Luke 6:31
“And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise.”
“καὶ καθὼς θέλετε ἵνα ποιῶσιν ὑμῖν οἱ ἄνθρωποι καὶ ὑμεῖς ποιεῖτε αὐτοῖς ὁμοίως.”
“kai kathōs ethelō hina poieo humin ho anthrapos kai humeis poieo autos homoios”
Here God give us such a powerful commandment that if each person decided to follow this rule the entire world would change…
What is your life’s motto?
It is a simple question and there are few morally correct answers. The answer a person gives when asked this question depicts what his goal in life is. Every person has some form of life motto, even if they are not aware of it. Subconsciously everybody has a motto and their life, as well as the way they treat others, will reveal what this motto is.
Some say: “Might makes right”
This is the life motto of dictators. People who want to control others through might, power and a display of force. People who have this motto spend their entire lives desiring more and more power. They do not care what their words or actions do to others, as long as they become more powerful. Countries with a dictatorship government is a clear image of what this world would look like if everybody had this motto. They also depict what the world would look like if God’s motto was “Might makes right”… These people do not serve God and they do not truly possess power, rather power possesses them.
Others say: “The one with the gold makes the rules”
These people have their goals set on one thing only: Money. Lots and lots of money. They strive to have the most possessions, the most money, the most earthly material. They have made their first love money and have no more room for God. God does not accept second place in our hearts, if money comes first then you do not have God. They believe that everything can be bought, even loyalty and that everybody has a price. These people are astonished when a person would rather die than reject Jesus... It is also a good question to ask yourself… Would any amount of money convince you to reject Christ? The answer should be a resounding “NO”. If you have any doubt in your mind, you have a problem.
Another popular one is: “Do unto others, before they can do it to you”
People who live with this motto have lives filled with enmity and violence. They distrust everyone and everything. These people also find it difficult to place their trust in God; they would rather rely on themselves and in their own abilities. Imagine if God had this attitude…Imagine if God rejected you before you could reject Him? There would be no salvation, no hope, no future at all…
However, God gave us this motto to live by: “Do to others, as you would have others do to you”
This is called “The Golden Rule”. Imagine if everybody decided that this is the way they would live their life? The world would change overnight. There would be no more disrespect, violence, crimes or war. The world could become a paradise. The end of evil and the beginning of life. God displays this rule: God loves us and He wants us to love Him. God expects us to follow this rule because He knows what this world could become if we do!
Why do people not follow this rule?
People have various reasons for following their own mottos, however, we generally have the same reason why we struggle to follow this one.
If we do to others as we would have done unto us, we face the risk that we are going to have to give up a few things. We are going to have to take care of the poor and give away some of our money. We are going to have to give shelter to those who have no home. We are going to have to be patient, loving, caring, giving, helpful etc. The bottom line is that we will lose something (materialistically speaking) in the quest to fulfill this motto and that is why most of the world have a problem with this motto.
Why do people not want to give things up? The answer comes down to the ignorant attitude that says: The world owes us something.
Somehow, people believe that the world owes them something. Those who believe in God often believe that God owes them something!
If asked why God owes them, they answer: Because they obey God’s laws and they follow His commandments…
But it is time for these people to wake up! You don’t earn anything by keeping the commandments. You don’t earn anything by keeping the commandments, because keeping the commandments (perfectly), is God’s minimum requirement for all people. If you fail to keep God’s commandments even once, there is nothing you can do to make up for it. All sin have the same penalty, and that penalty is death. Only through Christ do we have hope of salvation.
The sooner people realize this, the better: God does not owe us anything, but we owe God EVERYTHING.
Choosing God’s way:
Once we realize that we are not owed anything, we can get to grips with this commandment from God.
Now, knowing the truth, would you want someone to tell you about God if you were unsaved? Of course! It is the greatest gift ever given in all eternity and the price paid for this gift can never be measured up! So follow Jesus’ instruction and do to others as you have them do to you… Tell them about God and His amazing grace!
Would you want people to be there for you when you go through a rough time? Then ensure that you are there for others who go through a rough time.
Do you want people to love you? Then love others also.
It can become discouraging when you try to do something good for someone, but they end up treating you badly. At these times we must remember that God notices what we do, even when people do not.
If we could look at the hearts of men throughout history we would find that very few people were willing to die for God, yet Jesus died for us anyway. Therefore we should treat others the way we want to be treated, even if they will not do the same for us.
God is asking us a question today: What will your life’s motto be? Will you treat others the way you want to be treated?
Do not answer God with words, rather answer Him with actions.
