Do Unto Others

All my life I have heard this phrase.

"Do unto others what you would have them do unto you."

Most people have heard this phrase.  It's commonly known as "the golden rule."  However, taken out of context, it seems to mean simply what it says.

What you want done to you, do to others.

Loosely translated, the approach - or interpretation - of this phrase, can merely been seen as "be kind."  Simple enough, right?

Wrong.

Because if you're like me, you may do exactly what this phrase suggests.  You know what courtesies you would like others to extend to you, so you extend those exact same courtesies towards others.  Aaaaaand, that's where the problem lies.

Because every single person on this earth is different.  Your experiences, your past, has made you who you are as an individual right at this very moment.  How you interpret the world is different than how I interpret it; meaning, what courtesies I want extended to me, most likely do not match the courtesies you would like extended towards you.

So this phrase - in it's mere stated, out-of-context form - really tends to make things more complicated than simple.

What I want done to me, others may not want done to them.  And what others want done to them, I may not want done to me.

And if you think about it, approaching the world from this point of very can actually be pretty fucking selfish.  Because, essentially, you're taking into account what you like and how you want others to treat you...not thinking about others and what they might like and how they may want to be treated...which could be so extremely different from what you want.

So, yes, be kind to others.  Extend common courtesies to them.  But don't go around with the asinine, presumptuous mindset that everyone around you is like you, and therefore, must clearly like and dislike the things you like and dislike.  Or that they must want to be treated the same way you want to be treated.  Because there's a good chance, that they may not feel the same way you feel about certain things.


And take this phrase into context.

Its origin is from the Bible - Matthew 7:12, to be exact.

"Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets."

Or better yet, The Message translation:

"Here is a simple, rule-of-thumb guide for behavior: Ask yourself what you want people to do for you, then grab the initiative and do it for them. Add up God’s Law and Prophets and this is what you get."


That makes a little more sense, don't you think?