Read today’s texts first: 1 Samuel 23; Psalms 31; 54; Matthew 7
The world says “do unto others what they do to you”
but Jesus says “ “Do unto others as you would have
Basic human justice sets a fairly low standard: “do unto others what they do to you.” The civil law of the Hebrews was similar: “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth” (Ex. 21:24; Deut. 19:21). According to Don Cherry, the same should apply to good Canadian boys in rock’m sock’m hockey!
It certainly would have been justifiable for David to retaliate against Saul’s repeated attempts on his life. But in the chapters to come, we see “a man after God’s own heart.” He had several golden opportunities to strike back, including a vulnerable moment when Saul was relieving himself in the very cave where David was hiding from him (24:3,4). Talk about catching a man with his pants down! But David refused to “touch the Lord's anointed” (24:6,10). He was already putting into practice the standard Jesus would introduce to His followers: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you” (aka: the Golden Rule - 7:12).
I remember taking care of the grand kids for a whole week when they were on their best behavior. Their parents’ point system (with points equal to actual dollars) may have been a contributing factor. But one breakdown happened while Zack and Katie were supposed to be sharing a scooter between them. Injustice over time on said scooter led to complaints to Papa. I know better than to arbitrate a “he said/she said” civil case so I simply empowered them to work it out themselves or they would be confined to the house. When they couldn’t resolve things on their own I brought them in for a crash course on the Golden Rule and sent them out with a second chance to put it into practice. Shockingly, it worked! They got more points and I gave myself a gold star for excellence in grand-parenting.
Jesus “taught as one having authority” (7:28,29) because He put every word He spoke into practice. The Easter season we have just come through reminds us of the moment when He took the punishment of death that we deserved, according to human justice, and paid it Himself, modelling God’s higher standard of unconditional love. “Lord, the way I can honour what You have done for me is by doing the same for others. Help me reflect Your love by practicing Your standard of doing for others what I would want them to do for me!”
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