A Long Look into the Mirror

Staying healthy and functioning in a turbulent world demands honesty with yourself and those with whom you share relationships. Honesty is obtained by looking long and hard in the mirror and asking yourself, “How far am I willing to go to satisfy my ambitions?”

A good friend ignored all the warning signs that told him to slow down and consider the price he was paying for his definition of success. He justified the absence of his inner peace by allowing ambition to sweep aside God’s word, “Do unto others as you would want them to do to you.” Did you get that?

At the peak of this friend's success and despair, God sent a messenger of hope, reminding him he could change and make amends for the wrongs he had committed. Ambition can be redirected for good rather than for purely selfish gain. Jesus’ ambition was to do his Father’s will regardless of the price, even death on the cross. It was for your benefit and your salvation that His ambition was realized. Give thanks to God for his grace and mercy.  

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Don’t do anything from selfish ambition or from a cheap desire to boast, but be humble toward one another, always considering others better than yourselves. And look out for one another’s interests, not just for your own. The attitude you should have is the one that Christ Jesus had.

~Philippians 2:3-5 Good News Bible

Now we see by a mirror and are puzzled, but then we’ll see face to face. Now I learn only a part of anything, but then I’ll know as He has known me.

~1 Corinthians 13:12 Beck – New Testament in the Language of Today

A Mile of Shoe Leather: The Gift of Empathy

Most individuals are able feel sorrow for someone who is in pain, especially a person who is known and loved. Feelings of empathy are basic to healthy, loving relationships. Empathy depends on the willingness to put yourself in someone else's place, to feel what they feel, including their moments of joy as well as their sorrow.

“Walk a mile in their shoes” is an old saying that personalizes empathy. Our hurried lifestyles don’t allow time to think about other people’s struggles or to delight in their happiness and joy. Then in the course of our hurried life we often offend those we love by neglect and emotional distance.

Forgiveness is essential for healthy relationships but may go unheeded until it’s too late. God's word tells us that Jesus empathizes with us because he knows our joys and sorrows. He, himself experienced the pain and sorrow of being rejected by the very ones he came to save. Empathy is a gift that makes forgiveness possible. 

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He (God) is like a father to us, tender and sympathetic to those who reverence him.

~Psalm 103:13 The Living Bible

When others are happy, be happy with them. If they are sad, share their sorrow.

~Romans 12:15 The Living Bible

Do for others just what you want them to do for you.

~ Luke 6:31 Good News Bible

Values: Boundary Markers for Living - Part 1

Ernest Hemingway won the Pulitzer Prize and the Nobel Prize for Literature yet found it difficult at times to write a significant beginning sentence that portrayed a truth. While Hemingway is considered to have been a true American literary genius, his value system brought him intense pain and suffering which resulted in his eventual suicide.

Hemingway continuously sought to prove himself through his famous African safaris, his drinking ability, sportsmanship, and exploits with women, but discovered that permanent peace did not exist for him. A Quaker proverb addresses caring for and loving yourself. "It is true that each person has integrity that can be damaged and diminished by choices that person makes."

Your integrity is intricately connected to your value system, so your values either strengthen or weaken your integrity. Jesus posited a blueprint for guarding your integrity. "Love the Lord God with your whole being and your neighbor as yourself." "Do to others as you would have them do to you" is a choice God will bless while strengthening your integrity.

Golden Opportunities: Hard Choices - Part 1

The Jewish Rabbi Hillel was humorously challenged to teach the whole law while standing on one foot. Here’s his response: "What you do not like done to you, do not do to others. This is the entire law." The Golden Rule is based on "Love your neighbor as yourself." Can you love yourself, as this commandment intends?

Self-love includes the soul's desire for the essential enrichment that God provides. Loving your neighbor means believing he or she is worthy of the best that God makes available. One thing is for sure, bitterness, hate, anger and too much pride are incompatible with loving oneself as God intended.

Doing to others as you would have them do to you requires vigilance devoted to monitoring your attitudes, motives and actions. A desire to love God with your entire being must come first. Then be aware of opportunities that come your way, and deliberately choose to practice kindness, patience and goodness. These comprise the Golden Rule. God will reward your commitment to do so.  

Golden Rule: Golden Opportunities - Part 3

The mother of a young man who was brutally murdered related how she hated the man who committed the atrocious felony. She promised to give all her energies to keeping him incarcerated for the rest of his life. Complete healing may be impossible if the judicial system is lenient with this violent offender and neglects her need for justice.

Hate, bitterness and anger are self-destructive. My psychology professor noted that persistent stress subjects the body to disease by weakening the immune system. Hate, anger and bitterness are detrimental to the mind, body and spirit by creating a barrier to properly loving yourself.

Yet God’s word instructs believers to love what is good and hate what is evil. Hate felt toward another person, however, is contradictory to the Golden Rule. "Do unto others as you would have others do unto you" is difficult to actualize, and is a lifetime endeavor. Implore God to give you the will to comply with his command. Would you do that? 

Golden Rule: Golden Opportunities - Part 2

In what areas of everyday life should the Golden Rule apply? "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you" is one of the toughest principles of life to put into practice. Our conscience teaches us it is right, and our intellect teaches us it is necessary for peace within ourselves and peace with other human beings.

          Jesus anchors the Golden Rule to a love for God. 1 John 4:20 reminds us, "If anyone says 'I love God,' yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother cannot love God." For most of us, we hear this truth and it sounds right, but in reality, we have trouble applying it.

          What does the Golden Rule require from you? First, take it seriously. Next, do a thorough self-examination. Realize that God loves you unconditionally even with all your hidden secrets. Even when you were still in a depraved, sinful state, Jesus died on the cross for your redemption. Ask God for opportunities to practice the principles of the Golden Rule.  

Golden Rule: Golden Opportunities - Part 1

During her early childhood years, my granddaughter would make up some really funny stories. Occasionally her mother would ask, "Now is that what actually happened?" My daughter's purpose in questioning her was to teach the value of being truthful.

Most parents want their children to acquire a strong measure of independence. Gradually granting children independence enables them to stand apart from their peers enough to make decisions based on the values they were taught. Children need to know that strong, healthy values anchored in love for Christ Jesus are a mainstay in an ever-changing world.

"Do unto others as you would have them do unto you" must be taught over and over until it sticks. It should be taught with gentleness and love for God in your heart and attitude. It's also critically important to help children recognize and understand their weaknesses and to teach them how to receive forgiveness from you and God. Healthy values stick forever.  

Must I Really Love THAT Person? - Part 2

Some people believe “loving your neighbor as yourself” is out-of-step with today’s reality. Whom do you consider to be your neighbor? Is loving your neighbor possible in any profession where production is the main objective? It’s easier to love those who love you, but Jesus asked this question, "If you only love those who love you, what reward will you get?"

Most people respond positively to friendship, love, kindness and goodness, but when Jesus said, "Love your neighbor as yourself," he went beyond the easy group. He extended it outward to include the hard-to-love person, the one who is difficult to trust, and those with grumpy dispositions.

Tenacity means being resolved to do what is right even though struggles and temptations are ever-present. Someone summed it up this way, "There is no merit where there is no trial or when you dodged the hard, difficult issues of life.” Determination and resilience generate blessings when you choose to follow Jesus’ command to "Love one another as I have loved you.”  

Must I Really Love THAT Person? - Part 1

Jesus taught that “the second part of the greatest command to love God with all your heart, soul and mind was to love your neighbor as yourself.” A neighbor could be anyone who is difficult to love. Who would that be in your life? Remember, what Jesus commands, he makes possible.

In George Bernard Shaw's play, The Ideal Husband, one character proclaims, "To love yourself is the beginning of a life-long romance with yourself." Is this what Jesus’ intended in his command to "love your neighbor as yourself? Not if loving yourself means extreme self-indulgence and self-centeredness.

Jesus intends for you to value and care for yourself as God's property. Some people refuse to take this command seriously until there's a crisis or it’s too late to do so. Jesus also said, "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you" for "I solemnly say to you, every time you do a good deed to one of these most insignificant people, you do it as a good deed for me." Something to think about and follow through on. 

Keep Your Values in Focus - Part 1

When values become an issue in the political arena, you can be sure the family, church, and schools have failed, either by choice or default. While values determine the fate of a family or nation, they coincidentally may be seldom practiced or nurtured. One way of explaining values is to speak of taking the high road or the low road throughout life.

Once when I went hunting with my father-in-law, to our dismay we discovered several dead deer along a country road. Someone had used a powerful spot light and rifle the night before to kill the deer just for fun. This senseless killing angered my father-in-law because it collided with his values.

What you value about life and God’s creation can measure what you value about yourself. Jesus gave this guideline for living, centered in the Golden Rule. "Do not do to others what would anger you, if the same were done to you." God loves all of creation enough to look forward to its redemption, so honor what God created and loves. 

Rich Rewards from the Golden Rule - Part 3

Why should anyone take the Golden Rule seriously? The Golden Rule negates selfishness, but moreover it saves a person from himself. "Do unto others" means extending yourself to others.  It means giving yourself to others, not only giving, but giving with the right attitude.

In his book, Thanks Be unto God, Robert Rodenmayer offers three kinds of giving: grudge giving, duty giving, and thanksgiving. “Grudge giving says, ‘I hate to;’ duty giving says, ‘I ought to;’ thanksgiving says, ‘I want to.’ Grudge giving comes with restraint, duty giving says I’m obligated, thanksgiving is done with a heart of gratitude and opens the gate to God’s love."

Link "do unto others" as giving with thanksgiving because it pleases God. It expresses gratitude for the blessings God has extended to you. It creates feelings of goodness in your heart and soul. You’re richer because it's collects treasures kept safe in heaven by God for you. It's an alternative to rage, stress, and the cares of life. 

Rich Rewards from the Golden Rule - Part 1

Cultures fail because they lack basic moral and spiritual values. Arguments exist concerning the decline and fall of the Greek and Roman empires, but the central cause was the loss of differentiation between right and wrong, good and evil, which bears a direct correlation to values. Where was the voice then and now that stands against the encroachment of evil?

The French Revolution was caused by a decline in values. England in the same period escaped the carnage of revolution because of a spiritual revolution prompted by John Wesley and the resulting spiritual revival in the hearts and lives of ordinary citizens.

Ralph Waldo Emerson observed: "Every man takes care that his neighbor does not cheat him. But a day comes when he begins to care that he does not cheat his neighbor.” Listen to Romans 12:9: "Abhor that which is evil. Cleave to that which is good". Your core values should implore you to love others as Christ loves you. This is not easy, but possible.