A Christian Heart

Do you treat others like you would want them to treat you? We think that if people were nicer to us, we could be nicer to them, don’t we? But that’s the Problem. Jesus didn’t say, “Treat people the same way they treat you.” He said, “Treat people like you would want them to treat you.”

We should know that one of the best compliments a person can give us is to listen to what we are saying. Think about your own experiences: Whenever a person really listened to you, it made you feel positive, didn’t it? But when someone did not want to listen to you, it made you feel very negative. A very good rule of thumb is this: “Listen to others as you would have them listen to you.”

Today, we are going to be talking about the Golden Rule. We all know it … Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. But there is an exception to that. Let me explain.

When my daughter was a teenager, I became a very protective father. I had three rules that her boyfriends has to read, every time they came over.

1- If you pull up and honk, you’d best be delivering pizza, because you are not taking my daughter out.

2- You do not touch my daughter in front of me. In fact, you do not even so much as glance at her in front of me. And after you go out, if your hands touch my daughter, I will have them removed.

3- Do not try to be my friend, as while you are dating my daughter, you are my enemy. The only thing I want to hear from you is what time you are bringing her home, and the only word I am looking for is “early.”

Now, sometimes I tried to be nice. Like the time a young man came to pick her up and I met him at the door. I shook his hand with a grip that could turn coal into diamonds. Noticing the pierced eyebrow, I asked him if he had that done because he was stupid, or just because he wanted to look stupid.

So we need to apply the Golden Rule to every situation except when your daughter is of dating age. Then it is optional if you are a father.

Getting past the humor, we do need to treat others as well as we would like for them to treat us. But to do it effectively, we must do something first. We must love our fellow man. Notice I said love, not like. You can love a person without wanting to become best friends or go out to dinner with them. You can love them enough to want them to go to heaven. You must love them enough to treat them with the same caliber of respect that you desire.

MATTHEW 5:43-44 tells us,

“You have heard it said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ I tell you, ‘Love your enemy and pray for those who persecute you.”

We are commanded to love everyone. That is how Jesus lived on this earth, and if we are Christians, we must strive to be like Christ. How will the world know that we are Christians?

They will not know that by reading a sign over our doors. They will only know that by the love we have in our hearts for other people.

Is your relationship with God a part of your relationship with men? Did you know that failure in one will cause failure in the other?”

Did you know that there are more important things in your life than you? It is true. We are a part of those things in our life, but we are not always the most important thing in our life.

For instance, I take part in spreading the word of God. But I am not more important than the word of God. Even though I might be doing something, I might not be the most important element in that something.

That being said, it is still nice to have somebody encourage you in what you are doing by giving you a sincere compliment. There is an old saying that goes: “A pat on the back is only a few vertebrae away from a kick in the pants, but the results are much better.”

1. WHAT HAS YOUR ATTITUDE BEEN LIKE LATELY?

Have you been able to show the Golden Rule in your attitude lately? Many people will say they can do that with ease, “if only” –

· · · they would do things the way I do

· · · they would see things like I do

· · · If only, if only, if only

Jesus did not say to do these things “if” they do something for you first. He commanded us to love people, even when they don’t do anything for us; or even when they ridicule us and persecute us.