Do you remember the Golden Rule? The one we were taught as kids? The one the Bible teaches when God told us to love neighbor as we love ourself. The one where we are supposed to treat others the way we would like to be treated. It seems today that most people even Christians have forgotten that rule. I think that is why we are in so much trouble in this country and around the world. The Bible clearly states in Mark 12:31 "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself...." the important part to note in this passage is that here Jesus is talking with the disciples about the commandments and in Jesus own words this is the SECCOND most important commandment given to us only proceeded by the commandment of there is only ONE God and that we are to Love him with all our heart soul mind and strength.
I sit here now wondering since Jesus put so much importance on LOVING OUR NEIGHBOR AS OURSELF how come most of us don't even know what our neighbor's name is? Why are we so quick to turn our back on our fellow man? Jesus also told us to love one another for by this they would know we were Christians. He was not just saying Christians help Christians but in additions we are to help sinners to. If you ever wonder why you are being treated badly by people ask yourself how you are treating others.
The Bible tells us what so ever we sew that shall we also reap. If we sew seeds of uncaring how can we expect to reap anything but that? If you want people to love you then you have to love other people if you want people to care for you then you have to care about them. If you want people to be concerned with your needs and help you in your time of need then you need to be concerned with others in need and help them in their time of need. It all comes back to the old fashion version of the golden rule "DO UNTO OTHERS AS YOU WOULD HAVE THEM DO UNTO YOU" not the modern day version of this rule that says he who has the gold makes the rules.
Those people who try and keep the gold will soon realize all the things here will amount to nothing in the end. when we all get to heaven the treasures on earth will be forgotten and only what you did for the glory of God and according to his word will matter. Even the works you do in his name will be tried by fire to see if they stand the test. It is my belief that only those things we do out of love for our neighbor will last and pass the test of fire in heaven. I know people will argue that works done in the name of God will stand this test but I don't believe that those works are true unless you also truly love your neighbor because God has said how can you love me whom you have not seen if you despise your brother whom you have seen?
The important thing to remember is that here the word neighbor does not just mean the person who lives in the house next to you it refers to the person who is next to you at any given time. No matter where you are or what your doing you are COMMANDED by God to love the person next to you as much or more then you love yourself.
A simple challenge with this in mind the next time someone comes up to you, obviously homeless, dressed in dirty clothing, smelling of alcohol, obviously hadn't bathed in a while and not willing to do any better for them self, and they ask you for a dollar for any reason ask yourself if that were me as much as I love me what would I do? For me I must say there have been times I have turned away and done nothing and that is wrong because I love me enough that I would give me the dollar. Many may say that giving them the dollar is wrong because they may go buy more drink instead of food. However God did not tell us to judge them or question their motive. At the point this happens you have time take them someplace and buy them something to eat it may just be you who can lead them to christ and God is giving you the chance to do so. If you don't have the time then give them the dollar pray with them that God will bless them and then when they come to mind later pray for them again just like you would want others to do for you.
THIS IS THE GOLDEN RULE AND THE TRUE MEANING OF LOVE THY NEIGHBOR. If we all did this there would be a lot less trouble in the world today. Remember to ask yourself in every situation how would I want to be treated? When you have your honest self loving answer then you will know how you are to treat the person your dealing with. Don't ask yourself if they deserve to be treated that way because we don't want others asking if we deserve to be treated with love. Truth is if God had asked that question then he never would have sent his son to die on the cross and we ALL would have been condemned to hell.
Go out and start a new trend today. Start treating everyone like a neighbor and showing them the love that God has commanded. Love them as you would yourself. Anything less than that is a sin. Don't take my word for it go to your Bible and read it for yourself. I know I have some work to do here how about you?
