Do unto others before they do it to you.

So back to the issue of interpretation.

My Jewish friend, Helen, vehemently tells me that modern translations of the bible are woefully inaccurate. As a linguist I respect the value of each word; the change of one can mean a drastic difference. According to her, the original Hebrew bible (from whence it all came) does NOT say, “love thy neighbor as thyself,” rather, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” What’s the difference, you ask. She tells me that Judaism is all about DEED, and Catholicism (for the benefit of contrast) is all about FAITH. DO is action, LOVE is emotion. It doesn’t matter how you feel about your neighbor; you need not love him. But you must act out of a just and noble place. You can love your neighbor all you want, but if you do not help that neighbor, the love is meaningless.

I told her I thought the key to happiness, peace, fulfillment, lies in the three-legged stool of God, Self, and Others. If all one’s actions are truly aligned with love for all three, one can’t go wrong. Although that’s easier than it sounds. If one “leg” is not stable, the entire stool collapses.

Confession #60: It seems to me that if one simply “acts” good, it is self-serving as a ticket to heaven. But if one develops his capacity to love, the natural by-product is a nourishing and developing of the soul, which could be why we are here. It brings us closer to, perhaps, the ultimate divine spirit from whence WE came.

Confession #61: But then again, the more I think, the less I know.

Question: Standing at the pearly gates, would you rather have to defend what you did here on earth, or what you didn’t do? Hmmm

Tomorrow: murder or killing?