Rediscovering the Golden Rule – the Lost Key to Relationships
We have forgotten the number one lesson Jesus taught us about daily life. And we all suffer as a result.
We need to rediscover the Golden Rule.
The Golden Rule – a central teaching from the Sermon on the Mount – is surely one of the most important things Jesus ever said. Yet it has largely disappeared from the public consciousness. And those who do remember it often misunderstand or misapply it.
In Unto Others, Dave Swavely explains why the meaning of the Golden Rule needs to be recovered today, and how it can be a great key to success in our personal and collective relationships – when practiced the right way.
Remember “WWJD”? The Prayer of Jabez? Christians have always appreciated the benefit of concise maxims to help remember and apply important principles and promises from God’s Word. Sayings like that have proven helpful at times and been problematic at others, but the Golden Rule is different. It is a divinely inspired, always correct way of remembering and applying “all the law and prophets,” because that’s what it represents and summarizes, according to Jesus (Matthew 7:12).
Despite the prominence given to the Golden Rule by Christ, and the fact that almost all Christians used to memorize and quote it frequently, this is the only modern book on the subject written from a pastoral and theological perspective. In Unto Others, Dave Swavely unravels the mystery of why this lost treasure has been neglected for so long, makes a clear case for its return to prominence in our thinking and actions, and walks us through a set of very practical steps for using it in our everyday lives.
This book will also be helpful to those interested in comparative religions and the uniqueness of Christianity, since forms of the Golden Rule existed prior to Christ, yet he pioneered a distinct version and approach to it. And those concerned with mercy ministry, social justice, and political theory will also welcome the many insights Swavely provides into the use of the Golden Rule in recent American history.
