THE GOLDEN RULE: The Challenge
“Do to others as you would have them do to you”–Luke 6:31
Teacher: “Remember about bucket filling? We are supposed to fill each others buckets”
Student: “But she’s emptying mine”
Teacher: “That’s the challenge. We still need to do good to others even if they do something that we don’t like”
Student: “That’s hard”
Exactly. It’s hard! I won’t deny that.
This was the conversation I had with one of the students here at YCS when the child was in a difficult situation with a classmate. And it is indeed hard. Not just for them but also for us adults.
The school theme “Do to others as you would have them do to you” is the simplified version of the complete passage from Luke 6:27-36.
Love for Enemies
27 “But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. 29 If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them. 30 Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. 31 Do to others as you would have them do to you.
32 “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. 33 And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. 34 And 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. 35 But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because He is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. 36 Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
The passage is deep and has more meaning to it. It may also mean different things to readers depending on their backgrounds, knowledge of the Bible, and experiences in life. I don’t take this passage literally that we have to let others slap us or give our clothes or property. It does not make people around us an enemy. It is not about letting others mistreat us. It is about ACTING IN LOVE EVEN WHEN OTHERS ARE NOT.
How are we different from those who act negatively if we are only good to those who are good to us. This is the challenge not only to students but to us teachers, staff, and parents. Every single one of us has tripped over this command many times. Small or big. But if reminding students to act in love even if it’s hard results in them acting positively then I would be happy to continuously remind them. Teachers and staff of Yokohama Christian School share the same goal of training and guiding students to be bucket fillers. Everyday we see heart filling acts at the YCS. There were also times when students struggled with this but it was such a wonderful 1st term to see the growth of these children.
Some of the bucket filling acts I observed from different classes were:
*Helping the teachers and classmates to put away stuff
*Assisting and being compassionate to a younger or crying child even when they are just 1 or 2 years older.
*Constantly greeting teachers and staff
*Willing to change seats or papers or willing to be flexible for a classmate to feel comfortable
*Helping classmates first before helping themselves.
There are definitely more acts of love not mentioned but the school do want this theme to have an impact in the childrens’ lives so they can take this lesson wherever they go.
Below are the lyrics of our school theme song this year. You might have heard it from your child many times already but I do want to share it to end this blog.
Happiness/ Hug/ Love is something if you give it away,
you give it away, you give it away.
Happiness/ Hug/ Love is something if you give it away,
then it comes right back to you.
Hold on tight and you won ‘t get any.
Lend it, spend it, give it away.
Then it comes right back to you.
