Matthew 7:12 (ESV)
“So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them,
for this is the Law and the Prophets.
We have become such a self-seeking society that I wonder
whether we can even understand this simple statement. We speak of peace while
carrying out violence against those we accuse of violating our peace. We speak
of freedom all the while seeking to limit and even castigate others whose words
or actions offend us. We want a voice but are unwilling to listen well to the
voice of those with whom we disagree.
John Calvin suggested that in this simple command from Jesus “the second
table of the law is fulfilled.”[1] Calvin said that every person
can clearly and specifically explain exactly how he/she would like to be treated
yet is oblivious to how to treat others.
I recently read an article online that was insightful. Some of the comments
vehemently disagreed, and a debate followed. What was obvious to me was that
nobody had actually read the article. They rejected or accepted it out of hand
based on who wrote the article. How can you talk about how biblical or
unbiblical an article is if you have not read it? Yet that is the world we live
in. Would you like to be rejected and attacked for something you said, when the
person attacking you doesn’t even know what you said? Of course not, yet that
is exactly what we do over and over again. How many church conflicts would be
resolved if we listened better first? We can all quote the “Golden Rule.” Maybe
it’s time we actually live it.
Comments
Post a Comment