Norman Rockwell’s “Golden Rule” painting hangs in the United Nations Building in New York City. In the mosaic, there are faces of twenty-eight people who represent all the different people we must love: black, white, Asian, Muslim, Jewish, Christian, atheist, racist, addicted, imprisoned, gay, homeless, young, old, sick…and the list goes on. It reminds me of this song I learned as a child: Jesus Loves the Little Children. This painting reminds me that Jesus was very different than those around him. He was a radical.
What Comes Naturally
Most of us have been around people who just rub us the wrong way—people we’d really rather not be around. Maybe we don’t share the same values or…maybe they are just different than us. Whatever the case, most of us would rather just avoid these people—we figure that it isn’t worth our time or energy to be around people “like that.”
This is the natural human response. But Jesus tells us that our natural desires are sinful, and that we should live differently. He asks us to do the opposite of what comes naturally. Instead of treating the people we don’t like poorly, we should treat them the same way that we treated those we like. This lesson also made those in Jesus’ time uncomfortable.
The attitude God desires is radically different from the attitude we desire. We must be willing to forgo some of our “rights” for the sake of other people. As much as possible, we should be willing to show love to others—even when we don’t like them or they don’t deserve it. Jesus goes on to distill this concept into a single phrase. He tells his followers, “Do to others as you would have them do to you” (Luke 6:31, NIV). This has been called the “golden rule.” Yes, confirmation for this uncomfortable lesson is offered in Norman Rockwell’s painting.
A Radical Lesson
I’ve had to wrestle with this lesson and it’s made me very uncomfortable. Sadly, the public perception of Christians is not a good one. Many people in America today associate Christians with a particular political party and/or a particular news network. They have the idea that Christians are happy and kind only to those who share their views, and they will shun, ridicule, and marginalize those who do not. If this is the perception the world has of us, we have failed. We have become just like the world.
So, who do people think is your Father? Does the way you live reflect that you are a child of God, or do you live the same way as the rest of the world?
“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 sons of your Father in heaven.”
Matthew 5:43-45
Copyright © 2020 Chuck Locklear
Also, see Tops Is Better.