The Golden Rule

This story occurred a few years ago when I was attending community college.

We had a fire drill on a bitterly cold day while it was drizzling. I was cold and people were walking all over the place as I was trying to get inside after we were clear to go back in. I can’t handle cold weather well: my hand gets too cold to drive correctly and it was almost to that point this time. It goes without saying that I was not in the most Christian mood at that point.

There was a student who I knew, only by his first name, Kenny. I barely knew him, nonetheless, he would always speak to me when he saw me. He could probably look intimidating if he wanted to, but he was very nice. So I’m stuck in this mob and I sensed a large presence behind me, it turned out to be Kenny. He cleared the sidewalk of people with his large voice to help me get inside out of the cold.

That is one the nicest things anyone has ever done for me. I thanked him and he just said, “No problem.” I don’t think he really understood how big of a deal that action meant to me.

I do not know if Kenny is a Christian or not, but this is a great example of how we as Christians should act.

Jesus tells us in Matthew 7:12, “So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.”  Some people call this the Golden Rule, it’s also called the Great Commandment. This is one of the first things we are taught as children, but it’s easy to forget how important it is to live by this principle.

Kenny demonstrated a form of love, what the ancient Greeks called agape, which translates as love. The word love can be used to mean a few different things in English. The ancient Greeks, on the other hand, had a multiple words for love: philia (brotherly love), eros (erotic love), and storge (natural or instinctual affection, as of a parent for a child).

The Christian meaning of agape is “the love of Christians for other persons, corresponding to the love of God for humankind.” This is the love we should have for all people. God doesn’t expect us to be friends with everyone, He just expects us to be respectful to everyone.

Agape love goes beyond just our neighbors, it extends to our enemies. Our enemies are our neighbors and creations of God also.

But wait. We’re supposed to love our friends and hate our enemies, right? Our culture teaches us this sometimes: if you’re a member of one political party, you’re supposed to hate the other party; and if somebody wrongs you, then you get back at them. This was the belief of the culture in Jesus’ time too.

Matthew 5:43-47, however, Jesus teaches a different message.  “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that?”

Jesus references the law from Leviticus when he instructs us to love our enemies. Leviticus 19:18, “Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.”

This kind of love does not come to us easily, we naturally want to hate our enemies due to our fallen state. We have to make an effort to love our enemies, that means it’s not an emotional feeling. Loving our enemies is something we have to make ourselves do, which is difficult for us. If you make the effort to do this, then your actions will eventually follow suit.

Jesus was making this point when he said, “If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that?”  It’s easier to love those who love you and hate those who hate you, which is why everybody does it.

Finally, Jesus loves those who hate him. On the cross Jesus said, “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.” (Luke 23:34) After all that had been done to him Jesus still loved the people who cheered for his death and the people that physically killed him. Christ is the example we should look to.

In summary, we need to love our neighbors as ourselves and we need to love our enemies. This isn’t always the easiest thing to do, but it’s the right thing to do.

My Source of Strength

I have always enjoyed answering questions about my disease, Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD), mainly because I know enough about it that I can answer effectively. Questions like: what happened?, can you feel your legs?, or what is DMD? I can answer those easily after twenty-three years of experience. There is one question that I’m asked less often that has taken me years to form an answer to. How do you do it every day? I take this to mean, what gets me out of bed every day?

The answer I usually give is that I’m used to having Muscular Dystrophy and all that comes with it. This is the upside to a progressive disease, it starts when you're young and worsens as you get older. That might sound depressing, however, trust me, it’s not.

I know it’s hard for people who can walk to imagine not walking, but it’s equally as hard for to me to imagine walking. I haven’t walked since fifth grade, so the thought of walking does not even cross my mind. I count that as a blessing from above. I don’t want to have a longing to walk again.

For me, getting out of bed every morning using a Hoyer lift, using a wheelchair to get around, typing with a mouse and an on screen keyboard, not having a driver's’ license, going to multiple doctors multiple times a year, is all normal. I’m used to it. It's not all sunshine and rainbows all the time, but it’s a lot better than it could be. My life with DMD doesn’t upset me as much as people think it would.

This answer, although true, doesn’t fully answer the question. God is how I do it every day. Not me or my own strength, but God and His strength. I don’t rely on myself to handle DMD, I rely on God. Or as 2 Corinthians 3:5 says, “Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God.” Isaiah 40:28-29 says, “Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.”

Whatever ability I have to cope with DMD is from God; I can’t take the credit for any of this. As James says, “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” (James 1:17)

In John 15:1-8 Jesus says,

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.”

I will say that MD is a trial for me. I don’t always respond to this trial in the best way, but I have no anger toward God for it. James 1:2-3 says, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.” I try to remember this everyday. God doesn’t allow me to go through this for naught, He’s strengthening me through all of this.

A few more thoughts that get me the day are: the friends I’ve made due to DMD, the opportunities I’ve had due to DMD, the time I spend with my family, and the chance to write every day. When I make the mistake of complaining or trusting in myself instead of God, I remember all of the things God has done for me and all that he gives me.

No matter what abilities I lose and no matter what MD does to me, it will not take me away from God unless I allow it to. The only way this works is if I seek God’s help. Psalm 46:1, “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.” If I reach out to God and ask Him to give me strength, then He will. This isn’t my method, it’s from the Bible. “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.” (Matthew 7:7)

So, the take home message is: I take no credit for dealing with my daily life, all the credit belongs to God. If you’re having trouble dealing with something in your life, then confess it to God and seek His strength in dealing with that. I’m no different than anyone else because everybody has problems in life. The thing is that you have to keep faith in Jesus.