Teaching Kids About The Golden Rule

Teaching Kids the Golden Rule Episode 423

We’ve heard about the golden rule but are you sure you can apply this to your life? In this JUST for kids episode, we will discuss the golden rule and how you can use this in your home, with your family, friends, and in your life.

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We have communities filled with people, there are laws and people who govern. If we look at these people who govern we see decisions, we agree with and other decisions that we may not agree with. Sometimes we feel that people have lost their moral compass – that is a direction that points to what is right and just. If you do not know what is right and wrong, how will you know as you get older what to follow? Well, you have parents who help you by modeling good behavior. They let you know if what you are doing is right.

What does is the golden rule? In the Bible, Jesus of Nazareth quoted Scripture from the Old Testament when he said, “So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you,” You can find this in Matthew 7:12 Another way people say this is “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you”. So, you can paraphrase this – that means put it into your own words, which will help you remember the main point and that is to “treat others the way you want to be treated.” Some people like to memorize the words exactly the way it is in the Bible, but that is up to your family. The Golden Rule applies to all people, but especially for you and others in your world because it is a just and fair rule.

Doesn’t everyone want to be treated kindly? Doesn’t everyone wish that others treated with more respect? Well, one thing to remember is if you lead the way and you treat others the way you want to be treated, this will happen. Can you think of yourself as a leader? Sure, anyone can lead to, but not everyone is just and kind. Some people think it is right to take advantage of those who are younger and will listen, but it is never right to do this. If we want those younger than us -or even our same age to see us as a leader we should set an example for others to follow. Having a good attitude with this rule is gaining wisdom. And this is a key truth to life. We learn wisdom from past mistakes. A mistake is often something we do not want to repeat again. And learning not to do something wrong is the beginning of wisdom. Of course, learning and remembering are gaining wisdom as well and that is the purpose of learning and school.

Let’s quickly talk about a lie. Often people lie to themselves — how do you do this? But thinking you are fooling others. The only person we are fooling is ourselves. If we fool ourselves that bad is good then we are believing an untruth. Many times, we make excuses for doing something wrong and truth should be a big part of your life. Practicing telling the truth in all things means accepting the consequences, something we will talk about in another podcast. Wisdom is understanding truth.

An interesting fact is that anyone who believes in a higher power, we as Christians call God, the creator of heaven and earth, know that all of our freedoms, and all of the blessings we receive are from Him. No one here on earth can take away our beliefs, what we learn, and who we are. We have rights and freedoms that do not come from any government but come from God Almighty. We have free will this is the ability to do whatever we want to do.

Did you hear that right? Did I just say we have the freedom to do whatever we want? Yes, you do. God gave us the ability to make a choice and this choice is either right or wrong. Just because we have free will and can do anything that we want, that does not mean we should. Think about this. I’m going to say it again but another way. If we have free will and can do anything that we want, we should carefully decide what we should and should not do. Why? Because sometimes it means we will not do what is right or honorable, and that is not wise. Using our free will also mean that we do not break the laws.

Wisdom is knowing right from wrong, good from bad, and having self-control. Wisdom is learning not only from our own mistakes but from the mistakes of others. Do you know why self-control is important? Self-control is the key to being a good student, a good worker and, also avoiding trouble. Did you know that people that have self-control are better students? This makes sense because to deny yourself or tell yourself no—to the thing you’d rather do besides learning is important to learn. Young people who have self-control go on to become successful as adults.

For example, you may not want to sit and listen to this podcast, a lesson in school, or do your math lessons, but what would you do if you were not learning? Whatever it is I am sure is not as important as becoming a better person and learning, again something that no on can take away from you. What does this have to do with the golden rule? Wisdom is choosing not only for your own good but the good of others and this is similar to the teaching of the golden rule.

Golden rule and treat others the way we want to be treated, that helps us remember self-control when tempted to do something that is wrong. When we practice the Golden Rule we may feel like things are unfair. But, practicing the Golden Rule just because we can is our own reward. We may not get anything special back or even someone saying “thank-you,” but the reward is knowing we did the right thing. If we do what is right it is for the common good, and maybe that will help others to also see your example. Working together is called collaboration and when you work in a group, whether it is helping your parents at home, or helping a neighbor, or volunteering this is showing others that you care. There are many ways to apply the Golden Rule to your life. It can mean something simple like sharing a treat with a brother or sister, or a friend or helping with a younger brother or sister. Offering to help is always nice think about how nice it would be if someone offers to help you with your chores.

The Golden Rule is just – and what is justice? Justice is something that is morally right or fair. Justice has to do with the law. It is using wisdom to know what is right for the common good – the good of all people. This is very important in government and often we find people who are not just in leadership roles, which is very sad. Not everyone makes good decisions. Some people make decisions that are not good for all people but for themselves or special interests–we never want to be those people. We must pray that those in authority—the people who make the laws use justice and wisdom in their decisions and that is why voting is important.

Usually, adults will demonstrate or show you the Golden Rule without using words—it is in their actions. They care for you, teach you and help you. They love you and help you to be a better person. For example, you do not see your parents sitting down, and watching television, and expecting you to make dinner all on your own … every night. Can you imagine? It might be bowls of cereal for everyone! But, you can see what I mean. Your parents give their time to make you a good dinner and they care about you. They may expect respect in return but isn’t that natural? They love you so it is easy for them to demonstrate the Golden Rule – but what about for people you do not like?

There are many different people that make up our communities and the world. No two people are exactly alike, even twins can be different. But, the Golden Rule and wisdom are important for all. They are the foundations of a just society. Those that practice the Golden Rule, share, are kind, tell the truth—even if there is a punishment, care for others, do not steal or hurt others. People who practice the Golden Rule do what is right because they wanted to not because of the laws. When people are lawless, they break the laws.

At home, you may not break a law, but if you go against what your parents teach you this is breaking a family rule. Hurting others because they hurt you is not doing what is right and truly it is unwise. That shows no self-control. No one likes people who are mean just because they can be! That is called a bully. Taking revenge is never a good thing because it not only hurts the other person but doing something wrong hurts you as well. Hurting others causes bad behavior and it is not a good way to act. It creates a cycle of people doing mean things to each other. How do you stop this cycle? Someone has to have self-control and be the first one to stop. It may be hard, but it is just and wise.

The key here is to remember, wisdom is not only learning from our past mistakes but the courage to make a change, even if it is hard. That is being honorable. There is a saying that two wrongs do not make a right. Does that mean you let someone hurt you? Of course, not. It does mean you stay away from people who are hurtful and if you must – you should defend yourself. This can mean defending your property as well. We all have freedoms but no one is allowed to take what does not belong to them. We must practice the way we want to act and practicing the Golden Rule is a great thing to do with your family!