30 Days On The Mount

Roman

Seneca, in teaching about leadership said; “Behave toward your inferior as you would like your superior to behave to you.”

Early Christian

Some of the early Christian writers continued the negative focus of the teaching. It is written in The Didache (Christian instruction which was dependent on Matthew ’s Gospel) ‘ Whatever you would like not to be done to you, you also must not do to others. ’ xiv The Gospel of Thomas states; ‘ Do not do what you hate ’.

12 So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.

The Positive Teaching of Jesus:

14 So…(therefore)… is an important ‘hinge’ word in the Golden Rule. It tells us that the compact saying is a summation of all that has been previously taught in the Sermon concerning Jesus’ demands for a better righteousness . “… unless your righteousness is better than the righteousness of the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven!” (Mt 5:20) The Golden Rule ‘…is a remarkably flex ible ethical principle…All we have to do is use our imagination, put ourselves in the other person’s shoes, and ask, “ How would I like to be treated in that situation? ”’ xiv Bishop Ryle of England

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