Everybody knows the Golden Rule. Most of us learned it before we could tie our shoes. Treat other people the way you want to be treated. Simple, right?
Donny’s going to spend this morning showing us it’s not simple at all — and that we’ve been getting it wrong in ways we don’t even notice.
He starts with the foundation. The Shema — the prayer at the center of Jewish faith for thousands of years: “Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.” Then John 13:34 — “A new command I give you: love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples.”
God’s message, from start to finish, is love. John 3:16 — love. 1 John 4:7 — love. The whole thing. Every page.
Then Donny walks through Matthew 7:7-11 — ask, seek, knock. Ask and it will be given. Seek and you will find. Knock and the door will be opened. Jesus uses the image of a father — if your son asks for bread, would you hand him a stone? If he asks for a fish, would you give him a snake? Of course not. And if you — imperfect, flawed, human you — know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask?
Then Donny stops and asks the question that most sermons skip over: if we ask, seek, and knock — why don’t we always receive?
He doesn’t dodge it. Sometimes it’s faith — Jesus said faith the size of a mustard seed can move a mountain. Sometimes it’s self-deception — we’re asking for things we want, not things we need. Sometimes it’s disappointment — we expected God to answer our way and He didn’t. And sometimes it’s because God is not a genie in a bottle. He quotes John Stott: “Our heavenly Father gives only good gifts to his children; being wise as well, he knows which gifts are good and which are not.”
That’s a sentence worth reading twice.
Then comes the Golden Rule. Matthew 7:12 — “So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.”
Why should we obey it? Two reasons. First — God told us to. He loved us first. He gave His Son first. He set the example. John 13 — love one another as I have loved you. Second — it sums up the Law and the Prophets. Matthew 22 — love God, love your neighbor. Everything else hangs on those two commandments. Romans 13 — let no debt remain outstanding except the continuing debt to love one another.
Then Donny does something that makes the whole sermon land differently. He walks through three things the Golden Rule is NOT.
It’s not the law of preparation — “do unto others before they do unto you.” That’s not love. That’s defense.
It’s not the law of reciprocation — “do unto others because they did for you.” That’s not love. That’s a transaction.
It’s not the law of manipulation — “do unto others so they will do for you.” That’s not love. That’s a hidden agenda.
And to drive the point home, he takes us to John 13. Jesus, the night He’s betrayed, kneels down and washes His disciples’ feet. All of them. Including Judas. All ten toes. Knowing exactly what Judas is about to do. Then He looks at Peter and tells him he’s going to deny Him three times before the rooster crows.
Jesus served the man who would betray Him and loved the man who would deny Him. In the same room. On the same night. No agenda. No strings. Just love in action.
Then Donny puts a series of scenarios on the screen. If you were about to cheat someone… if you were about to lie… if you were fourteen and pregnant… if you were addicted… if you were hungry and homeless… if your marriage was falling apart… if someone was gossiping about you… how would you want to be treated?
Confucius had the negative version: “Whatever you do not want done to yourself, do not do to others.” Epictetus, the Stoic philosopher, said the same. But Jesus flipped it. Don’t just avoid doing harm. Actively do good. Not because of what you’ll get back. Because of what God already gave you.
Do unto others as God has done for you.
Love is action.
Scripture References:
Matthew 7:7-12 · Deuteronomy 6:4-7 · John 3:16 · John 13:34-35 · 1 John 4:7 · Matthew 17:20 · Matthew 22:37-40 · Romans 13:8-10 · Matthew 5:38
