A Reflection from the Fuel Daily Readings App for the Seventh Sunday of Ordinary Time. Click here to read the reading.

Do to others as you would have them do to you. The Golden Rule - most of us would have heard it at some point in our lives. My ears still ring from my childhood days, when my mother would lecture my younger brother and me constantly to treat each other the way we would like to be treated. Or, at the very least, to pretend to get along!

But take a second to go back and really read what Jesus is saying here: do to others as you would have them do to you. He says to treat others. As in, other people than your group of friends or your family. Other people than who you would normally see every day or spend the most time with.

The Golden Rule isn’t just about showing respect to others, though this is important. It is an encouragement to get outside of the circle of people you usually hang with. It’s about showing love, compassion and mercy to everyone.

Ask yourself, who are other people in your life? Is there someone at school, at work, in your street, or on your sporting team that you haven’t spoken with before? When you treat others as you would want to be treated, it becomes a lot easier to not judge or condemn others, to forgive others and to love your enemies.

+ Lord, help me to see all the people in my life and in my community as you see them. Help me to think first with love, mercy and compassion rather than judgement or condemnation. Help me to forgive those I have hurt. And help me to become more giving to those who have the most need. Amen.