Treating Others

Καὶ καθὼς θέλετε ἵνα ποιῶσιν ὑμῖν οἱ ἄνθρωποι, καὶ ὑμεῖς ποιεῖτε αὐτοῖς ὁμοίως. Καὶ εἰ ἀγαπᾶτε τοὺς ἀγαπῶντας ὑμᾶς, ποία ὑμῖν χάρις ἐστί; Καὶ γὰρ οἱ ἁμαρτωλοὶ τοὺς ἀγαπῶντας αὐτοὺς ἀγαπῶσι. Καὶ ἐὰν ἀγαθοποιῆτε τοὺς ἀγαθοποιοῦντας ὑμᾶς, ποία ὑμῖν χάρις ἐστί; Καὶ γὰρ οἱ ἁμαρτωλοὶ τὸ αὐτὸ ποιοῦσι. Ὁ ἐὰν θέλῃς σὺ ἐπὶ σεαυτοῦ, τοῦτο ἔνδειξαι καὶ τοῖς ἑτέροις. Καὶ γενοῦ τοιοῦτος ἄλλοις, οἴους ἂν θέλῃς περὶ σεαυτὸν γενέσθαι ἑτέρους. Εἰ μὲν σκληροὺς καὶ ἀσυμπαθεῖς καὶ ὀργίλους θέλεις εἶναι τοὺς ἐχθρούς σοι , ἔσο καὶ σὺ τοιοῦτος, εἰ δὲ τούναντίον ἀγαθοὺς καὶ συμπαθεῖς καὶ ἀμνησικάκους, μὴ ἀδύνατον εἶναι νόμιζε τὸ τοιοῦτος καὶ αὐτὸς εἶναι. Ὁρᾷς νόμον ἔμφυτον ἐν ταῖς καρδίαις ἡμῶν ἐγγεγραμμένον; Οὕτω καὶ ὁ Κύριος εἶπεν· Ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις ἐκείναις διδοὺς νόμους μου, εἰς τὴν διάνοιαν αὐτῶν καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν καρδιῶν αὐτῶν ἐπιγράψω αὐτούς. Εἶτα καὶ ἄλλὴν ἀνάγκην ἐπιτίθησιν ἡμῖν, ὅτι Ἐὰν ἀγαπᾶτε τοὺς ἀγαπῶντα ὅμοιοί ἐστε ἁμαρτωλοῖς καὶ ἐθνικοῖς. Ἐὰν δὲ ἀγαπᾶτε τοὺς πρὸς ὑμᾶς πονηρευομένους, ὅμοιοί ἐστε τῷ θεῷ, ὃς ἐστιν ἀγαθὸς ἐπὶ τοὺς ἀχαρίστους καὶ πονηρούς. Ποῖον οὖν θέλετε , ὅμοιοι εἶναι τῶν ἁμαρτωλῶν, ἢ ὅμοιοι εἶναι τοῦ Θεοῦ; Ὁρᾷς διδασκαλίαν θείαν; Ἔπεισέ σε πρῶτον ἀπὸ τοῦ φυσικοῦ νόμου. Ὁ γὰρ θέλεις σὺ γενέσθαι σοι, τοῦτο καὶ αὐτὸς ἄλλοις ποίει. Εἶτα πείθει σε καὶ ἀπὸ τοῦ τέλους καὶ τοῦ μισθοῦ· μισθὸν γὰρ ὑπισχνεῖται ὑμῖν τὸ ὁμοίους γενέσθαι Θεῷ. Θεοφύλακτος Αχρίδος, Ἑρμηνεία Εἰς Τὸ Κατὰ Λουκαν, Κεφαλὴ Ϛ’ Source: Migne PG 123.773d-776a

And what you wish men do to you, do to them likewise. If you love those who love you, where thanks are to you? For even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what thanks are to you? For even sinners do the same. 1 What you wish for yourself, exhibit this before others. And be to others as you wish others be to you. If you wish your enemies to be hard hearted and pitiless and full of anger, be so, and if you wish them to be good and compassionate and forgetful of injury, do not think it is impossible for you to be so. You see the natural law written in our hearts? So the Lord said, 'In those days I shall give my laws into their minds and write them on their hearts.' 2 After which He exhorts us about other necessary things. If you love those who treat you well, you are like sinners and the gentiles. If you love those who treat you wickedly, you are like God, He who is good to the thankless and wicked. Do you wish, then, to be like sinners are before God? Do you see the Divine teaching? First He teaches you from natural law, that what you wish done to yourself, do this to others. Then He teaches you from the end and the reward, for the reward promised to you is to be like God. Theophylact of Ochrid, Commentary On The Gospel Of Saint Luke, Chapter 6 1 Lk 6.31-33 2 Heb 8.10