In his book Running with the Giants, John Maxwell tells of a new pastor who shared some rules with his congregation. Here are some of them: 1) If you’ve a problem with me, come and see me privately. I’ll do the same for you. 2) If someone else has a problem with me and comes to you, send them to me. I’ll do the same. 3) If someone won’t come to me, say, ‘Let’s go see him together.’ I’ll do the same. 4) Be careful how you interpret me. It’s too easy to misinterpret intentions. I’ll also be careful how I interpret you. 5) If it’s confidential, don’t tell. If you or anyone else comes to me in confidence, I won’t tell, unless they’re going to harm themselves, harm someone else, or a child has been physically or sexually abused. I expect the same from you. 6) I don’t manipulate. I won’t be manipulated. Don’t let others manipulate you. And don’t let others try to manipulate me through you. 7) When in doubt, just say so. If I can answer without misrepresenting something or breaking a confidence, I will. Those rules can be reduced down to this one sentence: ‘Do to others whatever you would like them to do to you’ (Matthew 7:12 NLT). Good relationships and friendships are based on this Golden Rule Jesus gave us. So let’s try to incorporate it into all areas of our lives and live by it every day.

What now?
Assign each of those seven rules to a day of the week. On that day, really focus on living by that rule.