Wednesday 25th September
Read Matthew 7:12
“So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.” (NIVUK)
The motivation for following the Golden Rule is fascinating. We are not exhorted to positively do good to others because we ourselves will reap the rewards of such benevolence. We are not encouraged to be nice because others will be nice to us. This is not a case of ‘honesty pays’ or ‘truth is its own reward’. Certainly in other early Christian letters there is a level of reciprocity assumed in how we behave with one another but Jesus does not make that case here.
The motivation for observing the Golden Rule is simply because it is the way we should live as citizens of the kingdom of God. The Golden Rule sums up the Law and the Prophets – it is how people who belong to the kingdom of God should live. The evidence that you are a kingdom citizen is simply that you will seek the good of others in any and every way you can. You will pursue it passionately, single-mindedly and completely.
Spend time today meditating on the ‘everything’ at the beginning of the Rule. Do you leave any area of your life out of the demand to seek the good of others?
