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Tuesday, January 18, 2011

What Rule do You Live by?


Last evening we spent some time talking about What Rule do You Live by.  We discussed the different types of rules that exist in the world and how some people live by the rule of "an eye for an eye" and others follow a more passive approach to mankind.  Then, we looked at the Bible, focusing on the Golden Rule of Jesus: Do to others as you would have them do to you.  If we live by the Golden Rule, God will bless us as we bless the lives of the people around us.

Here are the notes from this talk.
 
January 17, 2011

What Rule do You Live by?

Opening Question: What is one of the most important rules that you live by?

There are many rules that govern our lives.  Many of these rules are taught to us by our family as we grow up.  Other rules we learn in school.  As we mature and gain experience in many areas of life, we learn other rules that are also helpful to our daily living.

Today, we are going to talk about types of rules, not necessary certain rules in itself.  This is what you would call the “philosophy of rules” to be live.  We are also, as always, look at the type of rules that the Bible and Jesus teach us about.

1.         Iron Rule
The Iron Rule says: Do onto others as you would not want them to do to you.

Maybe you have heard the saying “ruling with an iron fist”.  Or the “iron curtain”.  The idea here is of someone that is doing something bad or evil before the other person has a chance to do that to you.  Do you know or have known anyone that lives by this rule?

In Genesis 4:3-8, we read: 3 In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the LORD.  4 And Abel also brought an offering—fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The LORD looked with favor on Abel and his offering, 5 but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast.  6 Then the LORD said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast?  7 If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.”  8 Now Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let’s go out to the field.”[a] While they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.

This is not a rule that the Bible teaches.

What happened if everyone followed this rule?
The world would be a very dangerous and a very miserable place at the same time.

2.         Brass Rule
The Bras Rule says: Do onto others what they do unto you.

This is what is known as “an eye-for-eye” type of rule.  So, if you are nice to me, I will be nice to you.  But, if you are mean to me, then I will be mean to you.  Maybe you know people that live by this rule.  The fans of a team seem to be living by this rule.  When a team wins, the fans are all over it, praising the abilities and taking pride in the team’s victory.  However, when a team loses, fans are disgusted and start blaming the team and claiming it is worthless.

What does the Bible say about the brass rule:

In Romans 12:17-19, we read: 17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone.  18 If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.  19 Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,”[a] says the Lord.

The Bible says that we are not to repay evil, so therefore the Brass rule is not a rule that the Bible teaches.

3.         The Silver Rule
The Silver Rules says: Do not do unto others what you would not want them to do to you. 

So, this rule highlights the passivity of behaviour.  If you do not want the other people to say bad things about you, then do not say bad things about them.  If you do not want people to cut you in traffic, then do not cut them in traffic.

In Romans 12:20-21, we read: 20 On the contrary: “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.  In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”[e]   21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

There are different interpretations for the “heap burning coals on his head.”  It could mean “burning with shame” since you are now doing nice things to your enemy.  It could mean that “you are going to melt his heart and the anger within”.  It could mean that you are actually helping them in this way.

Do you know of anyone or any group that is passive and only helps because they don’t want to be hurt by others?
 
In any case, the Bible says being passive is not a rule we should live by.  Then, what is the rule that the Bible teaches us, if none of the three previous rules are the one we should follow?

4.         The Golden Rule
Do onto others as you would have them do unto you.

In Luke 6:27-36, we read:  27 “But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.  29 If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them. 30 Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back.  31 Do to others as you would have them do to you.  32 “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them.  33 And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that.  34 And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full.  35 But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.  36 Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

The Golden Rule puts us in the action, requiring not only that we do something, but that we do something good for the other people, what we would want others to do unto us.  So, if we need somebody to help us move our things if we are getting a new apartment, we should do the same for them.  If we would like others to cook a good meal for us, we should cook a good meal for someone else.  And so on. 

Jesus says that the Golden Rule sums up the Law and the Prophets.  In Matthew 7:12, He says: So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.

How great the world would be if anyone lived by this rule!  If we follow the Golden Rule, then we would be doing good things to other people and they would do good things to us.  God has already acted out the Golden Rule by sending Jesus to become a sacrifice for us.  He did something good for us and we can do the same.

How does this apply to us today?

Conclusions

Although people have invented different philosophies and different types of rules to live their lives, the Bible and Jesus teach us to live by the Golden Rule.  In this way, our lives will be blessed and we will be a blessing in the lives of other people.

Campus Bible Talk 2011

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