Luke 6:27-36 “But I say to you who hear, love your
enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray
for those who mistreat you. Whoever hits you on the cheek, offer him the
other also; and whoever takes away your coat, do not withhold your shirt
from him either. Give to everyone who asks of you, and whoever takes away
what is yours, do not demand it back. Treat others the same way you want them
to treat you. If you love those who love you, what credit is that to
you? For even sinners love those who love them. If you do good to those
who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do
the same. If you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what
credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners in order to
receive back the same amount. But love your enemies, and do
good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be
great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He Himself is kind
to ungrateful and evil men. Be merciful, just as your Father is
merciful.” (NASB)
Hello,
Yes – I am sure most of you have heard this portion of
scripture before. It feels relatively simple on the surface – and we can gloss
over it quickly if we are not careful. I think sometimes we get tripped up on “treat
others the same way you want to be treated” because we have a distorted view of
ourselves and others. We see someone else, and cannot picture ourselves in their
position/situation etc – so we discount the above verses and rationalize that
since we “aren’t like that” in some way shape or form we can change how we
treat them. But that is not what that section says! It doesn’t say to compare
yourself to the other, and then treat them accordingly. It simply says to treat
others the way you want someone to treat you. This is not about how good we
think we are, or what we feel we would deserve – it is boiled down to a more
basic level of treatment independent of circumstance.
Have a blessed day,
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