The Golden Rule: How To Live In A Hateful World
By Chaplain Corey T. Thornton

Every so often I like to take the book, “All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten” by Robert Fulghum, off of my bookshelf and thumb through it. In it, Fulghum shares some useful advice such as, play fair, don’t hit people, share everything, don’t take things that aren’t yours, say you’re sorry when you hurt somebody, to name a few. This book serves to remind me that even in a world that appears to be so diversified and complicated, often doing the right thing is simple.

We live in a world where, as we are informed by television news programs, books that are sacred to some are being burned as a form of protest and people on the other side of the world are killing others because their sacred books are being burned. We are truly a global village, connected by a worldwide media network and mass transportation capabilities. While there are a multitude of benefits to be derived from this connectivity, there are at least an equal number of negative outcomes to contend with.

People’s actions can help others who may live on the other side of the world from them and they can also do harm to others whom they may never meet. Though we can be thankful for many examples of the former exchange, too often we must regret the affects of the latter. I believe that our difficulties stem from our divisions. Divisions come when we see ourselves as qualitatively separate from others. A good way to describe it is as the “us and them syndrome.” We claim a multitude of reasons why our divisions are justified, but they all end with the same result, treating others poorly. As the saying goes, “united we stand, divided we fall.”

T he more connected we become, the closer we come to this truth on a global scale. In our world, connected as it is, it would serve us well to consider whether there are any principles that might guide us towards living in harmony with each other. One principle that I would commend to everyone might seem simple at first, but, like the seemingly simple advice from Fulghum’s book, it carries profound implications for the good. That principle is the Golden Rule.

The Golden Rule is an ethical maxim that can be found in the best of ancient religions and philosophies and is still found relevant and active in our present age. It has been stated in different ways. The Bible contains it in the Hebrew Scriptures: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” (Leviticus 19:18b).

We also see it in the Christian New Testament in the teachings of Jesus Christ: “So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them,” (Matthew 7:12a). There are many other statements of the same principle made by figures like Confucius and Buddha as well as in most of the world’s major religions. The point is simple: treat others as you would like to be treated.

Another way to say it would be to view others as if they are apart of you and you are apart of them. As soon as we see others as separate from ourselves our tendency is to be certain that we take care of ourselves, even at the expense of others. You hear this in the familiar quote, “Takin’ care of number one.” The Golden Rule draws us back together and adjusts our perspective towards the reality that we are all in this together and that everyone deserves the respect and dignity given to them by the creator.

There are a lot of differing ways that we live our lives. We have differing ethnicities, nations, cultures, religions, ideologies and et cetera. But I would commend to you the Golden Rule as a principle that supports all that is good and healthy in every human endeavor. I would be highly suspect of any endeavor that wished to not consider the Golden Rule but still professed to produce healthy and happy lives.

It may seem simple but is profoundly true: the Golden Rule teaches us that we cannot live at the expense of others. To do so may bring short term benefits, but it ultimately will lead to demise. One simple way to begin to incorporate the Golden Rule into your life is to ask daily, “What will I do today to make other lives better?” It’s something that everyone can do and it will go a long way toward making our world a better place to live.