The Rebuild: Matthew 5-7Sample

What’s your golden rule to a good life that will get you places? Jesus sums up the Old Testament teaching with one directive: Treat others the way you would like to be treated.

We tend to think this rule already forms our moral code. We think about others…Do we really need Jesus’ instruction here?

When we consider our daily habits, attitudes and reactions such as when we’re driving or when we’re waiting in line, how often do we truly put others first? Perhaps we lean closer to living by the motto, “Do what makes YOU happy”. Surely it’s the easier way to go about our day.

But Jesus says the easy road leads to destruction, and the hard way leads to life. The hard way is valuing others, trying to see things from their perspective. The hard way is laying yourself down to walk in Jesus’ footsteps. If you would like to be treated justly and kindly, follow Jesus’ teaching and life of humility, and do to others as you would like them to do to you. Make the move, step by step, towards the narrow gateway to life.

Today, ponder this: Do you always treat others as you would like to be treated? Consider how Jesus treated others, whether they be rich rulers or unclean lepers. How does this shape how we should treat others?