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Biblical Principles for a Good Life
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You're welcome - I hope to post a scripture on here regularly, so keep checking back with me! :-)
Bahá'í Faith:
- "Ascribe not to any soul that which thou wouldst not have ascribed to thee, and say not that which thou doest not." "Blessed is he who preferreth his brother before himself." Baha'u'llah
- "And if thine eyes be turned towards justice, choose thou for thy neighbour that which thou choosest for thyself." Epistle to the Son of the Wolf. 1
Brahmanism: "This is the sum of Dharma [duty]: Do naught unto others which would cause you pain if done to you". Mahabharata, 5:1517 "
Buddhism:
- "...a state that is not pleasing or delightful to me, how could I inflict that upon another?" Samyutta NIkaya v. 353
- Hurt not others in ways that you yourself would find hurtful." Udana-Varga 5:18
Christianity:
- "Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets." Matthew 7:12, King James Version.
- "And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise." Luke 6:31, King James Version.
- "...and don't do what you hate...", Gospel of Thomas 6. The Gospel of Thomas is one of about 40 gospels that circulated among the early Christian movement, but which never made it into the Christian Scriptures (New Testament).
Confucianism:
- "Do not do to others what you do not want them to do to you" Analects 15:23
- "Tse-kung asked, 'Is there one word that can serve as a principle of conduct for life?' Confucius replied, 'It is the word 'shu' -- reciprocity. Do not impose on others what you yourself do not desire.'" Doctrine of the Mean 13.3
- "Try your best to treat others as you would wish to be treated yourself, and you will find that this is the shortest way to benevolence." Mencius VII.A.4
Ancient Egyptian:
- "Do for one who may do for you, that you may cause him thus to do." The Tale of the Eloquent Peasant, 109 - 110 Translated by R.B. Parkinson. The original dates to circa 1800 BCE and may be the earliest version of the Epic of Reciprocity ever written. 2
Hinduism:
- This is the sum of duty: do not do to others what would cause pain if done to you. Mahabharata 5:1517
Islam: "None of you [truly] believes until he wishes for his brother what he wishes for himself." Number 13 of Imam "Al-Nawawi's Forty Hadiths." 3
Jainism:
- "Therefore, neither does he [a sage] cause violence to others nor does he make others do so." Acarangasutra 5.101-2.
- "In happiness and suffering, in joy and grief, we should regard all creatures as we regard our own self." Lord Mahavira, 24th Tirthankara
- "A man should wander about treating all creatures as he himself would be treated. "Sutrakritanga 1.11.33
Judaism:
- "...thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.", Leviticus 19:18
- "What is hateful to you, do not to your fellow man. This is the law: all the rest is commentary." Talmud, Shabbat 31a.
- "And what you hate, do not do to any one." Tobit 4:15 4
Hello, I wanted to use this forum to post Biblical principles by which a person can live a good life. I do believe that in the Word, the Holy Bible, God has given mankind wisdom to guide us when we need to know the way.
A simple scripture - Deuteronomy 6:5 - 5And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.
Jesus said that this was the greatest commandment of all. The key word that we continue to see is the word "love". That word comes from the Hebrew "'ahab", which means love, or beloved.
God wants us to make Him our beloved. If we love anything above Him, we are out of balance. There is nothing in this world that is more important than God. Consider - when we came into this world, we came with nothing. When we leave, we cannot take anything with us. So, in between, it is important for us to learn that the things of this world are temporary - we cannot keep them forever.
God promises eternal life to all who believe in Jesus. But even as important, He promises that He will provide for us according to our earthly needs. God's promises are of comfort, love, peace, joy, patience, etc. He promises to walk beside us and lift us up.
How can we learn to love God with all of our heart? If we see that there is anything that prohibits us from that, we should confess it to the Lord - He will give us the strength to overcome our possessive nature. In the end, we will see that whatever it was that held us back was nothing more than that - a stumbling-block in the way of our growth.
When we give something to God, He gives us something better in return. When you give your heart to God, He gives you His in return - the love, joy, comfort and peace that come from Him.