Command 18 : Do Unto Others | Day 120

What You Desire, Do for Others!

A distraught father called and asked me what he could do to help his 16-year-old son. He said, "My son is basically a good boy; he just does foolish things and gets himself into trouble. When I ask my son why he does these things, his answer is always, 'Because nobody likes me!' ” This father has a perfect opportunity to teach his son the meaning and application of Christ's next command.

Command 18: “All things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets" (Matthew 7:12).

If we want others to like us, we must first show acceptance to them. In order to do this, we must consider two questions. First, "Why should I accept others?" The answer is found in the law and the prophets, which Jesus summarized as loving God with our whole hearts and loving our neighbors as ourselves. (See Matthew 22:37-40.) We should accept others because God loves them and created each one for His divine purposes. Furthermore, we should accept others because we are all related to each other! We all came from the same set of original parents, Adam and Eve.

The next question is, "How are we to demonstrate love?" This command provides the answer to this question--the things that we want people to do for us are the very things that we should do for them. For example, we want to be recognized as a person who has value and importance, and thus we should treat others with honor. Jesus helps us develop this perspective by explaining that whatever we do to the least of our brethren, we are actually doing to Him. (See Matthew 25:40.) This concept should motivate us to honor and highly esteem each person we meet. If they are special to God, they should also be special to us!

The level of our respect and esteem for others will be instantly recognized by them, and they will usually respond to us in the same manner.

A heart that is stretched to meet the needs of other people will never be the same size again.

This command can be viewed in one of two ways. If we have the motive of giving to others, it provides us with practical ways of knowing how to meet the needs of others. However, if we are more concerned with having our own needs met, we will have the tendency to use it to get things from other people. Those we try to help will perceive our intentions and question whether we are doing something to benefit them or to benefit ourselves.

Doing good to others requires us to understand and practice genuine love, which is giving to others with no motive or thought of personal reward. It is this perspective upon which "all the law and the prophets" hang. Today, let's do for others those things that we would desire for ourselves with the motive of genuine love!