While most people view the Golden Rule as a moral teaching enunciated by Jesus, he himself stated: "What I teach is not mine, but belongs to him that sent me."—John 7:16.
YES, the Originator of what Jesus taught, including what came to be known as the Golden Rule, is the one who sent Jesus, namely, the Creator, Jehovah God.
God originally purposed that all mankind treat one another as they would like to be treated. He set the finest example in expressing care for the welfare of others in the way he created humans: "God proceeded to create the man in his image, in God's image he created him; male and female he created them." (Genesis 1:27) This means that God lovingly endowed humans with a measure of his own outstanding qualities so that they could enjoy life in peace, happiness, and harmony—potentially forever. Their God-given conscience, when properly trained, would guide them to treat others the way they themselves would want to be treated.
Selfishness Took Over
Since mankind had such a wonderful start, what happened? Simply stated, selfishness made its ugly appearance. Most people are familiar with the Bible's account of what the first human couple did, as recorded in Genesis chapter 3. Urged on by Satan, an opposer to all that God stands for, Adam and Eve selfishly rejected God's rulership in preference to independence and self-determination. Their selfish and rebellious action resulted not only in great loss to themselves but also in tragic consequences for all their future offspring. That was a clear demonstration of the dire result of ignoring the teaching that came to be known as the Golden Rule. Consequently, "through one man sin entered into the world and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men because they had all sinned."—Romans 5:12.
Though mankind as a whole turned their back on the loving ways of Jehovah God, he did not abandon them. For example, Jehovah gave the nation of Israel his Law to guide them. It taught them to treat others as they themselves would want to be treated. The Law gave direction on treatment of slaves, fatherless boys, and widows. It outlined how assault, kidnapping, and stealing were to be dealt with. Sanitary laws showed concern for the health of others. There were even laws on sexual matters. Jehovah epitomized his Law by telling the people: "You must love your fellow as yourself," a statement that Jesus later quoted. (Leviticus 19:18; Matthew 22:39, 40) The Law also dealt with the treatment of alien residents among the Israelites. The Law commanded: "You must not oppress an alien resident, as you yourselves have known the soul of the alien resident, because you became alien residents in the land of Egypt." In other words, the Israelites were to show empathetic kindness to the disadvantaged.—Exodus 23:9; Leviticus 19:34; Deuteronomy 10:19.
As long as Israel faithfully followed the Law, Jehovah blessed the nation. Under the reigns of David and Solomon, the nation prospered and the people were happy and satisfied. A historical account tells us: "Judah and Israel were many, like the grains of sand that are by the sea for multitude, eating and drinking and rejoicing. And Judah and Israel continued to dwell in security, everyone under his own vine and under his own fig tree."—1 Kings 4:20, 25.
Sadly, the peace and security of the nation did not last long. Though having God's Law, the Israelites did not observe it; they allowed selfishness to choke out their concern for others. This, along with apostasy, resulted in hardship to them individually and as a nation. Finally, in the year 607 B.C.E., Jehovah allowed the Babylonians to destroy the kingdom of Judah, the city of Jerusalem, and even the magnificent temple there. For what reason? "'For the reason that you did not obey my words, here I am sending and I will take all the families of the north,' is the utterance of Jehovah, 'even sending to Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and I will bring them against this land and against its inhabitants and against all these nations round about; and I will devote them to destruction and make them an object of astonishment and something to whistle at and places devastated to time indefinite.'" (Jeremiah 25:8, 9) What a price to pay for abandoning Jehovah's pure worship!
An Example to Imitate
Jesus Christ, on the other hand, not only taught the Golden Rule but also set the finest example in following it. He genuinely cared for the welfare of others. (Matthew 9:36; 14:14; Luke 5:12, 13) Once, near the city of Nain, Jesus saw a heartbroken widow in a funeral procession for her only son. The Bible account says: "When the Lord caught sight of her, he was moved with pity for her." (Luke 7:11-15) The expression "moved with pity," according to Vine's Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words, denotes "to be moved as to one's inwards." He felt her pain of heart, and it moved him to take positive steps to relieve her pain. What joy it brought that widow when Jesus resurrected the boy and "gave him to his mother"!
Finally, in harmony with God's purpose, Jesus willingly suffered and gave his life as a ransom so that mankind could be freed from slavery under sin and death. This was the ultimate example of living by the Golden Rule.—Matthew 20:28; John 15:13; Hebrews 4:15.
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