The Other Golden Rule

Elliot and Vince were playing chess.  Or rather, they had been playing chess.  Neither one will ever be confused with Bobby Fischer and Vince was getting tired of it, although Elliot still wanted to go another round.

"Vince won't play with me,"  Elliot said accusingly.

"But I did play with you," Vince said.  "I played two games, but I don't want to play chess any more right now."

"Maybe Elliot, it's time to play something else," I suggested.

"But Vince needs to play with me!"  Elliot said emphatically.  "That's what I want him to do."

"Elliot," I asked."  Do you know what the Golden Rule says?"

"Of course," he answered promptly.  "It says others should do to you what they would want you to do to them."

"Sort of,"  I said.  "It says to do unto others as you would have them do unto you."

"That's what I said," Elliot replied.

"Well, you seemed to be applying it to Vince and not to yourself.  Maybe you could play something with Vince now that he wants to do."

My children have a tough time putting the Golden Rule into practice, but truth to tell, I'm not always so good at it myself.  It is just not always easy to think of what will make other people happy and much easier to focus on what I know will please me.

Humans are inherently selfish.  We think about what we want and what we need before the thought even crosses our minds that there others out there who have needs too.

This is a change that Jesus works in our hearts when we become His child.  To see the needs of others and to truly try to meet them is our goal.

To do unto others as we would have them do to us.