What's So Golden About the Golden Rule?

There is probably no moral principle more globally accepted than the Golden Rule. Matthew 7:12 (English Standard Version) delivers the Golden Rule by which all followers of Christ are to live: “So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.” Having spent most of my career with Volunteers of America (VOA), sitting across from those we serve, I understand the Golden Rule deeper than I ever thought possible. Listening to the stories of those who have been marginalized, ostracized, and left to fend for themselves throughout their lives is a humbling experience. To minister to them is an even more humbling experience.

There have been moments of shame for me to be part of humankind, hearing of the horrific ways people treat each other. There have also been moments of pride to see my church, Volunteers of America, step in and give someone a second chance to live the life they deserve. Vorster writes, “The undeserved grace of God urges the faithful not to exalt themselves at the expense of others, but to respect each other and serve each other in humility as Christ has done for humankind (Phil 2:5-7).”[1] These words are the basis for serving all people with dignity and respect, the foundation for the Golden Rule.

Serving Others with Dignity and Respect

As a VOA ordained minister, the words “dignity and respect” always reverberate. Working for a church and human services organization that always steps forward to help the most vulnerable, we take on the most difficult tasks to help the most underserved, including those with intellectual disabilities and mental health issues. Our website explains who we are:

We are more than a nonprofit organization. We are a ministry of service that includes nearly 16,000 paid, professional employees dedicated to helping those in need rebuild their lives and reach their full potential.

Through our hundreds of human service programs, including housing and healthcare, Volunteers of America touches the lives of 1.5 million people in over 400 communities in 46 states as well as the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico each year. Since 1896, we have supported and empowered America’s most vulnerable groups, including veterans, at-risk youth, older adults, men and women returning from prison, individuals and families experiencing homelessness, people with disabilities, and those recovering from substance use disorders. Our work touches the mind, body, heart — and ultimately the spirit — of those we serve, integrating our deep compassion with highly effective programs and services.[2]

We serve Jesus’ “least of these” (Matt 25:40). Yet, this “About Us” description only presents an overview of the organization. It does not aptly reflect what is happening at the local level, one-on-one with thousands of dedicated staff committed to serving those most in need with dignity and respect, living and working by the Golden Rule. In a twist of fate, some Volunteers of America staff members are former clients. They have been on the other side, and their new role and ability to “do unto others” is an act of reciprocity. Jesus, too, had been on the other side, an outcast, “for not even His brothers believed in Him” (John 7:10). His hometown rejected Him (Mark 6:6). He was mocked and ridiculed (Matt 27:27-34). Like Jesus, these clients, now VOA employees, are among the most compassionate, dedicated, and hardworking. They wholeheartedly understand what it means to serve others with dignity and respect.

I believe the Golden Rule is not simply a tenet to live by but must become a mindset woven deep inside a person’s being, the default mode for interaction with all people. In working with adults with intellectual disabilities and mental health issues, this modus operandi is essential. In a sense, the Golden Rule is a virtue. Steele writes,

"Aristotle sets down three conditions that must be met if an action is to be regarded as the manifestation of a particular virtue in the person who performs it. First, the person must know what she is doing when she acts; second, the person must choose to do the action (it cannot be coerced), and do it for its own sake (it cannot be a mere pragmatic strategy for some selfish end); and third, the action ‘must proceed from a firm and unchangeable character' (Aristotle, trans. 1998, II.4, 1105a30-1105b8, p. 34)."[3]

Thus, the Golden Rule as a virtue is never planned, strategized, or applied but instinctively given in equal measure to all, as to one’s closest family members and friends. It becomes second nature done as naturally as breathing.

Empathy and Compassion

Throughout Scripture, Jesus demonstrated this innate virtue of doing unto others. He fed the hungry (Matt 14:13-21), for He, too, had experienced hunger.

We read in Matthew 4:1-2, “Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after fasting forty days and forty nights, He was hungry.”

There is a deep level of empathy that accompanies the Golden Rule. Livermore states, “Empathy is the ability to imagine ourselves in someone else’s position and to intuit what that person is feeling. . . . it enhances our ability to stand in the shoes of the Other to see with that person’s eyes, and to feel with his or her heart.”[4] Building empathy for one another increases our ability to show compassion in what we say and do. Thus, being empathetic and compassionate to what others may feel is critical to responding to their needs as we would want them to respond to ours. As Livermore explains, “True empathy leads to mutuality and investment rather than condescending sympathy.”[5] Jesus did not want us to feel sorry for people but to climb “into another’s mind to experience the world from that person’s perspective.”[6]

Jesus embodies compassion as He cures lepers, a group others avoided (Matt 8:3). He casts out demons to restore men’s lives (Matt 8:28-32). He heals paralyzed people, as scribes rebuke Him (Matt 9:1-7) and raises the dead when others unbelieve and laugh as they look on (Matt 9:18-26). He heals the blind and the mute (Matt 9:27-28, 32-33). Jesus set an example for doing unto others by demonstrating deep empathy and compassion, treating people with dignity and respect, and recognizing the worth of every individual. Although Steele focuses the following portion of his writing on the reverence for human life as a virtue, its relationship to the Golden Rule is evident. This portion is so cohesive and on point for this post that I must share it with you. He insightfully and beautifully writes,

"Reverence for human life is thus not only a crucial Christian virtue in its own right, but decisively modifies the manner in which other Christian virtues are practiced. [For faithful and effective ministry to and with people with disabilities], its importance lies in the fact that it properly locates the source of human dignity and worth in God’s inexpugnable stamp upon their lives, and in God’s irrevocable promise of love for them in Jesus Christ. Since these things are shared equally by all persons, regardless of their aptitudes or achievements, the minister who assiduously cultivates this virtue will be warned against the all-too-human tendency to look down in pity or condescension upon those whose physical or mental capacities are impaired. On the contrary, he will learn to look upon them with wonder and gratitude, as persons who manifest the divine image in ways that challenge our worldly proclivity to assign value to people on the basis of their conformity to cultural ideals of physical beauty, social grace, professional accomplishment, etc. Indeed, it is not too much to suggest that persons with disabilities are sometimes the very ones who are in the best position to teach the church why human life is sacred."[7]

I have found these words valid in working with adults with intellectual disabilities and mental health issues through Mary Marshall Ministry. Every 30-minute worship experience with them humbled me with their genuine enthusiasm and joy for the Lord. As Steel observes, I am often in “wonder and gratitude” to those and the God I serve for the opportunity to share in their spiritual lives. It puts my life in perspective, and I humbly see where I need their ministering to help me grow as much as they need mine. It is a ministry of reciprocity. We generously “do unto each other.” And that, my friends, is golden.

A Musical Sidenote

Spending my teen years in the late sixties and early seventies, Joe South’s song “Walk a Mile in My Shoes” came to mind in writing this post. The lyrics below capture the importance of seeking another’s view of the world to understand their perspective. Only then can we truly embrace the Golden Rule in how we live, love, and care for one another.

“Walk a Mile in My Shoes”

by Joe South[8]

If I could be you And you could be me For just one hour If we could find a way To get inside Each other's mind, mm-hmm If you could see you Through my eyes Instead of your ego I believe you'd be Surprised to see That you've been blind, mm-hmm Walk a mile in my shoes Walk a mile in my shoes Hey, before you abuse Criticize and accuse Walk a mile in my shoes Now, your whole world You see around you Is just a reflection And the law of karma Says you're gonna reap Just what you sow, yes you will So unless You've lived a life Of total perfection You better be careful Of every stone That you should throw, yeah And yet we spend the day Throwing stones At one another 'Cause I don't think Or wear my hair Same way you do, mm-hmm Well, I may be Common people But I'm your brother And when you strike out And try to hurt me It's hurtin' you, Lord have mercy Walk a mile in my shoes Walk a mile in my shoes Hey, before you abuse Criticize and accuse Walk a mile in my shoes There are people On reservations And out in the ghettos And brother, there But for the grace of God Go you and I, yeah, yeah And if I only Had the wings Of a little angel, yeah Don't you know I'd fly To the top of the mountain And then I'd cry, hey Walk a mile in my shoes Walk a mile in my shoes Hey, before you abuse Criticize and accuse Better walk a mile in my shoes (Drop what you're doin') Walk a mile in my shoes Walk a mile in my shoes Uh, before you abuse Criticize and accuse Walk a mile in my shoes, yeah Walk a mile in my shoes Walk a mile in my shoes Hey, before you abuse Criticize and accuse Walk a mile in my shoes

Mary Marshall Ministry invites you to come and experience the joy of sharing your faith with adults with intellectual disabilities and mental health issues. Visit or call us today. Learn how to become a part of your community’s ministry serving Jesus’ “least of these.”

YoutTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=In4UDYxxqVU

____________________ [1] Nico Vorster, “A Theological Perspective on Human Dignity, Equality and Freedom,” Verbum et Ecclesia 33, no. 1 (2012): 5, https://doi.org/10.4102/ve.v33i1.719. [2] Volunteers of America, “About Us,” accessed November 18, 2022, https://www.voa.org/about-us. [3] Richard B. Steele, “Christian Virtue and Ministry to Persons with Disabilities,” Journal of Religion, Disability & Health 14, no. 1 (2010): 30, https://doi.org/10.1080/15228960903517307. [4] David A. Livermore, Cultural Intelligence: Improving Your CQ to Engage Our Multicultural World, Youth, Family, and Culture Series (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Academic, 2009), 159-160. [5] Ibid., 160. [6] Ibid. [7] Steele, “Christian Virtue,” 41. [8] Joe South, “Walk a Mile in My Shoes,” 1970, AZLyrics, accessed November 21, 2022, https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/joesouth/walkamileinmyshoes.html.