Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount,
“So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.”
Matthew 7:12
He did not say,
“What you do not want done to yourself, do not do to others”
(see Ethic of Reciprocity)
The negative form would teach behaviour like this: If you do not enjoy being robbed, don’t rob others. If you do not like being cursed, don’t curse others…. If you do not care to be clubbed over the head, don’t club others over the head.
However, the positive form teaches behaviour like this: If you enjoy being loved, love others. If you like to receive things, give to others. If you like being appreciated, appreciate others.
The positive form is thus far more searching than its negative counterpart. Here there is no permission to withdraw into a world where I offend no one, but accomplish no positive good, either.
- D.A. Carson 1982
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