Live The Golden Rule

It's easy to treat people nice when they treat me nice, but it's hard to be nice when they're mean. Some people say they live the golden rule and perhaps they do when someone's nice, but they retaliate and want revenge when someone's mean. (Suddenly they believe in 'an eye for an eye' instead of 'The Golden Rule.') When people get hurt, they want: 1) The people who hurt them to live the golden rule; and 2) The people who hurt them to be nice. It's hard to be loving when the other person isn't the same. When people act meanly, the first inclination is to be mean back. Perhaps it helpful for a person to ask themselves, "Is that how I want to be?" Maybe a follow-up question could be, "If I die tomorrow do I want people to consider me 'mean' or 'loving'? It might be helpful for them to realize that if they want to be considered loving, they need to be that way in ALL situations.

People don't automatically think nicely. Perhaps at first they think of revenge. But after they recognize their thought (and perhaps behavior,) they can choose differently. When their feelings get hurt, they might turn their pain over to the Lord and think 'Please help me deal with this. I don't want to be vengeful but loving.' (People have feelings that get hurt when someone hurts them.) Some people might think, 'This sucks a big fat hairy toe!' They may cry because of poor treatment. (It takes a lot of effort to be nice.) The important thing is that it's not helpful to retaliate. People need to be kind even when other's aren't.

I used to think be how you are in your heart. I want to rise above what I might think automatically to think the way I choose. Now I think be how you 'want to be' in your heart. I hope everyone will think that way too.