Whatever happened to the golden rule?
Animosity and self-centeredness can seem all too common these days. But we all have a God-given ability to let love – rather than self-justification, frustration, or ego – impel our interactions with others.
A news segment the other day reported an altercation between two passengers on a commercial aircraft – an example of the entitlement and self-centeredness that seem all too frequent these days, at the expense of thoughtfulness, kindness, and respect. Many wonder, What can be done about it?
We can look to the Bible for guidance on this. The very essence of Christ Jesus’ ministry was teaching and exemplifying love for God and one another. For instance, he taught: “Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you” (Matthew 5:43, 44).
A number of years ago two women came up the driveway while I was doing some work outside. They were members of a different church who wanted to proselytize. They had come well prepared with literature supporting their views.
I thought to myself, “These people have no idea who they’re talking to. With my superior knowledge of the Bible, I can show them how wrong their approach is and put them down.”
The three of us talked for a few minutes, and sure enough, the women went away in tears, feeling completely humiliated.
I felt really good for several minutes. But then I realized how truly awfully I had behaved. I had been utterly unchristian – unkind, arrogant, and completely disrespectful. The golden rule was nowhere to be seen in my behavior. I felt so ashamed of myself.
It was too late to go find the women and apologize. All I could do at that point was vow to myself to make amends if and when I had another encounter like that. I had to live up to the ideals of the Christianity I professed – Christian Science, based on Jesus’ teachings, which explains that we are all God’s children. We are spiritual brothers and sisters, held in the universal bond of divine Love. There is simply no room for animosity in infinite Love, which created each of us as its very reflection.
As the Christian Science textbook, “Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures” by Mary Baker Eddy, says: “With one Father, even God, the whole family of man would be brethren; and with one Mind and that God, or good, the brotherhood of man would consist of Love and Truth, and have unity of Principle and spiritual power which constitute divine Science” (pp. 469-470).
We all have the same spiritual Father. We are created for the same purpose – to express God’s love and goodness – and therefore cannot be in conflict with each other. Recognizing this spiritual reality enables us to demonstrate it in everyday life. Arrogance had gotten the better of me in the exchange with the two women, but through prayer I was able to express love and kindness more consistently moving forward.
Some time passed before a similar opportunity arose. I was making breakfast for my family when someone knocked at the door, wanting to proselytize. My initial thought was, “How dare they interrupt our Saturday morning ritual of having breakfast together?” But no sooner had that thought appeared, than the vow I had made was recalled. So I paused to let divine Love, not frustration or anger, guide my next steps.
I welcomed the man in and let him know how much I valued his desire to help people learn about God. With sincere respect for him, I let the man know that our family had a deep love for God and that we were practicing Christians.
At that point, the man smiled and told us how refreshing it was to not have another door slammed in his face. He seemed truly grateful for our response and thanked us for the kindness we had shown.
Each of us has what it takes to live up to the vow that is one of the tenets of Christian Science: “And we solemnly promise to watch, and pray for that Mind to be in us which was also in Christ Jesus; to do unto others as we would have them do unto us; and to be merciful, just, and pure” (Science and Health, p. 497).