So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets. (Matthew 7:12, NIV)
One of the best tips I ever got in golf was always to have something positive you are trying to do versus an anti-movement or a “don’t do” thought. For example, if I were struggling with pulling putts left, instead of trying not to let the putter face shut, I would try to take the logo on the heel of the putter face to my target. This is having a “do-do” mentality instead of a “don’t do” mentality.
This could be a helpful change in your mindset on the golf course, but I want to encourage you to think this way for the rest of your life – especially regarding how you treat others.
This was thematic in Jesus’ teaching. We often refer to the Sermon on the Mount, which is likely a compilation of the things Jesus taught everywhere he went. You could call it the Kingdom Manifesto.
Many of the things Jesus is famously quoted for saying comes out of these three chapters in the Gospel of Matthew. Some are quite radical, and Jesus intended for his followers to take them seriously.
What I find interesting about so many things he taught is that they are completely counterintuitive; however, we all would love to live around people who put his teachings into practice. Jesus did this. You could say that he practiced what he preached.
Christians, however, often do not do this so well. We tend to focus too much on the “don’t do’s” than we do the “do-do’s.” Way too often, people observe us and call us hypocrites. This is because we tell everyone what they shouldn’t do, but we don’t do what Jesus told us to do.
Can you imagine what it would be like leaving your house every day if people who claim to be Christians put into practice what Jesus taught and demonstrated? Look back at today’s verse.
Jesus didn’t tell us, “Don’t do to others what you don’t want done to you.” He instructed his followers to “do to others what you would have them do to you.”
Everybody would love to have their neighbor, boss, co-worker, son-in-law, or you name it, be a follower of Jesus’ teachings. Jesus doesn’t want fans; he wants followers – who understand that our role in the body of Christ is to put into action the way of the Kingdom of God.
We are to follow Jesus’ lead in living out the way of Heaven here on earth. It is ruled by a law of love with the freedom to do, not don’t do, as the Pharisees tried to restrict Jesus.
I encourage each of you to read and re-read Matthew 5-7, take it seriously, and practice it. If you struggle with a passage like “love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (Matthew 5:44), pray that God will teach you and change your heart.
We all have areas God desires for us to work on, grow in, and produce fruit. Nonetheless, we must take the teachings of Jesus seriously and start putting them into action. “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock” (Matthew 7:24).
Ask yourself, “Does my faith have feet?”
Prayer: Jesus! Please help us to rethink how we approach your kingdom!