If we randomly picked a child from the worship service this morning and asked her/him about the Golden Rule, s/he could probably recite it by heart. Variations of the Golden Rule exist in most major religions; even the unchurched know it:

 

Do to others as you would have them do to you.

 

Come to think of it, did you know that many of our everyday sayings came from the Bible? Here are a few:

• “The writing on the wall” (If you’ve never read this amazing story in Daniel 5, it’s awe-inspiring.)
• “The apple of my eye” (from Proverbs 7:2 and elsewhere)
• “Out of the mouths of babes” (This one is often taken out of context, but it comes from Psalm 8:2.)
• “Pride goes before a fall” (Proverbs 16:19, among many other references to pride)
• “The love of money is the root of all evil” (1 Timothy 6:10 – Notice that it says the love of money, not money alone.)
• “Eat, drink, and be merry” (It’s a sarcastic remark about the futility of life, but it does come from Ecclesiastes 8:15.)

 

Like these and many other biblical proverbs, the Golden Rule has gone mainstream. If it’s such a commonplace saying, then why is it so difficult to put into practice?

 

It seems easy enough, but just because it is familiar does not mean that we’ve learned all we can know about it. Let’s spend our prayer time this week focusing on bringing the Golden Rule from our heads down into our hearts.