Seriously, what exactly makes it golden? Gold is shiny and relatively soft as far as metals go. It's very expensive, and an object of desire in most cultures. So how in the name of bullion did the golden rule get named the golden rule?
Cause let me tell you, it's not shiny and its not pretty! It's not relatively soft; it is exceptionally hard! I mean Chinese arithmetic hard! In fact the last thing on the planet I would call golden is the rule formerly mentioned as golden.
I think it should be called the "stinking impossible I can't stand it rule." Or the, "are you kidding me this is not possible rule!" Or the, "why don't you just cut out my guts and set me on fire rule!"
And on top of the fact that I don't want to keep the rule, there is an equally high probability that I'm not gonna get it in return if I do keep it. I mean it's like the more I try to keep the hardest rule in the world the less others have to!
Think about it, if I do for you what I wish you would do for me it is highly likely that will probably think I don't need you to do anything for me! And that stinks, right?
And listen, if I just keep on keeping the "Rule" I am gonna wind up worn out and wasted. And who knows if anyone will ever come along and treat me the way I want to be treated? Right? Not to mention it will probably cost me all of my gold. It should be called the gold-less rule for crying out loud!
But wait...that's what Jesus did. He came and He gave and He gave and He gave and He died. Sacrificed. Crucified. Despising the shame the Bible says.
And so the root of the root is this, Jesus said, "take up your cross and follow me." He said, "love others the way I love you." He said "my followers will obey Me."
So the question that haunts me is this, do I even try to live by the rule...do I try to keep the Rule in hopes of getting it kept toward me, or will I keep the Rule in order to please and obey Jesus?
A long time ago I learned that a "rule" is a measuring stick consisting of a strip of wood, metal or plastic with a straight edge that is used for drawing straight lines and measuring lengths.
And so with all of the above in mind, how do we measure up to the Rule?
