TOD 09.17.07

“Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” I love the Golden Rule, but does it always work? No. See, only people who already has a pretty good grasp on what is and is not good are qualified to perform the question. People with corrupt desires want others to do wicked things to them, just as they also want others to avoid doing some things unto them that would be good for them simply because they don’t recognize them as good.

Many so-called liberals make this mistake. They don’t see, for instance, that it can be extremely loving to criticize someone for a poor decision or to withhold from him the illicit sexual gratification he might desire. But that’s the point. People often want what is bad for them and they do not want what is good for them. But the fact that someone wants something doesn’t make it good, and love cannot require us to give people things they want which are bad for them.

And, although I love the Golden Rule, I hope that others will always love me enough to avoid giving me what I want if I shouldn’t have it, just as my friends, my wife, my parents, and my God generally do unto me.