RBWords

     When I was in grade school, each year we students were provided, courtesy of the State of Louisiana, a wooden 12-inch ruler with the words, "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you."  The connection between a ruler and "the Golden Rule" - a kind of pun - was a bit too subtle for us.  Mischief always finds a way, but the rule itself is very ancient and seems to be one of those fundamental insights of human society. It appears in the Bible explicitly in the Book of Tobias (4:15) but stated negatively, which was the way it was known in Jesus' time. (Do not do unto others what you would not want them to do unto you.) Jesus states it positively and says that it sums up "the Law and the Prophets."

     In its ancient form, the roots were probably in the "laws" of retribution and revenge.  For Jesus it is stated as a law of love.  The Sermon on the Mount goes beyond physical action to motives.  Jesus asks us to give without expectation of return.  If our giving is conditioned by the expectation that someone will reciprocate, then our giving is tainted.  [Luke 14:13-21].  The refusal of some invitees to attend a banquet could be based on an inability to reciprocate!  Jesus urges us to do more than "random acts of kindness."  Kindness is to be a way of life for Christians.  Others may or may not reciprocate, but Jesus promises that our actions will not go unnoticed and unrewarded if done from love of God and neighbor.  AMEN