The Golden Rule -- The Key to Joy and Answered Prayer

“Ask! And it will be given to you. Seek! And you will find. Knock! And the door will be opened for you. Because everyone who asks will get; everyone who seeks will find; everyone who knocks will be let in.

“Is there anyone here who will give your child a stone if he’s hungry and asks you for a piece of bread? Will anyone here give your child a poisonous snake if she’s hungry and asks for a piece of fish? So if evil people like all of you know how to give your children what they need when they need it, don’t you think that your Father in heaven can do at least that much for all of you?

“All you have to do is to treat everyone else exactly as you want them to treat you! This is all that is demanded of you by Moses’ set of rules and the Prophets’ teachings.

“Go in through the narrow gate! Because the wide and spacious gate is the path that will take you off course and lead you to your destruction. And a lot of people are going down that path. But the constricted path of the narrow gate leads to life. Only a few ever find that path.

~ Jesus, As Matthew Tells It
The New Peace Treaty: A New Translation of the New Testament

Treat everyone the way you want them to treat you. That is simple, logical, and a concise expression of justice. Justice in the Hebrew sense, and in the Old Testament is "balance" -- it is having balanced relationships. In Hebrew thought, there are four directions in which justice extends (in no particular order): 1) the relationship between me and God; 2) the relationship between me and others; 3) the relationship between me and creation; and 4) the relationship between me and myself. If any of those relationships become unbalanced or out of whack, then the whole system of justice becomes unbalanced and out of whack.

Also in Hebrew thought, the result of justice is peace. Just as justice is not an abstract concept to the Jews, but a relational one, peace is also relational. We tend to think of justice as either a sense of "fair" or a means of retribution, but it is a method of relating to God, others, the world, and myself. We tend to think of peace as an abstraction as well: it is the absence of conflict or war. But those of us who lived through The Cold War know that an absence of conflict or war is not peace. Peace, the result of having balanced relationships, is "wholeness," "well-being," "soundness of body and mind." Peace is nothing lacking, nothing missing. The result of peace, is joy.

So the Golden Rule is a concise teaching on how to experience joy because joy is the fruit of peace, which itself is the fruit of justice, which is living a life of balanced relationships. This life and balance is easily described in a single sentence: "Treat everyone else exactly as you want them to treat you."

This is not just good advice, it is "demanded" by God, who expressed this in the Commandments of Moses and through the teachings of the prophets. The expression "the Law (or the Commandments) and the Prophets" is shorthand for "Scripture" (or as we would say today -- The Bible). The Jews of the time believed that regardless of whichever expression was used -- Bible, Scripture, the Commandments, the Prophets -- they are all expressions of God's will.

When Jesus sums up the Law and the Prophets in that simple sentence: "Treat everyone else exactly as you want them to treat you," He is summing up God's will because God, is a God of justice. So by summing up justice, Jesus is summing up what God wants for God's people.

We always say that God wants us to be happy -- God wants us to experience joy. The way that happens is through peace, shalom, wholeness, well-being, soundness of body and mind, nothing lacking, nothing missing -- materially, spiritually, emotionally or in any other way. The way that peace and joy happen is through justice, and the way we express justice is to treat EVERYONE the way we want to be treated. THIS IS NOT GOOD ADVICE OR A HALLMARK CARD MOMENT; THIS IS THE WILL OF GOD!

The Golden Rule is nestled just after a teaching on prayer. We read it as a stand alone as if it is a verse and a teaching unto itself. But the Golden Rule follows prayer and how to get prayer answered. We are told to "Ask," "Seek," and "Knock," but we are not told how -- or are we? How do I ask, seek, and knock? I do so by treating EVERYONE the way I want to be treated. How do I get God to answer my prayers? I treat EVERYONE the way I want to be treated.

This means, an application of the Golden Rule is "Whatever I want God to do for me, I must do for others." If I want God to give me money, I must give money to those in need. If I want God to give me food, I must give food to those in need. If I want God to give me clothes, I must give clothes to those in need. If I want God to heal me, I must heal those in need. The Purest Golden Rule, as in the streets of pure gold in the Kingdom of God kind of pure gold (cf. Rev. 21:21), is:

ANY PRAYER I WANT GOD TO ANSWER FOR ME, I MUST BECOME THE ANSWER TO THAT PRAYER FOR SOMEONE ELSE!

The Golden Rule is a concise statement of justice, and God is a God of justice, and justice is relational; therefore, God is relational. The Golden Rule is nestled within a teaching about prayer and about how God answers prayer; therefore, the Golden Rule is about how that relational God of justice answers prayer.

One last point: God is a God of justice; and yet, God is love; therefore, love is the purest form of justice. The way we keep those relationships balanced is we love: 1) we love God; 2) we love others; 3) we love creation and the world God has made; and 4) we love ourselves. When we can love in this way, we exhibit justice as justice is meant to be, and we experience peace, and we find joy.

If we want to live in a peaceful society, we must be a society that seeks justice for EVERYONE. If we want to have joyful lives, we must seek justice for EVERYONE. That justice is enveloped in love. So love really is the answer to all our problems!