Do Unto Others

In everything do to others as you would have them do to you; —Matthew 7:12

A visitor to the bedside of Aldous Huxley who lay dying asked him what wisdom he had for humankind after a lifetime of study and exploration of the human spirit and Huxley replied, All we need to do is be a little kinder toward each other. This author of Brave New World offered what Jesus said so many centuries ago, treat others as you wish to be treated—in a sacrificially loving way, of course.

The Saturday morning men’s group has been looking at John Wesley’s Three Simple Rules. The first of those rules is to do no harm. Essentially, it means be a little kinder to others. Even in the midst of conflict with others, doing no harm means not gossiping about those with whom we may disagree; not speaking disparagingly of others involved in the conflict; not manipulating the facts of the conflict; not diminishing those who may disagree with us; and honoring them as a child of God.

There is a Native American saying that no tree has branches so foolish as to fight among themselves. The point is that humankind is a part of the same tree. How foolish, therefore, we would be to fight among ourselves thus placing in jeopardy the tree. Extending this saying a bit further, Jesus said,

. . . every tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. —Matthew 7:17-18

I must confess that sometimes the fruit I bear is not always good. On those occasions I need to have my tree pruned a bit. God does that for me, but usually in a very gracious way. Then I can be kinder to others.

Prayer
Gracious God grant that my roots may be firmly in you this day that I may be grateful for the moments of grace and able to face the challenges with grace and kindness in the name of Christ. Amen.

Mac Hamon, Senior Pastor
Castleton United Methodist Church
Indianapolis, Indiana