The United Methodist Church of theResurrection GPS Guide for Tuesday,, 21 July 2020
The United Methodist Church of theResurrection GPS Guide for Tuesday,, 21 July 2020
Church of the Resurrection <info@mc.cor.org>
Tuesday,, 21 July 2020
The United Methodist Church of theResurrection GPS Guide for Tuesday,, 21 July 2020
The “golden rule”
Daily Scripture:
Matthew 7:7-12
7 “Ask, and you will receive. Search, and you will find. Knock, and the door will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks, receives. Whoever seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door is opened. 9 Who among you will give your children a stone when they ask for bread? 10 Or give them a snake when they ask for fish? 11 If you who are evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good things to those who ask him. 12 Therefore, you should treat people in the same way that you want people to treat you; this is the Law and the Prophets.
Reflection Questions:
Matthew (Luke too—cf. Luke 6:31) said Jesus taught his followers “the Golden Rule:” “You should treat people in the same way that you want people to treat you.” Some Hebrew, Greek and Roman thinkers wrote negative forms of that idea (e.g. “Don’t do to others what you don’t want them to do to you”). Jesus’ positive statement, scholar William Barclay said, took a wider view. “The attitude which says, ‘I must do no harm to people’ is quite different from the attitude which says, ‘I must do my best to help people.’”*
When Jesus compared God favorably to human parents, he reminded us that we may see “good things” differently than God does. Have you ever seen a child who strongly wants something (e.g. a fourth ice cream cone) that the child’s father knows would not be good for the child? How does this shape (or reshape) your understanding of Jesus’ promise that God will give “good things to those who ask him”?
At times Christians seem to think the Golden Rule only means “Be nice” in surface-y, social ways. Jesus said his short phrase held the deep spiritual essence of the entire body of “the Law and the Prophets,” all the Hebrew Scriptures. What people or conditions make it hardest for you to truly treat others as you wish they’d treat you? When has someone else treated you by the Golden Rule’s standard? How did that affect you?
Prayer:
Lord, in your earthly life you never imposed yourself on others, yet always tried to win even your enemies. Give me wisdom to know how to honestly live out your Golden Rule. Amen.
* William Barclay, Daily Study Bible Series: The Gospel of Matthew, vol. 1 (Revised Edition). Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1976, p. 276.
Want more reflection on today's GPS?
Read the GPS Insight by Randy Greene
Randy Greene is a part of the Communications team at the Church of the Resurrection. He helps develop and maintain the church's family of websites. He is also a graduate of Central Baptist Theological Seminary and loves to write stories about faithfulness.
Empathy is hard. It takes time and serious effort for me to understand a person’s story, to hear their desires, needs, and hopes. It takes work to refrain from projecting my own opinion and experience onto their life.
For me, empathy is usually not my natural response to people – especially not when I sense any kind of conflict. My instinct is to adopt a posture of defensiveness and self-preservation. I tend to read my own fears and anxieties into the actions of the people around me so that I interpret even the slightest resistance as an attack.
But the reality is that I am in a place of a lot of security, so that defensiveness is – for me – almost always unwarranted. When I approach people from a posture of empathy, I am able to find beauty in them, and our relationship is enriched because of it.
Empathy is like a muscle. When we exercise it, it gets stronger. Each time I remind myself to see the humanity in a person, it gets a little easier to switch into that posture.
Will you join me in a challenge today? As you are interacting with someone today, go out of your way to practice empathy. Ask them to explain what they mean when they say ______, or ask them why they feel a particular way about a topic. Let's see how it changes our world.
Like this post? Share it!
Like The “golden rule” on Facebook share on Twitter
If you have a question or comment about today’s GPS or Insights blog, you can send it to GPS@cor.org. We read them all, but because of the number of responses we receive, cannot guarantee replies.
You might also like:
Splinters, logs and exercising judgment
Prayer Tip: 4 Rules to Live By
Choose the right master
The right place for your treasures
“Don’t put on a sad face”
Or download this week's printable GPS.
FACEBOOK TWITTER INSTAGRAM
©2017 Church of the Resurrection. All Rights Reserved.
Scripture quotations are taken from The Common English Bible ©2011.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection
13720 Roe Avenue
Leawood, KS 66224, United States
Church of the Resurrection <info@mc.cor.org>
Tuesday,, 21 July 2020
The United Methodist Church of theResurrection GPS Guide for Tuesday,, 21 July 2020
The “golden rule”
Daily Scripture:
Matthew 7:7-12
7 “Ask, and you will receive. Search, and you will find. Knock, and the door will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks, receives. Whoever seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door is opened. 9 Who among you will give your children a stone when they ask for bread? 10 Or give them a snake when they ask for fish? 11 If you who are evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good things to those who ask him. 12 Therefore, you should treat people in the same way that you want people to treat you; this is the Law and the Prophets.
Reflection Questions:
Matthew (Luke too—cf. Luke 6:31) said Jesus taught his followers “the Golden Rule:” “You should treat people in the same way that you want people to treat you.” Some Hebrew, Greek and Roman thinkers wrote negative forms of that idea (e.g. “Don’t do to others what you don’t want them to do to you”). Jesus’ positive statement, scholar William Barclay said, took a wider view. “The attitude which says, ‘I must do no harm to people’ is quite different from the attitude which says, ‘I must do my best to help people.’”*
When Jesus compared God favorably to human parents, he reminded us that we may see “good things” differently than God does. Have you ever seen a child who strongly wants something (e.g. a fourth ice cream cone) that the child’s father knows would not be good for the child? How does this shape (or reshape) your understanding of Jesus’ promise that God will give “good things to those who ask him”?
At times Christians seem to think the Golden Rule only means “Be nice” in surface-y, social ways. Jesus said his short phrase held the deep spiritual essence of the entire body of “the Law and the Prophets,” all the Hebrew Scriptures. What people or conditions make it hardest for you to truly treat others as you wish they’d treat you? When has someone else treated you by the Golden Rule’s standard? How did that affect you?
Prayer:
Lord, in your earthly life you never imposed yourself on others, yet always tried to win even your enemies. Give me wisdom to know how to honestly live out your Golden Rule. Amen.
* William Barclay, Daily Study Bible Series: The Gospel of Matthew, vol. 1 (Revised Edition). Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1976, p. 276.
Want more reflection on today's GPS?
Read the GPS Insight by Randy Greene
Randy Greene is a part of the Communications team at the Church of the Resurrection. He helps develop and maintain the church's family of websites. He is also a graduate of Central Baptist Theological Seminary and loves to write stories about faithfulness.
Empathy is hard. It takes time and serious effort for me to understand a person’s story, to hear their desires, needs, and hopes. It takes work to refrain from projecting my own opinion and experience onto their life.
For me, empathy is usually not my natural response to people – especially not when I sense any kind of conflict. My instinct is to adopt a posture of defensiveness and self-preservation. I tend to read my own fears and anxieties into the actions of the people around me so that I interpret even the slightest resistance as an attack.
But the reality is that I am in a place of a lot of security, so that defensiveness is – for me – almost always unwarranted. When I approach people from a posture of empathy, I am able to find beauty in them, and our relationship is enriched because of it.
Empathy is like a muscle. When we exercise it, it gets stronger. Each time I remind myself to see the humanity in a person, it gets a little easier to switch into that posture.
Will you join me in a challenge today? As you are interacting with someone today, go out of your way to practice empathy. Ask them to explain what they mean when they say ______, or ask them why they feel a particular way about a topic. Let's see how it changes our world.
Like this post? Share it!
Like The “golden rule” on Facebook share on Twitter
If you have a question or comment about today’s GPS or Insights blog, you can send it to GPS@cor.org. We read them all, but because of the number of responses we receive, cannot guarantee replies.
You might also like:
Splinters, logs and exercising judgment
Prayer Tip: 4 Rules to Live By
Choose the right master
The right place for your treasures
“Don’t put on a sad face”
Or download this week's printable GPS.
FACEBOOK TWITTER INSTAGRAM
©2017 Church of the Resurrection. All Rights Reserved.
Scripture quotations are taken from The Common English Bible ©2011.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection
13720 Roe Avenue
Leawood, KS 66224, United States
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