness, we treat them as we would treat our redeemer, friend, and brother.
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