Gamaliel and the Golden Rule

Gamaliel and the Golden Rule

My thought for today . . .

In the early days of the church the followers of Jesus, for witnessing to the Gospel, were threatened with persecution, and even death as martyrs.

When asked if such persecutions were a Godly way of treating those disciples, a saintly Pharisee named Gamaliel had some strong guidance to offer to his contemporaries.  He was a leader of the 1st century Sanhedrin in Jerusalem, and teacher of Jewish law.  Although Gamaliel approved a relatively mild public admonishment of those disciples, his overall response was very cautious and rather “open-minded” for a religious leader in that time and place.  

In Acts of the Apostles Gamaliel is recorded to have said the following: “I tell you, do nothing to persecute or harm those who preach the Gospel of Jesus; leave them alone!  If their endeavors or activities are of human origin, they will destroy themselves.  But if these things are of God, we will not be able to bring harm to them; we may even find ourselves fighting against the will of God” (Cf., Acts 5:38-39).  

In our own time, as we deal with complicated and often difficult questions, value systems, politics, faith perspectives, and alternative ways of life chosen by those who are “different from us,” perhaps we ought to consider following Gamaliel’s advice (albeit with the proverbial “shoe on the other foot”).

The ancient admonition known as the “golden rule,” comes to my mind: “treat others as you would like others to treat you.”

The bottom line: BE KIND! 🥰

Praise God! 🙏