Home / All verses / Luke 6:31
Luke 6:31
The Golden Rule
Luke 6:31
“As you would like people to do to you, do exactly so to them.
The trainer needs JavaScript. Read it aloud, cover it with your hand, and say it.
Why it is worth knowing
- This is the positive form of the Golden Rule: active, not merely restraint from harm
- It requires empathy: genuinely imagining yourself in the other’s position
- Jesus presents this as a summary principle for human relationships
- It goes beyond justice (“give what is owed”) to generosity (“give what you would want”)
Where it sits: Luke 6:27-31
“But I tell you who hear: love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, and pray for those who mistreat you. To him who strikes you on the cheek, offer also the other; and from him who takes away your cloak, don’t withhold your coat also. Give to everyone who asks you, and don’t ask him who takes away your goods to give them back again. “As you would like people to do to you, do exactly so to them.
Find songs from Luke on BibleDo.
Background
The Golden Rule appears in many world religions and ethical traditions, but usually in its negative form: “do not do to others what you would not want done to you.” Jesus states it positively: active goodness, not merely passive restraint. In Luke’s context, it comes at the end of a radical section on love for enemies. The rule is the distillation of all that came before: loving enemies, blessing cursers, praying for abusers. It requires imagination (what would I want?) and self-sacrifice (actually doing it regardless of reciprocity).