Climbing Up Higher!

There’s a joke about mountain climbing that asks, “Why do mountain climbers tie themselves together? The answer makes complete sense to me — “So nobody can turn back.” My aim in this little article is not to talk about mountains or mountain climbing per se. It is about a teaching of Jesus that, like mountain climbing, requires determined and sustained effort to go up higher. The teaching has long been known as “The Golden Rule.” Found in Matthew 7:12 it reads this way — “Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.” Luke 6:31 states it this way — “Do to others as you would have them do to you” (New International Version). That principle is easy to understand but not always so easy to practice because some people just seem bent on doing to you what they jolly well please. So what does the Golden Rule have to do with mountain climbing? To quote one preacher, “The Great Commandment is probably the most universally praised statement that Jesus ever made. It has been called ‘the topmost peak of social ethics ... the Everest of ethical teaching.’ ” Why would anyone make that comparison? You may or may not know that Mount Everest, part of the Himalayan Mountain range on the border between Nepal and China, is the tallest mountain peak in the world (29,032 above sea level). Even pictures and videos of its height evoke awe and wonder that any sane person would dare try to climb it! Successfully reaching the summit of Everest is viewed and praised almost universally as the pinnacle of achievement in mountaineering.

 

Back to the words quoted above. The Golden Rule is “probably the most universally praised statement Jesus ever made.” In similar words, David Roper said, “Almost everyone admires these words — even people who do not live by the precept admire the principle.” But that’s precisely the problem, isn’t it? It’s one thing to praise Jesus’ teaching but quite another to practice it. Some 8.1 billion people now share space on Planet Earth according to recent United Nations estimates. It is abundantly clear that if life is to be livable and doable human beings must observe certain rules of behavior toward each other. Jesus squeezes the grand solution to interpersonal relational problems into the few words of the Golden Rule — “Do to others as you would have them do to you.” The following will illustrate. Ed called his mother one week after moving into a new apartment to complain about his neighbors. He said, “I can’t believe it, Mom. I’m surrounded by people with problems. One woman cries all night, another lies in bed moaning, and then there’s the guy next door who screams and just keeps beating the wall.” Ed’s mother advised, “You better keep away from them.” Ed said, “I do. I just stay inside and play my tuba all night.” There’s a right time and place to play a tuba — but I’m pretty sure playing it all night in your apartment is not loving your neighbor or practicing the Golden Rule. The Golden Rule has never tarnished. When observed, it changes the world and makes it more kind, forgiving and loving. Edwin Markham said, “We have committed the Golden Rule to memory; let us now commit it to life.” You may never attempt to climb Mt. Everest. But you go up higher anytime you do to others as you would have them do to you.

 

  by:   Dan Gulley, Smithville, TN