(a Steve Orr scripture reflection)
I like pithy sayings. The shorter, the better. I’ve collected a few over the years that help me stay focused on what is important. For example, Yogi Berra’s guidance: “If you come to a fork in the road, take it.” At first, we laugh. It sounds a little ridiculous. But then we find real wisdom buried in that humor: Don’t dither forever over a choice; make it and move on.
I also love this thought I once heard from a Texan: “If all you can do is all you can do, then all you can do is enough.” That one is a real comfort in stressful times. “First, do no harm” does an excellent job of summing up the medical world’s much longer Hippocratic Oath, and it works as another great guideline for my own personal operating procedures.
A while back, I learned one that comes from a story in the Jewish Talmud. It’s about a rabbi who was challenged one day by a non-Jew. This person pledged to convert to Judaism if the rabbi could express the entire Torah while standing on one foot. It wasn’t a true pledge. The challenger was actually mocking the rabbi.
Nevertheless, the rabbi immediately stood on one foot and said, “What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbor.” This is sometimes called “The Silver Rule.” I think any follower of Jesus can recognize how similar this is to “The Golden Rule” (“Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”) In fact, I think this Silver Rule may better capture the true spirit of the more famous one. With that said, it’s worth our while to explore these two sayings. As hard as it may be to believe, some people end up doing bad things to others in the name of The Golden Rule.
I write this comparison of “rules” and true meanings because of this week’s passage from 2 Corinthians. The Apostle Paul was in the middle of asking the members of the church at Corinth to supply funds for the relief of Jesus’ followers in other places who were experiencing great financial need.
I have often heard the passage used to guilt people into giving money to a church or ministry. Frequently left out of the guilting is the explanation Paul supplies: “I do not mean there should be relief for others and pressure on you.” He goes on to say he only wants them to give “out of their abundance” to those others who are in need—as opposed to putting themselves in poverty to help. Also, he would expect a reciprocal arrangement should they ever be in need and want other churches to send money to them.
Maybe it’s a subtle point, but I feel it needs to be underscored. I just keep meeting people who think they must impoverish themselves to be considered “real” Christians. God loves us and, for the most part, only asks of us what we can do. If, on occasion, we find ourselves stretched, it is only because God knows we are capable of it.
So, taking all this into account, I’ve crafted a new guideline for my personal operating procedures: “In doing your good, do no harm, even to yourself.”
That’s the road I choose.
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Yogi sets the record straight on what he meant by “When you come to a fork in the road, take it.”
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