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April 10, 2006
Do unto
others…unto others? Is it a poem? Shakespeare?
I shudder with a
mixture of dread and curiosity every time Jay takes to the street with
his camera crew and a microphone in hand. In a regular feature
Jaywalking, Leno approaches people on a Hollywood
street to survey their knowledge on current news or a particular
topic.
One night it’s
history. Leno asks passersby how many judges there are on the Supreme
Court. A young man laughs, shrugs his shoulders and tosses a number
in the air. Thirty six? Leno laughs, too. So, he
asks, did you go to college? Yeah, the man replies.
I graduated last year.
The Golden
Rule? It’s a mathematical formula, isn’t it?
In a variation
on his regular theme, Leno one night lets people choose their
questions from either a 4th, 6th, or 8th
grade text. Jen, a registered dental assistant, says the Grand Canyon
is 3200 miles long, and an Alabama State
student says Columbus discovered America in 1842. What country did
we fight in the Revolutionary War, Jay asks Selena. Oh, my
gosh. I don’t know this stuff, she admits. I really
don’t know this stuff. Keeping a straight face, Leno tells her,
I believe you.
Another night, and another question…laughter gives way to sadness as
we witness the current state of affairs in modern American life.
What is the Golden Rule, Jay asks. One after another, each person
stares at him with a blank face. You know, he persists.
The Golden Rule…do unto others…? That’s enough to get them
started.
The Golden
Rule? Do unto others…before they do it to you. Yeah, that’s it.
The
ethic of reciprocity is a general moral principle found in virtually
all religions, often as a fundamental rule. It is most commonly heard
as "do unto others as you would have them do unto you." This
traditional rule is so highly valued that it has been known in English
for centuries as the "Golden Rule".
How
did we manage in America to loose sight of the Golden Rule? Why is it
impossible for these regular people to immediately recite the simple
statement for Jay? How can we possibly teach our children new
attitudes of respect and love when we have lost sight of a common
cultural law as basic as the Golden Rule?
So in
everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this
sums up the Law and the Prophets.
[Mat 7:12 NIV]
A nation that does not have this law written on its heart is a nation
that has forgotten how to love.
As I
would have them do unto me?
Would I have them yell at me and trash me with vulgarity and
accusations on Jerry Springer’s show? Certainly not.
Would
I have a dear family member meet me center stage on a national
television talk show to reveal a devastating “secret,” entertaining
the world at the expense of my humiliation? Of course, I wouldn’t.
What
part of letting my friends get drunk on Spring Break is a measure of
my love for them? Not one bit of it.
Restoring a
healthy expression of love to our nation is as simple as remembering
one rule, golden in value:
“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" Jesus
replied: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all
your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest
commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as
yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these
two commandments." [Mat 22:36-40 NIV]
As we take up
the great commandment and make it the watchword for our life, it is
exceedingly clear how much of modern life encourages us to focus on
what is good for ourselves regardless of how it impacts others.
The Golden Rule
is the narrow path. It is the touchstone, the measuring stick, the
weight and measure for all we say, do and think. It is not merely a
“good idea.” It is the law. It is a commandment. It is the sight we
must fix our eyes upon, the bandage for our spirit, and the balm for a
hurting world.
Do unto others
as you would have them do unto you.
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New
International Version (NIV), Copyright (c) 1973, 1978, 1984 by
International Bible Society.
Used by permission of Zondervan.
All rights reserved.
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November 12, 2004
Old as the Hills
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