As soon as I send Artemas or Tychicus to you, do your best to come to me at Nicopolis, because I have decided to winter there.
Titus 3:12
We’ve all heard of the Golden Rule. It says that we’re to “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” And in case you doubt this, or have questions about it, you can CLICK HERE[1] to learn all you’d ever want to know about the Golden Rule.
I’m not going to bore you with repeating the different definitions and ways of explaining the Golden Rule. Now, while I sort of agree with these definitions, I also have a problem with them too. My trouble is that no one I rub shoulders with on a daily basis talks like them. They are all way too stuffy for me.
So, if you’ll excuse me, I’d like to propose my own definition and examples of the Golden Rule. And since I’m doing the writing, I get to do whatever I want. You really don’t get a vote. So here goes.
Example one – Cards. From my earliest memories, when it comes to playing any card game, I was taught to only throw away cards that would not help people on the other team. And they were doing exactly the same thing to me. So, Golden Rule cards would intentionally and happily throw cards away that would help the other team win.
Example two – Cars. Learning to drive from the master of the cutoff, I was taught never to let another car in. We were to intentionally stay on the bumper of the car in front of us so no one could cut in. This was part of a bigger philosophy that said, “Never give a sucker an even break[2].” Golden Rule for driving would let other cars in, just like we’d like to be let in.
Example three – Contracts. You may not think of it this way, but basically all the forms you blindly sign when renting or buying a car or house are contracts. The same is true for all those forms you sign at the doctor’s or hospital. There are plenty of places where your information and rights are taken away. Golden Rule contracts are fair and give everyone peace of mind.
These Golden Rule examples all have the idea of fairly trading with the other person. You give up something while they also give up something. Everybody give up about the same amount. No one gets a lot more than the other person.
If we were to actually treat people like this, I know that the world would be a better place. Just think about this the next time you’re waiting in line. Or waiting for a customer service representative to talk with you on the phone. In the words of that famous song, “what a wonderful world this would be[3]
And in my book one of the best ways to trade with the people around us, to treat them well, is to do our very best for them. Whenever we’re doing something for another person, don’t just throw something together. Do your best. Do the best job possible. Don’t hold anything back.
This hit home when I was making dinner for a friend who had gone through cancer surgery. Now they were smack-dab in the middle of chemo. They were exhausted all the time, not to mention the frustration of the constant long trips to the hospital. So, I offered to make a healthy and good tasting homemade dinner of chicken soup.
So, I went to the store to buy everything I needed. And then it came to buying some premade chicken broth to pour over the chicken and vegetables to make a really hearty tasting soup. Normally I would buy the store brand whenever I made chicken soup for our family. It was good and it was what I normally would buy.
Then it struck me, and I had this back-and-forth conversation in my head while I stood in the soup aisle. There wasn’t anything wrong with the store brand. It was OK. But could I do something more. Something special. Something better to show that I really cared for them. So, I bought the best, most expensive chicken stock on the shelves.
Now, I’m not going to tell you that my chicken soup somehow cured them of cancer. Or that it made them sing when they tasted it. Heck, I didn’t even tell them about this conversation in my head. anything else. But what it did do was change my thinking about the way I treat people.
Think about it this way. When it came to God sending someone to pay for our sins, he sent his very best. He sent his Son into the world not to condemn the world, but to save it through him[4]. God’s gift and sacrifice for you and me was not the store brand, but someone so very special. God himself paid not only for our sins, but for the sins of the whole world[5].
So, it’s time for us to do our very best for the people in our life. Why? Because that’s exactly what God did for us. He gave his life that we might live in and through him[6].
Noodling Questions
In what areas of life is it easiest to do your best? Why?
In what areas of life is it most difficult to do your best? Why?
Describe a time when someone did their best for you.
[2] W.C. Fields
[3] Wonderful World, written by Lou Adler, Herb Alpert, and Sam Cooke, 1959
[4] John 3:16
[5] 1 John 2:2
[6] 1 John 4:9-11
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