Ideas for new articles for me to write on the theology of work and post on my blog come from a variety of sources: my own experiences on the job, discussions with family and coworkers about their job challenges, news articles about current trends, and passages in the Bible that I am seeing in a new light.
These ideas come to me far too often; I can’t keep up. I currently have over two dozen topics and articles in various stages of completion on a spreadsheet on my laptop that helps me prioritize. This topic landed on my heart on Thursday morning, so I had to bump it to the top of the list.
In the discussion that follows, I will share how I identified a connection between two key passages in the Gospels, explore their similarities, and then offer some ideas how we can apply this in the workplace.
The connection discovered
In answering a somewhat difficult question during a podcast interview earlier this week, I was reflecting on why honesty is important with regards to treating others with dignity and respect. My mind went quickly to the second of two greatest commandments according to Jesus – love your neighbor as yourself (Matt. 22:34-40). The next thing I said was this was tied to the Golden Rule, where Jesus taught in the Sermon on the Mount: “So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.” (Matt. 7:12). I said that we don’t like it when people lie to us or deceive us, so why would we do it to others?
Why were these two verses connected in my mind? I am not sure. I think it is something I have known for a really long time. Perhaps there was something here worth exploring for a bit.
Those who have sat in one of my Sunday School classes or have read my blog articles know that I often see implied connections in the Bible that are not necessarily specified. A good example is the connection that I see between the Exodus and the cross. Sanctified eyes familiar with God’s Word can see that these two key events are clearly connected by divine design.
I am able to see a connection between loving our neighbor and following the Golden Rule as a divinely intended connection, and not just a cross reference in my own imagination. Has anyone else seen, heard, or read anything about this connection? Note that both passages came from Jesus’s teaching and both deal specifically on how to treat other people with Kingdom values.
The connection explored
So, my question is, how is the second of two greatest commandments related to the Golden Rule? Is the latter a subset of the former? In other words, is following the Golden Rule just one way (among many ways) to love our neighbor? I believe so. When I follow this rule, I am in fact loving my neighbor.
As we look closer at these passages, we see some similarities. Let us begin with Matt. 7:12. In the first part of the verse, we read, “ . . . do to others what you would have them do to you.” Is this not similar to how Jesus described what loving our neighbor should look like? He said to “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Matt. 22:39), which is a direct quote of Lev. 19:18. Additionally, in both passages, Jesus ends with a statement that doing these things aligned with “the Law and the Prophets.”
I found a connection between these two verses that was identified by my former seminary professor, Dr. David L. Turner in his Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament on the book of Matthew.
Regarding Matt. 7:12, he explains, “This verse (cf. Luke 6:31) should be understood as a conclusion to everything said since 5:17.” This begins a major portion the sermon where Jesus teaches that He came to fulfill the OT Law. Dr. Turner continues, “The encapsulation of this ethic in 7:12 summarizes how Jesus wishes his disciples to fulfill the law and the prophets. Later the Great Commandment (Matt 22:36-40) will similarly encapsulate the law by linking Deut. 6:5 and Lev. 19:18.” I was pleased he acknowledged the similarity.
Later, Dr. Turner connects these verses again. He writes, “The summation of the law as loving one’s neighbor or doing for others whatever one would like them to do to oneself is therefore not a higher law that replaces the Torah but the true goal of the law.” He notes that Paul taught “loving one’s neighbor is the fulfillment of the law.” (See Rom. 13:8-9 and Gal. 5:14.)
What I gathered from this brief study is that the Golden Rule and the second of two Greatest Commandments that Jesus taught in Matthew 7 and 22 have more in common than two different expressions on how to treat people with Kingdom values. It is much deeper than that. They are both decisively linked to the fulfillment of the OT Law. When we live this new way, we display God’s character, as God is love. As new creatures in Christ, transformed by His love, we show the world that God loves them.
The connection applied
Now, here comes the fun part.
Do you realize, Christian worker, wherever it is that you work, whether paid or volunteer, inside or outside the home, even if you do that work all by yourself, you can love God (with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength) by what you do because you are doing it for His glory?
Do you also know that as you work, you are loving your neighbor, as you allow God to work with, in, and through you (and often in spite of you), to love those around you? As you expend time and energy to do the things you are called, equipped, and in many cases paid to do, you are meeting the wide spectrum of human needs (physical, mental, emotional, social, and spiritual). Your efforts to meet those needs are a direct answer to someone’s prayers to God, asking Him for divine assistance.
Try to think about that as you wake up Monday morning to go to work. You won’t just thank God it‘s Friday; you will thank God when it’s Monday, too, and every day that you get the privilege to experience God’s presence at work, which I lovingly call “Immanuel labor.”
I trust that the time you took to join me in this discussion will help you to love God and love your neighbor in the place where you spend most of your waking hours. God is present with you!
About the author:
Russell E. Gehrlein (Master Sergeant, U.S. Army, Retired) is a Christian, husband of 43 years, father of three, grandfather of five, and author of the book, Immanuel Labor – God’s Presence in our Profession: A Biblical, Theological, and Practical Approach to the Doctrine of Work, published by WestBow Press in February 2018. He received a Master of Arts in biblical studies from Grand Rapids Theological Seminary in 2015. He is passionate about helping his brothers and sisters in Christ with ordinary jobs understand that their work matters to God and that they can experience His presence at work every day. He has written more than 320 articles on a variety of faith and work and other topics; many of them have been published or posted on Christian organization’s websites, including the Institute for Faith, Work & Economics, Coram Deo, Nashville Institute for Faith + Work, Made to Flourish, The Gospel Coalition, and Christian Grandfather Magazine.
Reflections on Theological Topics of Interest 