It is very common for people to judge others. It is bad to judge others, but it is even worse to judge their intentions. Yet we do it all the time. It is also very common to suspect others, especially persons that we do not trust or like. We conveniently forget the Golden Rule formulated by the Prophet of Nazareth:
“Do to others what you like others to do to you (Mt.7, 12)”. Jesus declared that the entire law and the prophets are contained in this rule. If we follow this rule we do not need any other as all other rules, regulations, and guidelines for our life follow from this one supreme rule. It is also important to mention that this Rule was stated in another way by Confucius in his Analects:
“Do not do to others what you do not want them to do to you”. We want others to think well of us. If things can be interpreted in a positive or negative light, we want others to look at us favourably giving us the benefit of the doubt. Not only are we not willing to give others the benefit of the doubt, we are not even willing to concede that other persons are capable of changing for the better as we are. How often have I heard:
“Oh, he/she is never going to change”!
Today’s homework is: “How do I like to be treated by others?” I will have the answer for treating others.
