Do to others as you would have them do to you.
The golden rule — short, sharp, and impossible to misread.
The episode in a glance.
- 01Jesus phrases it positively — do, not just refrain from.
- 02The standard is your own desired treatment.
- 03It removes the loophole of selective kindness.
- 04It's a daily test, not a once-a-week ideal.
Read along.
Luke 6:31 — 'And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them.'
Other ancient teachers had a version of this rule, but most said it negatively. Don't do what you wouldn't want done. Jesus flips it positive. Do. Take the initiative.
The standard is your own desired treatment. How do you want to be spoken to when you're tired? How do you want to be forgiven when you fail? That's the standard for the person in front of you.
There's no loophole. You can't be kind to the people who help you and cold to the ones who don't. The rule applies across the board because you want kindness across the board.
Try running today's interactions through this filter once an hour. The golden rule is small enough to memorize and big enough to reshape a whole life.