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Living Out Love: Do we really do it? The command to “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you” is motivated by a great love. A love for others and a genuine concern and deep soul rooted passion for people. A love that results in sacrifice. A love that clothes the naked and feeds the hungry. A love that says, “I really do care about you.” A love that makes a bitter man smile and the tender woman cry. A love that gives a true sense of hope. This is the motivator of the Golden Rule. Love is the nature of such a high calling and command. So, it would be safe to say that those who would live by this compassion centered teaching would have the key quality of love. So then, to claim that many live by this is to say that many people have the quality of deep love that accompanies such a teaching and lifestyle. And if I’m being quite honest that’s just not the case. So, few people actually have the great love that drives such a lifestyle. This, obviously, means that …show more content…
Have you ever wanted a hug? Or a surprise cookie? Or a “Hey, you look great today!” I know have. Or how about this, help with personal struggles? Advice on how to mend a broken relationship? Or true forgiveness from you a friend you really hurt? We can all identify with these situations. We have all, not expected, but wanted to be treated in this manner, in a manner of love. So, we all know that it is inherently in all of mankind to want validation and acceptance that is found in love. We have a desire to be shown such great love. So, if our desire is this, and many say that they live out the Golden Rule, why do we not see this mighty compassion in our daily lives? Think about it, when do you feel like you have truly treated another the way you really want to be treated. If the command itself entails that much love, then I’d say that few really follow
To sacrifice oneself and save others is what we've known as human love, and we have also learned that we should respect those who could perform that in any situation, but in reality, the numbers of those people who don't care about what others do seems much greater than the number of those who do. In Stephen Crane's story, "The Monsters", Henry Johnson who sacrifices himself into the fire in order to save a little boy gets treated like a monster just because his face has "burned away"(84). This is very serious problem because it's not what happens only in the book, but also in our present lives.
When I say that we should be compassionate, this does not mean helping others at the expense
I would hope that everyone behaves as we wish others to behave, because it shows you have integrity. Self-interest is not unethical; if you do not behave as we wish others to behave that is your personal choice and based on your ethical values. Many would think of “The Golden Rule”. However, it is easier to tell others to live by this rule than to actually put this rule into action. According to a newsletter written by William Scott Green, called Parsing Reciprocity: Questions for the Golden Rule, “The Golden Rule is easier to endorse than to enact. As a general moral principle or as an abstract statement of ethical value, the Golden Rule makes intuitive sense and enjoys wide acceptance across religions and cultures. But the generality and abstraction that enable its broad appeal make the Golden Rule problematic as a directive for practical action. Indeed, on Gert’s analysis, it is possible that the Golden Rule must be read figuratively or very expansively in order to be used, surely a challenge for any basic moral principle. The Golden Rule can be accepted unambiguously but applied only after considerable reflection and qualification.” After reading this article, it confirms to me that it is easier to tell others to behave as we wish others to behave than to actually do it. People will live by “The Golden Rule” only if they choose to in certain situations. My answer to this question does not conflict with my answer to question
“Treat others the way you want to be treated” is something burned into the minds of
Intention and action for the sake of others can only be one part of what makes a good person, one must also be in harmony with God’s will in order to attain grace. Jesus illustrates what such goodness looks like in his parable of giving to the poor, “ But when you give to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing so that your giving will be in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you” (Matthew, pg. 177). Reciprocity of action and intent for the sake of another is not in itself sufficient for goodness in Jesus’ eyes, according to him you must go beyond reciprocity and do things for their own sake in order to reach the favor of
We are commanded by God himself to “ Love thy neighbor as thyself”. Everyone on Earth is everyone else 's neighbor, therefore commanding everyone to love even the bitterest of enemies. Take into account the parable of the good samaritan. A Jew(Henry,753) was walking down a road and was ambushed by robbers who took all his belongings and beat him half to death, leaving him on the side of the road to die. Two men who were considered amongst the most righteous in their cities passed by the dying man. However, a samaritan, who was a sworn enemy of the Jews(Henry, 753), stopped and gave the man medical attention using expensive wines and oils on the man’s wounds. The samaritan then put him on his own donkey and brought him to an inn, and left two day’s worth of pay with the innkeeper to use to take care of the man(“Good”). This samaritan had no reason to help, in fact it would have been acceptable if he simply finished the man off, for they were bitter enemies. However, the samaritan man had love in his heart and obeyed the commands of moral law even though he had no reason to and couldn’t afford to either. What we can learn from the good samaritan is that doing the right thing often corresponds with moral law, and that intervention falls within the definition of the right thing to
...h of these concepts lead to the Golden rule ‘whatever a human being wishes to have done to them, do so to the other human being’. All human beings should exercise excellence, avoid negative emotions, and express a virtuous character. Aristotle’s goal of human life is to live a happy existence. Aristotle’s most important virtues belong to the moral character of the person. Virtue relates to the golden mean through having a middle ground/road between two extremes of deficiency and excess. Virtue relates to wisdom through having the knowledge to make the right decision and act accordingly. Thinking about what to do is practical and relates to how to choose and do what an intelligent and reasonable human being can in order to achieve goods in one’s life including the lives of other human beings, as well as maintain a good character and live life to the fullest.
Poets and philosophers for centuries have been trying to answer the question, what is love? Love has an infinite number of definitions, which vary from one person to another. Love cannot be measured by any physical means. One may never know what true love is until love it- self has been experienced. What is love? A four letter word that causes a person to behave in a way that is out of character. What is love? A first kiss, childhood crushes on a teacher or friend’s mom. What is love? A choice that people make by putting their partner’s wishes, desires and needs above everything else. What is love? The act of forgiveness, the infatuation with someone, the communication between two people. What is love? A friendship that turned into a lifelong commitment, that special someone who has vowed to spend the rest of their lives to honor and protect, to love each other “till death do you part.” When in love nothing else in the world matters. According to the online Encarta Dictionary love is the passionate feeling of romantic and sexual desire and longing for somebody. Poets and philosophers may never know what love really is, and we may never truly understand the question what is love.
...o unto you. Almost every individual has heard or been taught that this was the golden rule. Based on my understanding of altruism I believe that it does exist to a certain extent. I also agree with some of the psychologists who argue that most individuals who perform an act of altruism have alternative motives, whether the act is to make the person feel good about his or herself or because the person wants to receive a pat on the back or maybe the person has a guilty conscious. I came to these conclusions after evaluating my own scenarios.
The most well known quote from the Bible spoken by Jesus was The Golden Rule, this small quote contains a large amount of wisdom. In order to receive love one must give love first. If one wants to gain respect or be respected, one must give respect to others first even the ones that may be considered one?s enemy. If we wish to live a life that feels fulfilling, we must give openheartedly with others. Do to others, as you would have them do to you. "If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' love those who love them. In addition, if you do well to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' do that. In addition, if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' lend to 'sinners,' expecting to be repaid in full. However, love your enemies, do well to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. (NIV, Luke 6:31-35)
B. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Rating:1! Ahhh, the Golden Rule-you gotta love it. I suppose the only problem is like the example in the book of the African tribe that eats their dead, if I died there, they would eat me because they would want to be eaten. Very tricky.
When you take a trip half way around the world, the values are totally different. The Eastern religions, Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, to name a few, practice very different beliefs. They are more centered on love thy neighbor than the Christian Religion. This is not to say that Christians are wrong or act wrongfully, it just says that the difference in beliefs generates a significant difference in society. Here in America, our society claims we should love thy neighbor, but it tends to depend on who the neighbor is. We want our neighbors to be just like us. If they are not, then it becomes more difficult to show compassion. The Eastern religions practice compassion for all people, no matter who or what they are. In America, compassion is scarce. It's predominant in families and in small towns, but in the larger cities, it is hard to see if it exists at all. A movie has been made illustrating this point. It is called "Falling Down". It is about a man who has come to the end of his rope. He is tired of the way society has treated him, and he begins to fight back. He thinks he is doing the right thing, but he finally comes to realize that to do the right thing you can't think only of yourself.
Some people believe that there is no such thing as “true love” they believe that love is nothing but an illusion designed by social expectations. These people believe that love ultimately turns into pain and despair. This idea in some ways is true. Love is not eternal it will come to an end one way or another, but the aspect that separates true love from illusion, is the way love ends. “True Love” is much too powerful to be destroyed by Human imperfection; it may only be destroyed by a force equal to the power of love. Diotima believed that “Love is wanting to posses the good forever” In other words love is the desire to be immortal and the only way that we are able to obtain immortality is through reproduction, and since the act of reproduction is a form of sexual love, then sexual love is in fact a vital part of “True love”. Sexual love is not eternal. This lust for pleasure will soon fade, but the part of love that is immortal, is a plutonic love. You can relate this theory to the birth of love that Diotima talks about. She says that love was born by a mortal mother and immortal father. The mother represents the sexual love, the lust for pleasure. The father represents the plutonic love that is immortal. Plutonic love is defined as a true friendship, the purest of all relationships. A true plutonic love will never die; it transcends time, space, and even death.
I disagree and would argue that being in love and loving someone has two very different meanings. The word love is used too loosely. Loving someone and being in love with someone are two very different things. Although I am not a love master, being only 19 years old and in two serious relationships in my life, I have come to realize being in love is something special. I believe when you are in love it’s not a choice, that person is picked for you. You are addicted to them, you want all your friends and family to love them as much as you do, you are there when they succeed and there when they fail, you miss them every minute you are apart and you unconditionally love them, even when times get hard.
What is love? Love is a very special and meaningful word to each human being. Each human being has his/her own thoughts about love to guide himself/herself to land safely and smoothly into the kingdom of Love. Without this preconceived idea of love, people would be acting like a blind person searching for the light with thousand of obstacles in front of him.