1. THE CONTEXT OF THE RULE.
The word "therefore" draws us back to the words that preceded this verse. And as we look back, we see that Jesus has taught us about His Father's care for us through our prayers;
"Ask, and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!" (Matthew 7:7-11).
Here, Jesus teaches us that our heavenly Father is very good to us. If we ask for something good, He will not give us something bad. We can trust Him. If we ask Him for something, and we get something different than what we asked for, it's because our Father is so good to us that He will not give us something that's bad for us . . . even if we were to ask for it. In the end, that's how we would WANT Him to treat us! And so, when Jesus says, "Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them . . .", He's calling us to imitate the goodness that our Father shows to us.
But we can look back even further. Before that, Jesus says,
"Judge not, that you be not judged. For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. And why to you look at the speck in your brother's eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me remove the speck from your eye'; and look, a plank is in your own eye? Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye" (Matthew 7:1-5).
Why would Jesus tell us to do that? It's because that's how we would want to be treated. We wouldn't want someone to be judgmental toward us, or to behave toward us in a hypocritical manner. We wouldn't want someone to use us as a means of making themselves look good. And so, we shouldn't treat others that way either. (you can find more on this on http://www.bethanybible.org/archive/2005/051505.htm)
I always try to put myself in other people's shoes....I'm always asking what if I was in this situation? I'm the most considerate and thoughtful person...but sometimes that can be taken advantage of....so no when to say NO ha! You also have to remember to help YOURSELF FIRST before you can help others!! That's another reason why we have to have a PROSPERITY MINDSET!! You have to want the best for yourself! You can't give if you have nothing to give! God wants us to be prosperous and abundant so that we will have ENOUGH to give to others that are in need!!
2 Corinthians 8:9 "For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich."
Articles that I enjoyed reading in relation to this post:
God Wants Us To Be Rich To Help The Poor by Yeap Chee Seng
At The Cross Jesus Died Poor For Us To Live Rich by Yeap Chee Seng
The Real Secret - Do Unto Others By Stan Pontiere
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