The Golden Rule

Transcript

Hello, my friend… so glad you're with me today. This is By God's Call — day 42, The Golden Rule.

Jesus said: "And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them." Luke 6:31.

Let that land for a moment. Don't rush past it. Because this isn't a piece of folk wisdom dressed up in religious clothes — this is a complete reorientation of how we move through the world and toward the people in it.

Here's what's remarkable about it. The ancient teachers had something like this already. They said: don't do to others what you don't want done to you. And that's not nothing — that's a restraint, a fence, a brake. But Jesus doesn't build fences. He opens roads. He takes that old idea and turns it forward. It's no longer about what you hold back. It's about what you initiate. Not "avoid the harm" — "go ahead and do the good." Take the first step. Don't wait to be asked. Don't wait until they deserve it.

And notice where Jesus spoke these words. He wasn't talking about how to treat your friends. He was teaching love for enemies. That context isn't incidental — it's everything. He's saying this rule applies precisely where it costs the most. Where someone has let you down. Where you have every human reason to pull back. That is exactly where he points and says: this is where you live it out.

I know that can feel like too much. But look at what he's actually giving you — not a thick rulebook for every situation, but a compass that fits in your pocket. One question that reorients every moment of your day: what would I want here? In the hard conversation. In the email you're dreading. In the silence you've been too proud to break. You already know what it feels like when someone treats you with care and attention. Run that same calculation on the inside before you act on the outside.

Because here's the test — and it's a quiet one. Before you speak, before you post, before you decide, ask yourself: if this landed on me, would it feel like love? Not judgment. Not indifference. Love. If the answer is no — pause. Recalibrate. Something better is available.

And the freedom in all of this is that the rule never says wait until they've earned it. Because if you wait for that, you'll be waiting your whole life. Jesus says: sow now. Sow the kindness you're hoping to receive. And leave the harvest to God. You are not responsible for how people respond — you are responsible for what you plant.

So here is what I want you to do today, before breakfast — before the noise of the day gets its hands on you. Think of one thing you wish someone would do for you today. Just one. It might be an encouraging word. A text you've been putting off. Help offered before anyone had to ask. A small act of kindness that costs you something. Now think of someone — and do exactly that for them. Not later. Before breakfast. Let your morning begin with a seed thrown into the ground.

That's how the Golden Rule lives. Not framed on a wall. Not quoted in a conversation. But in real, specific, first-move kindness — before the world wears you down.

Stay close to God. Pray — then act. I'll see you tomorrow, my friend.