The Bible often tells us to put others first, showing them compassion, care and love. Jesus sums up all these instructions in a single sentence in Matthew 7:12. We can find a similar phrase in other religions and cultures around the world, but with one important difference. The others are usually worded negatively, along the lines of ‘Don’t do to others what you wouldn’t like done to yourself’ or ‘Don’t do to something to another person that you would find hurtful’. But Jesus turns it round, saying ‘Ask yourself what you want people to do for you, then grab the initiative and do it for them’ (Matthew 7:12 MSG). It’s only a small difference, but it means so much. Jesus is holding us up to a much higher standard. It’s much harder to actively do something than to passively not do something. If Jesus had also worded it negatively, all we’d need to do to fulfil the instruction is to keep out of the way of other people, so we couldn’t do any harm or upset them. And that’s particularly easy if it’s someone we don’t really get on with and prefer to avoid anyway. But Jesus tells us to go and actively seek out ways to show love and compassion to others. There are no exceptions. Earlier, Jesus had explained ‘You have heard that it was said, “Love your neighbour 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’ (Matthew 5:43-45 NIVUK). It’s very difficult to do, and it’s a high standard to aim for, but we still need to try. With God’s help, it’s something we can all achieve.
