The Golden Rule?! Extravagant Kindness

“Treat everyone like a friend, especially your enemies,” said Jeff Veley, a national speaker with Love Changes It All Tours, when I asked him how to communicate the Golden Rule to kids. We were discussing school bullying and teaching kids how to be resilient. Jeff’s strong words invited me to ponder their significance.

The next day I met a soldier whom I’ll call John. John surprised his fellow soldiers by risking everything for his enemy. As bullets sprayed from every direction, John zigzagged the battle field to help a wounded enemy soldier, who sprawled suspended between life and death.

As I listened to John, Jeff’s words lept into full color: “Treat everyone like a friend, especially your enemy.” John’s story illustrated the core message of Color Me Orange—Color Me Kind: Be kind to everyone. Even your enemies.

As ArtPrize visitors tie orange ribbons on the artwork, I wondered how many would be willing to cross the great divide and extend kindness to those hardest to love. I thought about myself. How deep is my love? Would I be willing to treat my enemy like a friend? A flippant “Yes” isn’t easy to rattle off.

John is one of the bravest people I have ever met. But risking his life isn’t what is truly amazing about his story. The deeper story goes beyond self sacrifice. The real story is about love that crosses the fiercest battlefield—not for a cherished friend—but for an enemy. A foe who would have possibly shot and killed John first had he been given the chance.

John, however, plunged out onto the battlefield without taking days, weeks, or even hours to consider the consequences of such extravagant kindness. Such costly love. As I considered his story, I wondered, What would happen if we started to teach kids to live by the Golden Rule—“Treat everyone like a friend, especially your enemies”—when confronted by a bully at school?

For reasons of security, names have been changed.