Jewish tradition teaches that there is a list of questions that every human being will be asked after they pass from this world in to the next, and the one main question will not be, “How much time did you spend reading the Bible?” In addition, that one main question will not be, “How much did you pray?” While it may surprise you, the first question Jewish tradition teaches that will be asked is, “Were you an honest person?” You see, according to tradition, God (although He already knows the answer to His question) wants to hear from you and me, “Were we fair and honest in our business dealings; not cheating anyone or stealing from them; without false deception; but how was it that we presented ourselves to others? Did we truly live a life of integrity, treating others as equals to ourselves?”
Again, it may surprise you to learn that the laws in the O.T. about how the Jews of that day were to go about treating slaves is a direct Biblical command. For us in N.T. days, we could liken that ‘command’ as to how is it we treat the room housekeepers in our motel or our days on a cruise ship? While some individuals may look at these as ‘second-class-citizens,’ who we have a right to order around; God says A BIG NO, YOU SHALL NOT! These individuals, whether young or old; male or female; grumpy or kind; are to be treated just as important as our equals, our partners…in fact…if not more important than how we treat anyone else.
Check this out! Jewish law takes this idea so seriously that there are laws requiring that a servant be treated just as well as his owner! His master! The servant will get the same sized room, with the same fluffy pillows, the ironed clean sheets, and will eat the same nourishing tasty food, and be greeted and told goodnight just like others of the household.
Why would this be what Jewish tradition taught, and why should it be of utmost importance to us as we now see that this is of supreme importance to God? Because, as Jewish tradition would say, it matters a great deal to God as to how we treat others! Both in Leviticus 19:18 as well as in Mark 12:31, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” If this is important to God, it certainly should be of supreme importance to us as well!
Paul put it this way in Phil. 2:4 “Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.”
Blessings, Psalm 20:7 Dale & Jeannie