Do to Others

           So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets. (Matthew 7:12)

          Do you realize how hard this is? Consider it literally. Chances are good that you want people to do some or all of the following to you or for you:

Love                                         Like                                          Agree with 

Leave you alone                       Pay you what they owe you      Entertain

Appreciate                               Give the benefit of the doubt    Listen to

Entertain                                  Educate                                   Care for

Be polite                                  Consider your feelings              Accommodate

Believe                                     Consider your preferences        Forgive

Help           

          The list could probably continue for the rest of the page. Of course, some of them aren’t necessary all the time. Someone on the other side of the world really doesn’t have to consider my preferences or feelings when making a  decision about what to eat for dinner, but when the person in question lives with you, it would definitely be nice if he/she considered  your feelings about the meal.

          This may be why we are told to love our neighbor as ourselves. Our neighbor is anyone with whom we can interact at a given moment and who is likely to be affected by our actions. A neighbor who lives a block away may not need to be consulted if you’re planning to plant an oak in your yard, but the neighbors on whose property it might someday fall probably should be (along with the utility companies who deal with your property.)

          How we want to be treated and therefore how we should treat others is situation-specific. In general, however, what this passage teaches us is that we are not welcome to treat someone badly, not permitted to dehumanize them, call them names, ridicule, abuse, or otherwise hate them because no matter what the situation, we don’t want people to do that to us under any circumstances.

          I have to say, I’m no better at this than most people. I may not call people names – except as an identification of what they reveal or claim they believe, the way they behave, and their being wrong or right. You probably have your own list of exceptions. Do you know what they are? Dare we pick one to eliminate?