It appears to me that there has been a shift in this nation regarding how we relate to one another. Growing up I was reminded again and again to be aware of how other people were being affected by what I did. That was true of life in general, it was true in school, and it was true about driving. The clear message was that we are all living in this world together and we need to take others into consideration.
In my opinion, currently, the main concern now is to take care of your self, let others take care of themselves. That’s reflected in how people treat one another around economics (remember the hoarding of toilet paper during the Covid pandemic), around how people relate to strangers and in the political arena. Again and again I’m reminded how the world has changed in the last seventy years.
I want it to be clearly understood that the policy of “me first,” whether talking about me as an individual, my family, or my nation isn’t a Christian attitude. I don’t mean this to be political, but I have to point out what the scripture clearly says.
The words of Jesus are recorded in Matthew 7:12, “So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.” This maxim or ones very similar is included not only in our Christian scriptures but in the holy writings of most religions around the world. It seems that God really wanted people to do this regardless of whether or not they were followers of Jesus.
In Philippians the second chapter, verses 3-4, Paul puts it another way but is saying the same thing as Jesus. “3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, 4 not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.” One thing that seems clear to me is that humility is related to how we treat others.
This idea does raise at least one question. Does that mean we ignore ourselves and our needs? Are we supposed to ignore our family’s needs? However, the scripture also is clear about the expectation that family care for one another. Paul writes to Timothy about this in First Timothy 5:8. “But if any do not take care of their relatives, especially the members of their own family, they have denied the faith and are worse than an unbeliever.” Here it is clear we cannot ignore family and expect to be approved of by God.
We have to do both, take care of family and care for others. We have to consider the needs of others in everything we are doing. When Jesus said to “do for others what you would have them do for you,” he didn’t make any exceptions. It doesn’t matter if the person looks like you (racial background), talks like you (language), lives a different lifestyle than you, or worships like you, they are still “others” and you are to treat them in the same way you want them to treat you—NO EXCEPTIONS.
This doesn’t mean to ignore your own need. Ignoring what is truly needed for yourself will result in you becoming incapacitated physically, emotionally, intellectually, and spiritually. If that happens you won’t be able to care for any of the needs of others. However, one does need to be clear about what is needed and what is just a want, something desired but not really “needed.”
Ross T Lucas 