The Golden Rule
- Donnie Miller
- Sep 14, 2008
- Series: Why Can't We All Get Along?
This morning we’re kicking off a new sermon series. We’ve brought in a special guest to help us introduce the series, Rodney King. Video
When you watch that, you don’t know whether to laugh or cry. You laugh because, “Can’t we all just get along” became a pop-culture cliché. Which was what first prompted me to look up the clip on youtube. But when you consider what Rodney King was responding to, it ought to break your heart. The LA Riots were just one more chapter in the centuries long history of racism and violence in our nation.
Why do we beat police officers to death? Why do we support oppressive systems that rob certain groups of justice? Why do we treat like crap those we love the most? Why do we hurt each other? Why can’t we all just get along?
For a small fee, I’ll give you the simple and short answer; we’re human! As human beings, we’re naturally selfish. We interpret the world through our point of view. It’s okay to take a police officer away from his wife and kids, because they made me angry. It’s okay berate my wife and kids because I’ve got this anger inside my heart. Our default mode as human beings is to look after our own interests first and to see the world from our perspective.
2,000 years ago, this radical dude by the name of Jesus came on the scene with some powerful, world-changing teachings. They’re found in a section of Matthew we call the sermon on the mount. It may have been one long sermon or it may have been a collection of Jesus’ teachings, it really doesn’t matter. What matters is the power of these teachings. Imagine a group of people who took the SOTM seriously? These teachings are so radical and so difficult that many people who call themselves followers of Jesus completely ignore these teachings.
We don’t do that here. We’re committed to all of Jesus’ teachings, no matter how inconvenient or life-changing they may be. So for the next 7 weeks, we’ll be looking at Jesus’ teachings through the perspective of “why can’t we all just get along?” Sermon Schedule
Today’s passage is what’s often called “The Golden Rule.” Matthew 7:12
We’re starting our series with this one verse because it summarizes everything else we’ll talk about. In fact, if we truly got The Golden Rule and lived The Golden Rule, there would probably be no need for future sermons. If shutting me up isn’t good enough motivation, then I don’t know what is.
Seriously, in a way Jesus really was trying to end sermons. Many of the Jewish people in Jesus’ audience were committed to living out Torah, what we often call “the law” but it literally means “the way.” Torah was God’s way. People would take question after question to the priests or rabbis or scholars, “I’ve got this issue with my neighbor/ spouse/ relative – how do I live out Torah in this situation?” Jesus says here, “you don’t really need to go to a scholar, all your really need to do is ask how you’d prefer that the other person treat you and then do exactly that.” That’s what Jesus meant in vs. 12b.
This seems like simple common sense. Jesus is basically saying, “just use your head.” But there is a problem we face when trying to live out this common sense; it’s us. As Walt Kelly wrote over 100 years ago, “We have met the enemy and he is us.” As humans, we see the world through our perspective. Which is a nice way of saying that we’re naturally selfish.
Think about this on a large scale. During their convention speeches, in one way or another, both Obama and McCain promised to “promote American interests.” And that gets a huge response from the crowd, “yeah, promote Americans.” There’s nothing really wrong with that – UNLESS promoting American interests mean we are harming people in other countries. Do we promote our own economic, political or military gains at the costs of other people’s finances, national heritage or lives? We usually don’t ask that question, we usually just want to know what candidate will best support “American Interests.” As followers of Jesus our citizenship to the
Jesus could’ve said “do to your brothers or sisters” or “do to your neighbors”, people like you. Instead, he uses the phrase hoi anthropoi, in the Greek. It literally means “all humanity.” We’re to treat all people as we’d like to be treated, even if they’re not like us.
Just as it’s hard to live this out on a global scale, it’s even harder on a personal level. “If that person would just shape-up, I’d treat them a lot better.” All the while failing to see how our actions are causing the other person to react in that way. We’re naturally selfish.
On Monday, I did something really painful. I made a list of 7 things that I do on a regular basis that I know hurts other people. I don’t really want to share this list with you, but here are some of them. 1) Try to micromanage people 2) Compare myself to others 3) Cover up my shortcomings 4) Use passive-aggressive behavior in conflict. That’s obviously not treating others the way I want to be treated.
I also flipped it around. I asked myself how I want other people to treat me. 1) Apologize when they wrong me 2) Assume the best about my motives but ask clarifying questions if they’re not sure 3) Call me out when necessary 4) Forgive quickly.
I’d like you to do the same thing. Weekly Background music for 3 minutes
Jesus knew the incredible potential for good or for evil that exists within us as individuals and as groups or nations. That’s why he gets in our face during the SOTM, “get over your natural selfishness and see the world from other people’s perspective. The band’s going to play a song for us that deals with the potential for good or evil that exists within us. This is a heavy song. It starts out funny and light and then moves pretty dark. Interpret this song through the perspective of the Golden Rule.
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The reality is that we’ve all done the opposite of the Golden Rule in our relationship with God and with others. That’s what the cross is about. God saying, “yes, hurting other people is wrong but I’ll do whatever it takes to forgive you.” In speaking of Jesus’ death on the cross a guy named Paul wrote this in the Bible. Philippians 2:2-11
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