Gold Rules Or The Golden Rule

GOLD RULES

OR

THE GOLDEN RULE

NUGGET 21

NUGGETS OF FIRE PROOF INVESTMENTS

Matthew 7:12-14, “Therefore, whatever things you want people to do to you, you should also do to them, for this is the Torah and the prophets. 13Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many people who go through it. 14But the gate is narrow and The Way is difficult that leads to life, and there are few who find it.”

Luke 6:27-36, “But I say to you who are listening, divinely selflessly love your enemies and do good to those who hate you. 28Bless those who curse you and pray for those who mistreat you. 29To him who strikes you on the one cheek, offer him also the other. If someone takes away your coat, do not withhold your shirt either. 30Give to everyone who asks you. If someone takes away something that belongs to you, do not ask him to give it back to you. 31As you want people to do to you, you should do the same to them. 32If you only love people who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. 33If you do good only to people who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. 34If you only lend to people who you expect will pay you back, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to get back the same amount. 35But divinely selflessly love your enemies and do good to them. Lend expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great (Reward Of Inheritance; ROI), and you will be children of the Most High, for he himself is kind toward unthankful and evil people. 36Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.”

The two passages above describe the Golden Rule of doing unto others what you would want them to do unto you. Immediately, a question pops into my mind. Would I want my own mother to go into debt to help her son or daughter or one of her grandchildren? I wish it was easy to answer, but apparently there are some folks who would wish this upon their own mother. I asked my wife, Marner, this same question, and she immediately exclaimed, “Yes, of course!” Wow, female perspective is definitely different from male perspective. I would not want to harm my own mother with debt just to try to keep me off the street. Personally, I believe that is an unbiblical expectation of others. I just don’t believe I have a right to demand that others go into debt just to help out me or anyone else in need. I continue to search the Scriptures to find a Torah instruction that tells us to go into debt to help others, or that it is OK to go into debt to help others. Debt is a curse, so why would anyone want to put that on one of their loved ones? Deuteronomy 28:43-45, “The sojourning foreigner who is among you will rise up above you higher and higher; you yourself will come down lower and lower. 44He will lend to you, but you will not lend to him; he will be the head, and you will be the tail. 45All these curses will come on you and will pursue and overtake you, until you are destroyed. This will happen, because you did not listen to the voice of Yahuwah your Divine One, so as to keep his commandments and his regulations that he commanded you.” Read all of Deuteronomy 28, for it also includes many blessings. Deuteronomy 28:12-14, “Yahuwah will open to you his storehouse of the heavens to give the rain for your land at the right time, and to bless all the work of your hand; you will lend to many ethno-linguistic nations, but you will not borrow. 13Yahuwah will make you the head, and not the tail; you will be only above, and you will never be beneath, if you listen to the commandments of Yahuwah your Divine One that I am commanding you today, so as to observe and to do them, 14and if you do not turn away from any of the words that I am commanding you today, to the right hand or to the left, so as to go after false deities to serve them.”

The Good Samaritan story taught us that everyone is our neighbor, and we are to take care of them as best we can. But does that mean I should harm myself, or go into debt to help out a neighbor? The Apostle Paul gives us some good advice in 2 Corinthians 8:12-14, “For if you are eager to do this deed, it is a good and acceptable thing. It must be based on what a person has, not on what he does not have. 13For this task is not in order that others may be relieved, and you may be burdened. 14Instead, there should be fairness. Your abundance at the present time will supply what they need. This is also so that their abundance may supply your need, and so that there may be fairness.” That word for burdened at the end of verse 13 is the same word for tribulation, Strong’s # G2347. Yahuwah does not want you to become oppressed or distressed by going into debt through a bank loan or credit card purchases in order to help out your neighbor. Paul just stated in verse 12 that our giving is based on what we have, not on what we don’t have. Bank loans and credit card balances are liabilites, not assets. They are a curse and a burden, or tribulation pressure, that we simply shouldn’t want and do not need.

Earlier in 2 Corinthians 8:9, Paul stated, “For you know the grace of our Lord Yeshuwah Messiah. Even though he was rich, for your sakes he became poor, so that through his poverty you might become rich.” Did you catch it? Even the King of kings, Yeshuwah ha’Mashiach, DID NOT go into debt to help out humanity. He made himself poor, which is what he taught during his earthly ministry, but he NEVER entered into debt to help humans out. He did not borrow from Heaven’s bank, he did not borrow from any earthly bank. Why not? Because Yeshuwah is NEVER in debt to anyone, not in the heavens, or on the earth!! Going into debt to do Kingdom work on earth is counter-intuitive and counter productive. It is foolish. Yeshuwah would never hurt one body part in order to heal another body part.

This is why I don’t believe in ministers asking people to use credit cards to make donations. Ministers don’t know their donors that well, or how well they control their finances. Just by the fact of using a credit card, you are presuming on Yahuwah and your future, assuming you will have cash flow in order to pay off a credit card. If you do not know how to handle credit cards and the debt they so easily entangle us in, I suggest you never use them. For those who cannot control their credit card spending, close those credit card accounts immediately.

Proverbs always has a good word for us. Here is a passage of a similar nature to our topic today: Proverbs 17:18, “A man having no sense makes binding promises and becomes responsible for his neighbor’s debts.” A person who has no sense or lacks common sense is a fool. Only a fool would become surety or become responsible for his neighbor’s debts. Mark 7:21-23, “For from within a person, out of the heart, proceed evil thoughts, adultery, sexual immorality, murder, 22theft, coveting, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, and folly (foolishness). 23All these evils come from within, and they are what defile a person.”” Yeshuwah calls folly, or foolishness, or being a fool, evil. I didn’t write the Book, Yeshuwah did. Look up the definitions for these words. Another way of saying someone is a fool or acting foolish, is that they are stupid or acting stupidly, or making a stupid mistake. You can only give a believer so much good advice, then they must learn Yahuwah’s word for themselves and begin to make wise decisions and learn good judgment. Otherwise, shipwreck awaits the foolish.

Hebrews 13:5, “Let your conduct be free from the love of money. Be content with the things you have, for Yahuwah himself has said, “I will never leave you, nor will I forsake you.”” Lust or greed for money will do nothing but get you into trouble. Trust Yahuwah to give you the cash flow to fulfill the Golden Rule. Be content to give out of what you have, not out of what you do not have. Trust Yahuwah to give you the cash first, before you give, then you can give cheerfully and hilariously! It is not good or healthy to presume upon Yahuwah’s grace or your own future. Presumption in the realm of the Kingdom of Yahuwah is sin. Read one example of Israel’s presumption in Numbers 14:39 and following.

Acts 20:35, “In all things, I gave you an example of how you should help the weak by working, and of how you should remember the words of Lord Yeshuwah, words that he himself said: “It is more blessed to give than to receive.”” You can make money for giving away by working for money. This is what the whole business realm and employment realm is all about. This is the purpose of business and employment, make money for giving to those in need. It’s not about making you rich for you. It’s about a way for you to produce funds to give into the Kingdom of Yahuwah! You are blessed when giving from what you have. It is not a blessing to give from stolen or borrowed funds.

Matthew 6:1-4, “Take heed that you do not do your acts of righteousness before people to be seen by them, or else you will have no reward from your Father who is in the heavens. 2So when you give alms, do not sound a trumpet before yourself as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may have the praise of people. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 3But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4so that your gift may be given in secret. Then your Father who sees in secret will reward (Reward Of Inheritance; ROI) you.”” Hundred-fold giving is anonymous giving. Be blessed!