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Each Day Already is a Challenge #491797 added March 2, 2007 at 3:44pm
Restrictions: None
Do Unto Others
Do you ever find yourself on a web page but have no idea how you got there? Or why you ended up there? That's what happened to me yesterday. For some reason, I ended up on a page about the Ethic of Reciprocity.
Dictionary.com defines reciprocity as:
1. a reciprocal state or relation.
2. reciprocation; mutual exchange.
Perhaps I wandered upon these sites because there was a person (a young man, I think) who showed up here in the past week and who decided, yesterday, to post some rather racist stories and poems, plus comments in forums. He was also rude (vulgar) to TexansBeatTheMiamiDolphinsBy3   . I believe he must have caused pain to others as well and it appears that the higher ups have taken care of the problem now.
Anyway, I found myself on a few sites about this topic.
Perhaps I've always known this, but one site reminded me that there are at least 21 different religions and cults that have in their "rules" something similar to the Christian's Golden Rule - Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. (See Matthew 7:12 and Luke 6:31.)
Even famous philosophers were all for this type of ethical behavior.
 Plato: "May I do to others as I would that they should do unto me."
Socrates: "Do not do to others that which would anger you if others did it to you."
I guess what surprised me most is that one fellow (and I lost his web site - naturally) has decided that he is going to start peacefully picketing in front of churches during worship services. Why? He says that since we're supposed to do to others what we want done to ourselves, that we must want others to picket since Christians picket in front of abortion clinics. He's decided that he will boycott Christian businesses because Christians boycott businesses that do not meet their standards. He wants to do to us what we have done to him or others he has known.
He has not just singled out Christians, though. He also commented about the actions of persons in the Islamic and Jewish faiths, as well as those who did not condemn violent acts by these faiths. (He did not, thankfully, say he was going to do harm to these persons or to Christians who have hurt people at abortion clinics.)
As I thought about his comments, I also visited a site about religious tolerance. The author of this site pointed out that although most faiths have similar beliefs about behaving kindly toward other humans, they don't actually practice it except amongst persons of their own faith.
From that site: "Only when religions stres that their membership used their Ethic of Reciprocity when dealing with all persons, not just their fellow belivers, will religiously-related oppression, mass murder and genocide cease."
Personally, I always thought that the "Golden Rule" and Jesus' answer to what were the greatest commands (loving God and loving our neighbor) were supposed to go hand in hand. When we're talking about loving our neighbor, I don't think we're talking merely about tolerating him. We're talking about respecting him and holding him in high regard.
I heard a preacher once who said, "The easiest way to evangelize is to love them into the Kingdom."
I wonder if we can do that by picketing or boycotting.
I certainly don't have the answer to that. But I know One who does. Perhaps it's time that we ask.
Here are a few of the sites I visited:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethic_of_Reciprocity
http://www.religioustolerance.org/reciproc.htm
This one lists Bible verses about serving others, helping others, honoring others, judging/not judging, saluting, forgiving, teaching, etc.
http://addiesramblings.com/2006/11/28/do-unto-others/
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I found some more writings scribbled in notebook pages today.
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