The golden rule is sometimes cited as a basis for ethics and a common place by which different religious traditions can find commonality.

The golden rule is a good rule, not original to Jesus. It can be found in various forms in a number of religious traditions. It does have limitations though, which is why I think it is not as broad in scope as the rule of love.

The golden rule is based on a person’s capacity to know their own good and to judge what means will acheive shalomic ends. For example, parents don’t practice the golden rule with their children. If they did the children would be miserable and short lived. You do to them what you would not have them do to you. This is just one example.

What this shows is not that the rule is invalid, but that it is contingent upon conditions. The broader rule, that you in fact practice with your children is the rule of love. You give them, and do for them, and do to them what love requires, for their best interest even at the expense of your own. You don’t and can’t do it perfectly, but you assume for yourself a higher level of awareness than they are capable of and you in fact regularly do for them and to them what you would not have them do to you.