The View From The Pew: Driving and the Golden Rule

Sometimes it seems like driving is a real test of my faith. Between the drivers who do not understand that you have to accelerate to merge onto the highway, to others who assume you will you stop because they can’t be bothered by silly little things like stop signs and lane dividers, driving becomes a real opportunity for me to live out my commitment to Christ!
In the Sermon On the Mount (Matthew 6 & 7) Jesus laid out how his followers were to act. At Remnant Jeremiah and I have been preaching our way through this passage, and it has been rough. You see, the principles that Jesus taught here aren’t options, they are the ways he followers MUST live.
One of the portions of this great teaching is what is known all over as “The Golden Rule.” In Matthew 7:12 Jesus said, “So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.”
When Jesus said this, his listeners were familiar with the concept. In fact, they had heard the idea the same way many of us apply it. The Jewish teacher Hillel said, "What is hateful to yourself, do to no other." At first blush, it sounds like what Jesus said, doesn’t it? It’s not. Hillel (and us) apply it negatively. For example, if someone falls in front of us we think to ourselves, “Well, if I fell I wouldn’t want someone to laugh at me and kick me in the gut. So I won’t laugh at them or kick them in the gut.”
Jesus put a totally different spin on this. He said to treat other people the way you want them to treat you. So for a Christian if someone falls in front of you your thinking should be, “If I fell I would want someone to help me up and make sure I am okay, so I will help them up and see if they are okay.” A totally different way of living. One is defensive and just tries not to do wrong, Jesus’ way is proactive and tries to do good.
This is a great way to live whether you are a Christ follower or not. So how do you apply this? Here is what I taught at Remnant:
First of all, ask yourself “How do I want others to treat me?”
I made a list of ways I would like people to treat me. The list included having people challenge me to excel, and forgive and forget. You can’t treat people the way you want to be treated until you are aware of how you want to be treated. Get some paper and make your own list. Go ahead, I’ll wait…
Got your list? Good, now “Start modeling!” No, I am not telling you to get your glossy photos together, I am telling you that you have to start showing others by your life, not your words. Talk is cheap, actions are gold. If you want to be forgiven, forgive. If you want to be encouraged, encourage. If you want to be treated gently, treat others gently.
Finally, you have to “Live it!” This has to be a way of life, not just the way we go around treating people once in a while. That means that you are more courteous as a driver, you are a nicer boss, a better neighbor. The Golden Rule infuses everything you do. Can you imagine what a better world we would have if everybody lived this way? That is the world Jesus wants us to have, but it starts with us. It starts with me on Highway 86 in the mornings, in the corridors at the Sheriff’s Office, and everywhere I go. Wow. A lot to live up to, but it is my responsibility, my joy, my destiny. Yours, too!
Letting other drivers through… Jerry