Do Unto Others As You Would Have Them Do Unto You (Part 2)

In blog article Do Unto Other As You Would Have Them Do Unto You (Part 1), I gave a brief synopsis and example of why we should treat each person we meet with respect. People have long memories and may hold grudges long after an incident has passed and the key to avoiding much conflict is probably to treat people the way we would want to be treated ourselves in the same situation.

I believe most of what I write, can be applied in different contexts, for example, a personal dynamic between two people could be extrapolated into a dynamic in the office or a dynamic between governments and nations. If individual people who are treated badly on a personal level harbour grudges towards other people, could the same principle be applied to nationalities or cultures who believe they have been treated badly? I wrote a blog article called Learning From the Fear That's Motivation For Discrimination, in which I mention that much animosity between people may be due to learnt fear and generational fear.

As an example, in South Africa the majority of the population was excluded from the core of power when apartheid was in place. (Apartheid is translated from the Afrikaans as separateness or being kept apart.) Apartheid ended in 1994, when the minority allowed a democracy to take over, and effectively handed power over. How do you think the majority now felt towards the minority? I have heard many say that the majority perception now is that the minority should leave the country, a country whom many from both minority and majority groups have lived in for hundreds of years. People who live in other countries seem to feel this is a legitimate claim by the majority too, yet some of these countries may have the same background history as South Africa does, and were also colonised by immigrants hundreds of years ago, some willingly and some brought by force, like slaves and convicts. If you migrate to live in a new country, or you are born and spend your whole life there, how would you feel when the majority of the population now say to you that you must leave because your forefathers stole the land? How would you feel if you have no other country to call home?

What happens when a stranger walks into your life, especially a stranger who has a different culture and language to you? Do you exclude the person or are you accepting? Is your reaction sincere or not? Does the person find a job easily when he or she approaches employer after employer? What do you think the person starts to feel towards the community if he or she struggles to fit in? Is the person from a minority group? What happens if most people from the same minority group experience a sense of exclusion from the majority in the community? Is it possible for hate to form? What happens when the minority group becomes the majority group in future years?

The past can never be undone. We can only move forward from past mistakes. What would happen if we broke cycles of hatred and allowed forgiveness and love for fellow man to spread instead? I believe Jesus held the answers in the many words He spoke over 2000 years ago. Read the New Testament for yourself to see why I say so, especially chapters Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. You may not believe Jesus is the Son of God, but His words hold truth.

"And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen. " (Matthew 28:18-20 KJV)

Link to related blog articles:

Remember the Way Things Used to Be?