Lesson Four: The Golden Rule
Devotion #2: Crossing Puddles and Oceans
Alyssa Fairse

Matthew 7:12 contains the Golden Rule, “So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.”

I complain way more than I would like to admit. For a long time, I found myself complaining about the most simple things: cooking dinner, doing the dishes, and taking out the trash. It was easy for me to serve the Lord in all the ways I wanted to. However, when it came down to serving the Lord in the places of my life that did not fit my idea of worship or that even made me uncomfortable, I became bitter while doing them. I found myself saying things along the lines of:

  • My husband made me mad, so I will not do his laundry today.
  • My friend canceled on me again, so I will not watch her kids on Saturday like I promised.
  • I do not want to be here, I just want to go home.
  • This woman has been nothing but mean to me, she does not deserve anything from me.

Often, when we do something for someone, we think we are doing it directly for that person in that moment, and in a lot of ways, we are. Every interaction we have with people affects them. It can be from simple hellos, to picking something up off the floor when they drop something.

I want to offer a different perspective on serving. These small and large interactions could very well determine someone’s salvation one day. Someone recently said to me, “You may be the only Bible some people will ever read.” That phrase alone changed my whole mindset on how I am called to love others efficiently.

Matthew 20:28 sets the tone, “Even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Jesus did not spend His time on earth worrying about all of the ways people wronged Him. We are all aware of how much they truly did wrong Him, to the point of the cross where even there, Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34). Jesus spent His time here on earth loving everyone He came into contact with. He focused on helping the blind see, healing those with sickness, feeding the hungry, and turning the broken away from sin. He did not bother asking, “Are they worthy of this?” or “What have they done for me?” Jesus was not worried about what they had done at all. Instead, He came with the perspective of, “How can I serve them?”

I think it is important that we all have this mindset. In today’s society, we often hear phrases along the lines of, “Do not cross oceans for people who would not cross a puddle for you.” I am here to encourage you to do it anyway. Serve others and help bring them to Jesus. At the end of the day, that is the only thing that will ever matter in this life. Matthew 25:35-40 tells us exactly that. When we serve others, it is not just for them. It is directly for the Lord and His Kingdom. In every way we serve, whether small or big, it is for the glory of the Lord! It does not matter if we think someone is worthy of it; it does not even matter if we personally like the person we are doing something for. It only matters that we “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” (Matthew 6:33).

Our flesh will continuously tell us not to serve others. Our flesh will even deceive us into thinking things like, “This person does not actually need help,” “This makes me too uncomfortable, so I’m just not going to bother,” or “Someone else will help them.”

I encourage you to ignore all of those thoughts and do it anyway!

At first, the act of serving others may be uncomfortable for some of you. This is uncommon ground for a lot of people. When fleshly thoughts pop into your head, remind yourself, “I am not called to be comfortable. I am a child of the most high King and I am called to be His hands and feet!” Eventually, serving others and His Kingdom will come so naturally to you that it will not even be a second thought. You will not bother wondering if you are making the right choice or if the other person is worthy of it. You will just have the desire and heart to do it, and you will have the desire to do it without complaining.

Lastly, in every opportunity that God gives you to serve, I encourage you to start asking yourself two questions.

  • Is this what glorifies the Lord?
  • Is this what I would like to have done to me?

More often than not, the answer to both of those questions is yes.