Confucius say: Do not do to others what you would not have them do to you.
Jesus says: Do unto others what you would have them do unto you.
Maybe you are thinking, Aren't they the same?
That's what I used to think.
For years I strove (applause, applause) to be a live and let live kind of person. I thought I was living by the Golden Rule as taught to me in the trusty old Baltimore Catechism.
In reality, I could have gotten my moral position from a fortune cookie.
The Golden Rule is golden for a reason.
Don't get me wrong, Confucius' version is good. More people should try it. We'd have fewer tailgaters and arm chair critics and people like some guy behind me in the check out line who said, "Excuse me" and then shoved his cart into me. Wouldn't it be great if everybody lived like that? Picture it—a world populated with non-jerks!
It's a great beginning but that's all it is. It is essentially passive.
Now let's look at Jesus' version. Do unto others...It is active.
It means saying yes to putting yourself out for others.
Kindness, like the acne treatment, is proactive.
According to Father Lawrence Lovasik in the book, The Hidden Power of Kindness, it is not just about being ready to help when asked.
Kindness anticipates others’ needs and wishes—to carry out a need or satisfy a wish before a request is made. You will not wait for your neighbor to express a wish; you detect it and kindly gratify his unspoken request.
Anticipates? That seems a little ambitious, Father. Why can't I just say yes when I'm asked?
When you comply with the spoken request of your neighbor, you may do so either because you do not wish to appear unkind, or because you feel unable to resist the persuasion of another, or because in this way you hope to rid yourself sooner of a troublesome person.
Father, have you been spying on me?
But when you are truly obliging, love prompts gracious thoughts, tells you of your neighbor’s wish, and urges you to comply with it. Here love alone pleads and complies with the wish.
Hence, obligingness is an act of charity even more beautiful than a simple readiness to serve another. Obligingness prevents you from becoming careless in charity, because it arouses charity to action.
So how do people get to be so kind? Are they just born nice—like having a talent? Some people got it. Some don't. Do they just have more time and resources to help others? Is it easy for them?
Or maybe, just maybe, they have to work at kindness. Maybe, like the rest of humanity, they experience internal conflicts of interest. No, I do not want to make cookies for your party. I have enough to do! Maybe things like that flit through their minds while they are saying, "Sure, I'll pick up some drinks too."
Then there are the real saints among us.
Have you ever been down and humbled in spirit, when having to ask for a favor would just about finish you off? A friend comes along and acts like you're doing them a favor by letting them help you.
Yeah, that's the way we want to be treated all right. That's why it's called The Golden Rule. It glows with supernatural light. It goes above and beyond human self interest. It's Godly.
It's really not a small step to go from Confucius to Jesus. It's a giant leap.
Here I am at the end of this post and I haven't yet mentioned that practicing the Golden Rule transforms a person from a passive non-jerk to an attractive companion and date magnet. Not that you do it to polish up your image—Jesus isn't Dale Carnegie. You do it because of love.
Which makes you a real catch. Just sayin'.
