Have you heard of the Silver Rule?
You probably know about the Golden Rule. It's more popular than its "Silver" cousin.
The Golden Rule says to do to others what you would have them do to you.
The Silver Rule on the other hands says "what you do not want done to you, do not do to others."
Some equate these two. They think the silver rule and the golden rule are essentially the same.
I beg to differ.
The Silver Rule is a negative opposite of the Golden Rule. It's the idea that if you know something would cause someone pain, you shouldn't do that thing to them. That sounds reasonable, isn't it?
Well, if you take a close look, the Silver Rule doesn't require you to do anything. It’s lazy. It's passive. Yes, it asks you to withhold negative action. But it requires no positive action.
The fact is that most people would not intentionally cause someone pain. Apart from the psychopath or the criminally-minded, it's rare to find someone who would seek to deliberately do terrible things to other people.
We would readily, even if unconsciously, acquiesce to the dictates of the silver rule. What doesn't come natural for us is to actively seek to do good for others. In contrast, that's what the golden rule prescribes.
The golden rule requires proactive behavior. It prompts you to act positively. It demands that you're socially responsible, which is not natural for many of us.
Our natural inclination is to be selfish and self-serving. It's ingrained in us to choose our own best interests rather than seeking those of others. It's all about us and our needs; everyone else be damned. The current war in Ukraine is an example of what happens when this idea is taken to its illogical and irrational extents.
It just doesn't make sense.
Yet, we're called to something higher; something better. To live a thriving life is to seek a thriving life for others. To live a flourishing life is to have a self-giving existence.
Being socially responsible doesn't mean you have to do something significant. It just needs to be meaningful. It doesn't need to cost you a ton. It only requires you to be self-giving; to be intentional.
So, in what self-giving act will you engage this week?
To whom will you intentionally add value today?