In everything, therefore, treat people the same way you want them to treat you, for this is the Law and the Prophets.

                                                                                                                   Matthew 7:12

If there was just one verse in the entire Bible that has the power to dramatically change the world, I believe it would be today’s passage. Just think about it; if everyone was to adhere to this one principle we would no longer have to lock our doors, guard our schools or money, and every terrorist organization would have to dismantle for lack of anything to do. Just exercising a little brotherly kindness by treating others the way we would like to be treated and the world today would never be the same.

But we know that this is not reality. We do have to lock our doors, guard our schools and our money, and there is a tremendous amount of terrorist activity, bent on the single goal of destroying as much as they can. It’s no wonder that Jesus instructs us how to live a better life and how to honor Him in the process. In everything we are to treat others properly. That means in our business dealings, our driving habits (oops, that one stings), and our general attitude toward others. Some call it the golden rule but we will examine it in the context of the passage in which we find it.

Prior to this statement, Jesus is teaching on prayer, specifically on asking God for things in prayer. He presents the concept of continual action in the areas of asking, seeking, and knocking. The passage can be interpreted, keep asking, keep seeking, and keep knocking. He then makes an affirmative statement: Everyone who asks receives, and to the one who seeks, he finds, and to him who knocks, the door will be opened to him (Matthew 7:8). Why is this so important? Because Jesus is teaching us on the ways of God and how He is willing to act on our behalf as a benevolent, heavenly Father. He even compares earthly parenting to that of the way God responds to those who call on Him. Summing up this comparison, Jesus says the following:

If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him!

                                                                                                                       Matthew 7:11 

Immediately following this statement is our instruction to treat others the way we would want to be treated. “In everything, therefore”, implies that the two declarations are connected. Because God is benevolent and willing to positively respond to our requests, we too should handle the treatment of others in the exact same way.

When we fail to adhere to this admonition from Jesus, several things happen. First, we hurt our witness for Christ. When we do not demonstrate brotherly kindness, we are in fact misrepresenting God Himself. Secondly, we hurt and injure others, whom God has made in His image. We are not put on this earth to make the final judgment on anyone’s life rather we are here to accurately represent God on earth and we do that best when we treat others best. Lastly, we hurt ourselves. I’m not sure how many Christians apply the sowing and reaping principle (Galatians 6:7) to this passage, but I think that we should. We tend to be treated the same way we project ourselves to others. If you are an outgoing, friendly individual, you will have more people desiring to be around you than if you are fussy, cranky, and just plain mean. No one wants to be around that.

So the wisdom of Christ shines through in this simple instruction that we should, in everything, treat others like we want them to treat us. Rededicate yourself to showing brotherly kindness this week and watch your world of relationships open up with new possibilities.