In your Bibles now, in the book of Matthew, in chapter number seven, we've been making our way through the Sermon on the Mount, battled back and forth on what to preach today. And we said, let's get back into the Sermon on the Mount, stay in the Sermon on the Mount. And today, I simply want to tackle one verse. However, don't mislead yourself by thinking, well, we're going to get out of here early. He's only preaching one verse. You would be wrong to think that way. Matthew chapter 7 verse 12 says, therefore, all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even to them or even so to them, for this is the law and the prophets. Today I want to speak on what is termed, has been termed over the ages, the Golden Rule. And I believe that it is a golden rule indeed. But before we begin, I'd like for us to travel over some familiar territory. Let's go again over some very familiar ground. Now preachers and pastors often say things in sermons that are easily overlooked or undervalued, which is really somewhat understandable because in the course of a sermon, lots of things are said. And all of us, whether we like to admit it or not, sometimes struggle to keep our minds focused on the message, and all too often we allow our thoughts to drift far, far away, even if our eyes are pointed at the pulpit. So let me reiterate a vital truth, something that I have said repeatedly from the very outset of our series on the Sermon on the Mount. Some may have forgotten, some may have not been here, and others may have simply undervalued what I am going to say or what I have said. And that is first, the teachings found in the Sermon on the Mount are utterly counter-cultural. completely counter-cultural. And secondly, the teachings found in the Sermon on the Mount are diametrically opposed to our flesh, to what pleases our flesh. Now allow me to expound on that for just a moment to bring this back to your mind. So when I say counter-cultural, go back if you would in your memories and remember the Sermon on the Mount begins like this. Blessed are the meek. Blessed are those who mourn. Blessed are the peacemakers, not the earth shakers. Blessed are those who are poor in spirit. And listen, blessed are those who are persecuted. That word blessed, as it is used in this context, means happy, but really more to be envied. So we should envy those who are poor in spirit. We should envy or strive to be like those who are meek and mild, or even blessed or to be envied are those who are persecuted. And I say that goes completely counter to our society. It went counter to the society in which Jesus said it, and it goes completely contrary to how our culture thinks today. And then secondly, the teachings found here, your flesh will fight against it. I promise you, your flesh will fight against the things that are found in the Sermon on the Mount. Let me again bring a couple of those back to your mind. In this sermon, we are told to love our enemies and to pray for them. That's hard. If you take it serious, this is hard. We are compelled to go the second mile. We are commanded to turn the other cheek. Not only is this the opposite of the norm of society, our old nature just doesn't like it. Our flesh just doesn't like these things. Yet these two truths are glaringly illustrated in the passage that we're going to study together today, the verse that we are going to look at this morning. For those who have been born again, that is you have been translated from the kingdom of darkness and into the kingdom of the glorious light of the kingdom of Christ. This golden rule is our king's standard. This is his standard of conduct and we may even go further than that and say this should be the very character of every born-again believer. You should be, if you confess to be a Christian, and you have truly been born again, your life should be governed by the golden rule. Our society may think you're crazy. Your flesh is going to fight against it. Yet this is the standard of your King, King Jesus. Now I wanna remind you yet again of one more thing that I have said, and that is this. Kingdom citizens, Not only do we not think like the world, we should not care what the world thinks. We should care about what honors our king. And though I have said it many, many times now, don't let this be unheard or undervalued. Regardless of how counter-cultural, regardless of how much your flesh will fight against this, what we find in this 12th verse of this 7th chapter is the golden rule and simply stated Folks, this is what makes Christianity salt and light into this dark and decaying society in which we live. In the passage that we have before us, Jesus is going to summarize the entirety of how we should treat others in our personal relationships. Now he's given some specifics, as I have, not being too quick to judge, not be overly harsh in our criticism of others. That's how chapter 7 begins. We're to be a forgiving people. We're to be a peacemaking people. We're to be patient with those who have wronged us. We're to freely give to those who are in need. All of this and more falls under the umbrella of the golden rule. So here the master teacher sums up in just a few words what we call the golden rule. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Treat other people the way you want to be treated. This is a principle that is so simple that we teach it to children Yet at the same time, it is so incredibly profound that it could change society. It could literally change the world if people would just obey the Golden Rule. I want you to note with me a couple of things before we even get into the heart. I want you to look at the end of the passage and then we're going to look at actually the beginning of the passage, but notice the end of the passage, what Jesus says about this golden rule. He says, for this is the law and the prophets. In other words, Jesus is saying this golden rule is the summary of all that the Old Testament has to say about how we treat other people. You read that Old Testament, there's lots of laws and rules on what you should and shouldn't do and relationships and these types of things, but it can all be summarized like this. Treat people the way you want to be treated. This is a golden rule indeed. Christ is saying this is the summation of the law, the prophets, of all that has been said about how we should care for others. Now maybe you will remember in Matthew chapter 22, A lawyer comes to Jesus and begins to ask him, he said, which is the greatest commandment? There's all of these commandments, this lawyer comes and says to Jesus, which of them is the greatest? And Jesus replies by saying, thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, soul, mind, and strength, and your neighbor as yourself. And then he says these words, on these two, Loving God and loving neighbors on these two hang all the law and the prophets If you go back to Mount Sinai Where God carved out the Ten Commandments and handed them to Moses They can be summarized like this Love God and love people Love God first and love others as you love yourself. And that is what Jesus is saying about this, what we term the golden rule here. This is the summation. You read in the Old Testament about this and don't, you know, all these somewhat curious laws to us, it is going to fall under the broad heading of loving God or loving your neighbor. That's what it's going to be. So I want to say to you, friends, It would be impossible for me to state to you how life-changing, culture-redeeming, soul-searching this golden rule truly is. It would be impossible for me to state to you how vital it is for us. But I want to add to that this. The Golden Rule only makes sense from a Christian worldview. This is something that has been on my mind for some time and something I think perhaps you should consider. And it is why, though Brenda and I had very little conversation about what to include in the bulletin this week, what she included is absolutely right. where it states, to rightly obey the golden rule, one must truly put God first in their lives. In other words, you're not going to be able to live good enough to appease God. You can do as many people do. They say, oh, we love that Sermon on the Mount. And the only people that say that's people who really never studied it. Because when you study it, it is very condemning because we missed the mark by so much. There's not one of us that loves the Lord our God with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength every minute of every day. And we certainly do not love our neighbor as ourself every minute of every day. We just don't. But the only way that this golden rule, if someone says, okay, I want to live by this golden rule, the only way that makes sense is from a Christian worldview. In other words, you should do this not in order to inherit eternal life because you can't. You're going to miss the mark. But you should do this in order to honor your king because this is what your king has commanded you. If there is no God, no coming judgment, no heaven to gain, no hell to shun, why does it matter how I treat other people? Think on that. If there's no God and this is it, why does it matter how I treat other people? Why should I obey some golden rule? Why? If there is no King, Christ King to honor, if there is no afterlife, if this is it, why don't I just live however I want to live and bless everybody else? Why? So any desire to honor this rule must come from a desire to honor your God. Trying to obey this commandment and leave God out is the epitome of absurdity. So what I'm trying to get at is this. Men and women should seek to honor this golden rule, not to inherit eternal life, but in order to honor their king. That's the law and the prophets, but notice how the verse actually begins. Now, the verse begins with the word therefore. Have you ever heard me say this? When you come to the word, Therefore, in your Bible, you need to stop and see what it is there for. But what it tells us is that this golden rule is irrevocably linked to what goes before it. Asking, seeking, knocking, judging, but more than that, I really think that Jesus is about to bring this magnificent sermon to an end. And he is now summarizing all that he has said before about our personal relationships. Listen to this. Someone has said that the golden rule is the very essence of Christianity. You realize we have 10,000 laws on our books that could all be thrown away if everyone would just live by this one law. James chapter 2 verse 8 calls loving your neighbor as yourself, which is really the therefore is what that is, the fulfilling of the royal law. This golden rule is the law of all laws when it comes to our relationships with others. It is the king of all commands. It is the very substance of all of our dealings with fellow men. This is, this golden rule, is the very essence of kingdom life. Treat others the way you want to be treated. This is not a theory. But this is a command from the King. It is not enough to praise this edict. Instead, it must be practiced. And I want to say something to you this morning that may be sharp or harsh or maybe even somewhat of a stinging rebuke. But I know that God has challenged me. I trust that you will be challenged as well. But I believe that one of the reasons, and I may even say one of the primary reasons, why American Christianity is drifting off into obscurity. Now would you agree with that statement? That in America, Christianity is drifting off into obscurity. It is deemed nearly inconsequential. Why? And I believe one of the primary reasons is that we as Christians have failed to obey a childish, simple principle, just what we call the golden rule. Because our society doesn't teach us to do it, and too often we listen to the world and not to God, and our flesh just doesn't like it. And we'll get into this in just a moment a little bit more. I believe that one of the reasons why Christianity is suffering as it is in our American society is there's just not enough salty saints. We're not bearing enough light. We live too much like the world rather than living as citizens of a greater kingdom. There are too many men and women who claim to be saved, yet they treat others the same way the world treats people, rather than how our king commands it. So I say, are you living, and if not, why not? Are you living under the edict of your king and treating others the way you wanna be treated? You say, now, wait a minute. Now, that's just for kids. Oh, no, it's not. This is not some simple, childish principle. This is for grown folk as well. Now, hear this, because here it is. You ready? What do you mean treat people the way I want to be treated? Not me. I'm going to treat people the way they treat me. And if you don't like it, and if they don't like it, well that's just too bad. And that feels real good to say that, but it's just the old carnal flesh speaking. And it's ugly. And it's ungodly. And it comes from a heart that is not submitted to the king of all kings. We are to be pitied if indeed this basic principle becomes a radical one for us. This is a golden rule. Now that's all opening, but we're going to move fast, okay? I want to notice a few things about this golden rule, what makes it a golden rule indeed. And first, the divine nature of this command. The divine nature of this command. Now let me give a disclaimer. Don't take this out of context. Don't twist it. Don't distort it. Christ is not here teaching pacifism. Jesus is not saying that you have no right to defend your own life or the lives of your family or your own property. He's not saying that. If you are being attacked, Jesus is not saying you don't have a right to defend yourself because you need to treat others. Well, if whoever was attacking you was living by the golden rule, they would not be attacking you. So Jesus is not condoning, as some say, pacifism here. You have a right, individually, to protect yourself, to guard your home, to guard your family, to protect your property. You have that right. This is a rule, however, that just has to do with our day-by-day interactions with those around us. We are commanded to lead lives beyond reproach. We are commanded to do more than the world does. You want me to back up just a little bit to where Jesus has just said, I know it's been weeks ago for us, but in the actual sermon itself on the hillside that day, Jesus had just said, you are good to people who are good to you, so what? You treat people good that treat you good, big deal. I say love your enemies. Do good to those who despitefully use you and persecute you. Actively make the decision to do good to those who are trash talking you, bad mouthing you. So listen. Jesus is not teaching pacifism here, but he is saying I expect my people to live by a higher standard than the world does So you're nice to people that are nice to you You think God's gonna hand out a reward for that in heaven one day? Is that who he is or is God good to those that are hateful to him? Does He not bring His rain, bring the rain on the just and the unjust? Does He not cause His sun to shine on the Christian and the non-Christian alike? So how are we to treat others? This command is of divine origin. Only God can come up with something like this. So, seemingly radical, yet transforming if it were obeyed. We are to do unto others, or we are to treat others. The way we want to be treated. Here is most often, too often, what we either think or say. I will do unto others as they do unto me. But that's not what the king commanded, is it? I will do unto others before they do unto me. That's not what the king commanded. Instead he says, you whatsoever you would that men should do to you. In other words, you should strive to treat other people every day the same way you want to be treated. I know this is just a simple thought, but If you would spend some time on this, it would amaze you how revolutionary this is, how radical that it is. This is the expected lifestyle of kingdom citizens. This is not to be, okay, I got a little extra time in my day today, so today I'm gonna try to live by the golden rule. No, this is the expected conduct of kingdom citizens. It should be our character, who we are. It's not easy, it's hard. But this is why the Bible says that we are to present our bodies a living sacrifice. And I have said to the point of ad nauseum, there is no such thing as a painless sacrifice. If it doesn't hurt, it's not a sacrifice. And so we are called to mortify the deeds of the flesh, to crucify the old man, to put down this old nature, and to do the hard work of treating others the way we want to be treated. So let me ask this, a couple questions. Has somebody ever asked you, Why are you cleaning up that mess that somebody else made? The answer to that would be because I'm trying to treat others the way I want to be treated. Well, why are you letting them treat you that way? Because I'm going to try to treat them the way I want to be treated, not how they treat me. So now we're getting down here where the proverbial rubber meets the road on things. Well, why do you put up with that? Because I'm trying to treat them the way I want to be treated, regardless of how they treat me. That's hard, friends. And the truth is, if we will live this way, Christianity will not slide off into oblivion. We will be salt and light. I promise you, if you try to live by something as simple as the golden rule, you are going to be different than this world. How many of us have families right now that are split into five different factions? Even among some who claim to be Christians because somebody refuses to bend the knee and treat others the way they want to be treated. How many of us have families like that? How many of us are in tough places Where we work, because too many, and I'm gonna tell you something, getting back into the workplace the last six months has made me wanna cry, just made me wanna cry, but anyway. How many of us deal with some tough situations at work because people run all over you? Or don't act right, or don't do right? You know what you're called upon as a Christian? Not to treat them the way they treat you, but to treat them the way you want to be treated. So not only is this a golden rule indeed because of its divine origin, but because of its difficulty. It's hard. It's not easy. If you think obeying the golden rule is easy, then just try it. It's not easy. Yes, there are times and situations when it'll be easier than others, but when it really gets hard, are you going to be a golden rule believer? Are you willing to die to self? To swallow your pride? To do things that you shouldn't have to do just because someone else didn't do what was right? Are you truly willing to sacrifice? Are you willing to be good to those that treat you awful? Here is one of them pull-pip moments. And I'm not trying to be sarcastic, but listen. You are not responsible for anyone except you. You're not responsible for anyone, and I'm not talking about parent, I'm talking about your relationship with others. You can't control how others behave, but you can control how you behave. The old nature. Here it is, okay, here's what the old nature. The old nature says, hey, hey, that's fine. You want to treat me that way? Bless God, I'll treat you that way. You want to be a jerk? I can be a jerk too. You won't shake my hand and bless God, I won't shake yours. Isn't that how the old nature acts? Isn't that how we feel? You walk around with your nose stuck up in the air? I can do the same thing. You won't speak to me? Bless God, I won't speak to you. And I'll go home and sleep just fine tonight. Isn't that how we feel? Isn't that how our old nature feels? That's not salty. That's not light. That's fleshly. That's carnal. You talk trash about me behind my back. And a golden rule Christian will sit there with their mouth shut and turn it over to God knowing that one day He's going to right all those wrongs. But the flesh says, I'm going to treat you the way you treat me. And it feels so good. I was just talking to someone the other day, and I couldn't help it. It was on my mind. He said, somebody did this to me, and you know what I did? I did it right back. And I said, well, that felt good, didn't it? He said, yeah. I said, that's not the way a Christian's supposed to behave. Of course, you can tell that went over like a lead balloon, but it is what it is. But our flesh says, hey, that's how you want it, fine. But our calling is not to do what pleases the flesh, but to do what is right before God. I've used this example before, and I don't want to. I don't want to be the hero of the story because I'm not, because I promise you I fail at this more than I ever succeed, which is why we should all be so grateful for the forgiving grace of God Almighty when we don't do the things we ought to do, right? But I remember on one occasion, that's when I worked for the post office, we would get third-class mail. Now, you might call that junk mail, but when you work in a post office, there's no such thing as junk mail. It's all good mail. I remember coming in one day, and we had these calendars. It was right about the end of the year. Mail volume was crazy heavy. Packages were crazy heavy. The number of packages, the volume was just crazy. It was busy. And then a hospital would put out an annual calendar. So you walk in and there's a stack of mail this high, and I'm not exaggerating, this high, where you would have to deliver a calendar to every box holder, every person. Doesn't matter if you had 785 mailboxes, everybody got one. Now as a side note, you gotta understand when you're a rule carrier like I was, You got paid the same rate to run that route whether it took you six hours or 12 hours. So it's not like it behooved you to stay out longer and do more work. And I remember walking in and seeing that stack of mail and thinking to myself, I'm only running this route today. I'm on a different route tomorrow. And they said we got three days to get this done. So you know what I thought? I'm going to leave this for brother man, let him and everybody else get it tomorrow, because I'm not running this route tomorrow. But then I thought, no, that's not how I would want to be treated. So I don't remember. I don't know if I took a half of them or a third of them. I don't remember what it was. But I remember the next morning when I came in to run a different route. The guy who had worked that route the day before did not take one single calendar. who claimed to be a Christian, and I think he was a Christian. He just was a Christian that had a very poor work ethic, but nonetheless. And when I walked in, I want you to listen. The people at the post office says, uh-huh, look how such and such did you. He left all that way. And he's supposed to be a Christian. He walks around the post office inviting people to church, giving away these gospel tracts. And he's supposed to be a Christian. Look how he's done you. Now he was going to run that route the next day. So you know what my mind said. Let him have it. Let him do all 785 of them on Friday by himself. But it had not been long since I had studied this passage, and I thought, I want to treat others the way I want to be treated. Now, I'm not the hero of the story, but I took my share of those calendars and delivered them. And do you know the people at the post office said, why are you taking those? Why would you do? Why? Because I said, that's how I want to be treated. It's the golden rule. That meant I had to spend more on gas, I had to make more stops, I did more work for no more money. Now I'm not trying to make the hero again, I'm a failure more than a success. But let me ask you, do you think that you can be a golden rule Christian and it not demand something of you? That means at work you're going to have to do somebody else's job that you shouldn't have to do. It means you're going to have to clean up some stuff that you didn't make a mess of, because it is doing to others as you would have them do unto you. And I know you say, this is all pretty talk sitting in a pulpit and in a church. Listen, do you want to have an impact in the lives of others? Do you? Then your standard is not what society says, and it is certainly not what feels good to the flesh. It is what your Christ has commanded you. Just think with me. It's a divine origin. It's very difficult. But think about some of the delightful results that could come if this simple precept was obeyed by everyone. Do you know that if everyone obeyed the golden rule, you wouldn't have to lock your doors at night? Just think, if I was going to treat you the way I want to be, I don't want you breaking into my house at night. And so if I'm going to treat you the way that I want to be treated, I'm not going to do that to you. I wouldn't have to worry, even as I have and my wife, I wouldn't have to worry about my two children traveling back home today, somebody snatching them up and selling them off. into sex slavery, which is so horrific in our country. Any of you dads and moms worry about those things? Grandparents? You wouldn't have to worry about that if people would just bow to the golden rule and treat others the way they want to be treated. Do you realize when offenses come, If we obeyed the Golden Rule, they would be lovingly and quickly resolved. Do you like it when somebody holds a grievance against you, puts you at arm's length, makes you pay penance for days or weeks on end? Do you like that? Then why would you do that to someone else? You ought to be a Golden Rule church member. You should treat others the way you want to be treated. You should desire, if you want to be heard, then listen. You want to be respected for your opinion, then respect the opinions of others. If you want to be loved and received, then be a person that loves others and embraces others. You should be a golden rule husband, a golden rule child, a golden rule wife, a golden rule employee, a golden rule employer. This is the Law and the Prophets. Everything that Jesus has said can be brought up under this. Treat people the way you want to be treated. A life yielded to the Golden Rule would bring an end to murder, theft, perjury, gossip, lies, domestic disputes, divorce, terrorism, conflicts, and war. I'm telling you, if you will just meditate on it, it will amaze you how something so simple could have such a profound effect on the world around us. If every single person treated others the way they wanted to be treated, we would value human life. We would not steal. We would not gossip. Let me ask you something. Do you like it when people gossip about you? Malign you behind your back? Spread rumors? Do you like that? Then don't do it to others. Treat people the way you want to be treated. Do you like it when people assume the worst about you? Maybe they hear a little something and they automatically assume the worst. Do you like that? I don't. Then don't do that to others. If we live by the golden rule, we would not force others, compel others to do something improper, contrary to their will. We would give second chances. Anybody here ever need a second chance? You need a second, second chance, a third second, you need 100? I do. If you want that, you know what you gotta do? You gotta be willing to give that. You want to be forgiven? Be forgiving. You want to find some common ground to work through your issues rather than attacking and maligning? Treat others the way you want to be treated. Give people the benefit of a doubt. It bothers me, and this is something I am really working on, not to leap to conclusions. Proverbs warns us again and again, Proverbs 18, 18, not to jump to conclusions. Everybody sounds like they're telling the whole truth when they're telling their side of it. Everybody sounds good when they're telling their side, don't we? And too often, if it's somebody, especially somebody we like, we will jump right in with them, ready to pass judgment when we've not heard the whole story. You want people to give you the benefit of the doubt? Treat others the way you want to be treated. I just thought about some practical things. Forgive me for just a moment. But I am firmly of the opinion, now this is not Bible, this is me speaking for a moment. Now when you're traveling down the interstate and the signs say Lane ends merge left or lane ends merge right. If you're one of those people, this is just me, that tries to run all the way up to the very end and then jump in at the last minute, you should be shot on sight. I'm a firm believer in that. Now, I know that's a little overstating it. You don't have to shoot your own sight. I just wish they had state patrolmen there that would catch you and make you sit there for an hour and wait every time. I really do. But here's my only argument, my only biblical, but treat others the way you want to be treated. If you're that person sitting in traffic who needs to get somebody to graciously let you cut in You want somebody to show you some kindness. Treat others the way you want to be treated. I worked in a grocery store for years prior to carrying the mail. I've seen this so many times. You would be standing in line at the grocery store. There'll be 10 deep lined up down the aisles. And then they open up a new register. And what happens? Everybody darts to that new register. They don't care about people standing in front of them. They don't care about the people who've been in line in front of them. Everybody wants to get out that door first. Is that how you want to be treated? Now those are just a couple little silly, perhaps, illustrations, but it is a way of life. It is character. It is putting others ahead of yourself, or at the least treating others the way you want to be treated. You see how selfish our society is? Our society says, forget them. I'm not letting them cut in. I don't care if that person's been standing in line 10 minutes longer than me. That register opens, I'm running over there. That's our society, and that's what our flesh likes, but that is not how we are to live. One more thing about this, one more very practical example. This part of obeying the golden rule is sometimes having hard conversations. If you saw me about to drive, you say the bridge is out and you saw me and I was about to drive across that bridge and you failed to warn me. Sometimes treating others the way you want to be treated means you've got to have a hard conversation with somebody and warn them that the path you're headed on is dangerous and deadly. It's going to lead to destruction. If you were headed down a deadly path, wouldn't you want somebody to warn you? Maybe it will not be received well, but we should still lovingly warn those who are headed down a dangerous path. If today you're here and you're a Christian, aren't you glad somebody told you about Jesus Christ and how to be saved? Aren't you glad somebody treated you the way they want? I want to tell you about Jesus of Nazareth who can save your soul. Who can give you everlasting life and an eternity in the presence of your Creator God. Who loved you and gave Himself for you. I want to tell you about Him. Many of you, I think, would be familiar with Penn and Teller. the magician comedians out in Las Vegas, I don't remember which one is which, one of them never speaks and the other one does, but whichever one it was, Penn or Taylor, whoever it was, one of them said, if you're a Christian and you really believe that there's only one pathway to heaven, there's no other way to get to God than through the finished work of Jesus, if you're a Christian and you really believe that, He said, how much would you have to hate me not to tell me that? How much would you have to hate me not to warn me about that? Sometimes treating others the way you want to be treated means having some hard conversations and saying to someone, I love you. But you're headed down a dark, dangerous path that's going to lead to destruction. I implore you, consider your ways. No one likes to get yelled at, scolded or embarrassed. But if we love, sometimes we've got to say. But then finally, this is it. The divine manifestation of this command. I have said this throughout the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus practiced what he preached. I'm glad And I think you would be as well. I'm glad that God did not look down from heaven and say, you know what? I'm just gonna treat them the way they treat me. I'm glad God didn't look down from heaven and say, you know what? They've mocked me, ridiculed me, cursed me, and crucified my son. I'm gonna treat them the same way they've done me. Aren't you glad God is more merciful than that, more forgiving than that? Did Jesus not treat others the way He would want to be treated? Did He not go the second mile? Did He not turn the other cheek? Did He not love the unlovable? Is He not the divine standard? Jesus practiced what He preached. He was good to those that hated Him, Praying even while on the cross, Father forgive them for they know not what they do. Loving and kind and gracious to all men. So Jesus, this is golden rule. Indeed, it's not so simply that something Jesus said, this is something Jesus lived. This is the King's standard. I'm glad that Jesus didn't say, you know what? You've rejected me, mocked me, and despised me. Now I'm going to treat you the same way. But instead of our mockery, cruelty, and rejection, He lovingly laid down His life for us. Aren't you glad of that? I want to close with this. regardless of what our society thinks. And even though it is hard and your flesh will fight against you, we must strive to become golden rule Christians. That is if we want to have an impact on society at large. God bless you.