“Do to others what you would have them do to you.” Luke 6:31

This is one of the most recognizable passages in the scriptures. It is also known as the Golden Rule. It is a statement that bears the full weight of truth. Though we are all attracted to this divine wisdom, sadly, few of us have made it one of the great habits of our own lives.

We might get a bit of an insight as to why it is so difficult for us when we look at the context in which Jesus gives us this wisdom. It comes in the middle of his Sermon on the Mount. More specifically, it comes in the middle of his discourse on “loving our enemies.” Intellectually, we can see the wisdom of the Golden Rule quite clearly. The trouble is that when we are dealing with our “enemies” we are usually caught up in our own emotional responses to them.

These emotions are instant and powerful. They often disguise themselves as answers, even as matters of “justice”. But because they are so strong, and appear to be so satisfying, we often turn the Golden Rule on its face thinking, “Do unto them before they do unto us.” We are not alone in this. We are all in it together. And because we are, we rarely find real, lasting, just, peaceful, or respectful solutions to our problems with our enemies.

Jesus deepens the wisdom of this verse in the form of a logical argument. He follows it by saying, “For if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do the same.” (verse 29) If we continue to act as sinners, we can expect nothing new to happen, no improvement in our lives. Jesus is challenging us to see that if we are going to call ourselves his followers we must change in our hearts and in our minds and begin to practice loving others as he did.

As sinners, we are all enemies of God in some way. Yet he loved us all unconditionally and died for each one of us on the cross. Jesus is challenging us to break out of our old molds and behaviors, which only continue the enmities between us. Jesus is not about making this life easier. He is telling us how to live this life better, more in line with the divine nature he breathed into us at our conception.

When Jesus says to us, “Do to others as you would have them do to you,” he is challenging us to do something that is very difficult, but it is the only way that we are going to be able to even begin to reduce the enmities that divide us, and that all too often destroy us. We are to treat even our “enemies” as we would have them treat us. This is, after all, what he did for us. It is this kind of attitude alone that will bring about the justice and the peace we yearn for in our lives.

Of course, we cannot do this alone. If we believe, and act accordingly, God will give us the graces we need to be successful every step of the way. We are not naive. We know by experience that our “enemies” may not have or honor this insight, and that, because of this, we may indeed still suffer at their hands, but Jesus tells us something hard again, “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, pray for those who mistreat you. To the person who strikes you on one cheek, offer the other one as well…” (verses 38-42).

It would be a terrible mistake to say that Jesus is just speaking figuratively here. No. He means what he says. And to prove it he “walked his talk” all the way to the cross. His last commandment to us was, “Love one another as I have loved you” (Jn 13:34). Jesus is serious. Believe this too; he would not tell us to do this if we were not capable of it.

Lord, you have made us in your image and likeness; help us live up to that in our daily lives. Deepen our understanding of this Golden Rule. Give us the strength and the courage to live it as you have taught us to in both word and deed. We pray in your name, Jesus. Amen!