Page 5 - 2015 On The Path

El Dorado NEWS-TIMES – Sunday, October 25, 2015 – 5
Apply the Golden Rule to learn how to treat others
By Rev. Charles T. Chapman Jr. Special to the News-Times
Most of us know how we feel when we are mistreated, as well as when we are treated well by others. Is it so hard to imagine that others feel something simi- lar when we treat them well or ill?
The Golden Rule is not a plan to try to make others act a certain way: “I will treat others the way I want to be treated, so they will treat me that way.” No, it is a rule to teach us how to treat others: “How should I treat others? I should treat them the way I want to be treated.”
There are several reasons why the Gold-
enRuleistheidealmoralcompass. Some form or another of it is known in most cultures around the world; it is a uni- versal principle. It applies to almost any situation we may encounter. In the form we know it — “Do unto others” — it is proactive; it doesn’t just tell us what not to do, it tells us what to do. A person need not believe in God to accept it as a valid moral principle.
It is very similar to the Categorical Imperative of the philosopher Immanuel Kant, which basically states the same principle as the question our teachers and
parents asked: “What if everybody did that?” And, it helps us have a principled approach to ethical decision-making. Instead of listing a rule for every little situation, it provides a principle that ad- dresses most, if not all choices we may have to make.
There are other principles which might be cited, such as “Love thy neighbor as thyself.” The Golden Rule is in complete harmony with them.
It is a moral compass everyone can use.
Rev. Charles T. Chapman Jr. is pastor of St. Mary’s Episcopal Church in El Dorado.
A simple tool to equip each person and community with a moral compass is the Golden Rule: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” This is so well known that, when the Pope began to quote it in his recent speech before Congress, he barely said “Do unto others...” when
a standing ovation interrupted him.
Chapman
Righting the moral ship begins in our churches
By Lt. Charles Smith Special to the News-Times
Habakkuk 3:2, “O Lord, I have your speech, and was afraid: O Lord, revive thy work in the midst of the years make known: in wrath remember mercy.” The prophet Habakkuk lived in wicked days, the laws of the land was not enforced; there was no legal protection for innocent people who were sentenced as if they were guilty of a crime. The courts were manipulated and the whole nation was suffering because of the evils of the government. It seemed as if God was not sovereign in His dealings with men, but this was not the case.
There are a large amount of peo- ple in our time that have this same mindset and wondered where God has been with our Nation facing evil and despair. I believe that many people look upon God as a spare tire. A spare tire is forgotten about for months until suddenly you have a flat on the road. Then you need the spare tire to be in good condition, ready for use. Just so, many forget God during the times when things go well for them, but when an emergency happens they want God to be on hand, immediately
Lt. Charles and Teri Smith
ready to hear and answer the cry of their distress.
There are many people that want the kind of preaching that will allow them to serve the devil all week, then go to church Sunday without losing self-respect. Our society makes it easy for those that want to sin, but hard for those that want to follow the moral compass that is found in the Lord Jesus Christ.
There are some people that need to have a spiritual awakening and put the devil in the hospital before Halloween. If this town sags morally today it is partially our fault as ministers for not preaching against sin and preaching
for Holiness. We can see the statistics in the newspaper, if men are staggering and reeling and vomiting and spewing down the street after coming out of the bar; if girls are selling their woman- hood, hanging around our convenient stores and our restaurants, over-per- fumed and under-dressed, it is our fault. The trouble is not with God, but with the citizenship of our town.
ItisnotwithGod,anditisupto you what this town will do. The Pope, Poet and Philosopher sums it up this way, “Just as the twig is bent the tree’s inclined.” God’s moral advice to people today is to repent and forsake their sins, and fall in love with Jesus Christ.
We don’t need another event, pro- gram or even a famous preacher
to come to El Dorado, we need to start within the church. Doesn’t II Chronicles 7:14 state it best? “if My people, who are called by My name, will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”
People are dying and going to hell, and we are more worried about who we are going to offend, let’s face it, Christians are afraid to talk about their faith. So it is time that Christians need to humble ourselves, pray, seek Christ every-day and turn from our own wicked ways.
Charles Smith is a lieutenant with Salvation Army.
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