Read the transcript from today's video devotional.
Imagine what the world would look like if we all followed this verse. I'm sure you've probably heard, at some point, what is referred to as the Golden Rule. That's what we're looking at today in our Verse of the Day.
It comes from Luke chapter 6, verse 31. It says, "Do to others as you would like them to do to you."
Imagine if the entire world just practiced that verse. Can you imagine what the world would really look like? But we have to ask ourselves, what is the difficulty with us following that verse?
When Generosity Meets Self-Preservation
I'm reminded of a situation that happened with my middle daughter. She is one of the most gracious, giving, and considerate people that I know. I'll never forget, one day I was looking for some dessert that was supposed to be in the cupboard, and I couldn’t find it. I was looking all over, asking my other daughters, trying to figure out what happened to it. My middle daughter was the last one that I thought would have taken it. I asked her, and sure enough, she said, "Yes, I took that." It just seemed so out of her character to do that. So, I asked her, "Well, that's not like you. Why did you do that?" This was her response, and it's really stuck with me. She said, "Well, goodness, if everyone just keeps taking everything, I'll never get anything."
I thought, wow, isn't that totally us? Because we want to—in our nature and our character—to treat other people the way we want to be treated, until it reaches a point where everyone else treats us so poorly and is so selfish that we start thinking, okay, I'm never going to get anywhere if I just keep treating everyone the way I want to be treated. I've got to protect myself. We start listing the things, and then we start becoming out of our character, especially as a Christian, to be something we're not. As much as we feel like, man, this would be a wonderful thing for the whole world to behave this way, we can tend to start chipping away at our own character and behaving in ways that are not normal for us, just because we want to protect ourselves or we're trying to pursue some things. Sometimes for me, it's even when I'm driving my car and everyone else keeps cutting me off. It's like, I'm never going to get to my destination if I keep letting people do this. I then start changing my behavior.
Do Good to Those Who Hate You
Let's take a look at the context of this passage. I just think it's so practical when it comes to living this out, because there's way more behind this than just treating each other the way we want to be treated. This is what Jesus was saying, starting in verse 27: "But to you who are willing to listen, that really want to behave this way"—catch this, He says: "I say, love your enemies. Do good to those who hate you. Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who hurt you. If someone slaps you on one cheek, offer the other cheek also. If someone demands your coat, offer your shirt also. Give to anyone who asks, and when things are taken away from you, don't try to get them back."
That's where it goes into our Verse of the Day: "Do to others as you would have them do to you." He doesn't stop there. He says, "If you love only those who love you, why should you get credit for that? Even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good only to those who are good to you, why should you get credit for that?"
Wow. We can talk a lot about "do to others as we would have them do to you," or treat other people the way you want to be treated. It is a whole different thing when we start realizing, what if we're hated? What if we're treated poorly? What if it's just not fair? What if we feel like we will never get to where we should be?
Changing the World Through Christ-Like Love
God's going to do a work in you by allowing the world to see, because in every single one of those characteristics Jesus said, it's actually behaving in a way that the world doesn't even know what to do with you. Love me when I hate you? Bless me when I curse you? That makes no sense. As much as it feels amazing to say, imagine what the world will be like if everyone behaved this way, what if each one of us just behaved that way? Not just treating each other the way we want to be treated, but actually loving the way Jesus loved, in spite of those who treat us poorly. We are kind to those who are not kind to us. Imagine what that could look like. That's the only way we're going to change the world and impact them for Christ.
I would encourage you to just take some time today, really examine yourself in light of what Jesus was talking about, and ask how can we change the world by behaving and being called to what Jesus is calling us to today.
