And I&#x27;m saying, you are not supposed to take it literally.  It is supposed to be interpreted. You don&#x27;t treat them literally the only way you personally want to be treated. It&#x27;s a call to think of them as the same as you.<p>Why interpret it as &quot;do what they would want, not what you would want&quot; ? Because at its root it&#x27;s asking you to have empathy and compassion. You simply can&#x27;t achieve both those things without putting yourself in their shoes, and then trying to feel and understand the way they do. At that point, when you are them, you act in a way they would want, and it becomes a compassionate act.<p>When I was saying before that this benefits you in the end, that&#x27;s true, though there is no actual reciprocity expected in this rule. It really is all about just doing good for another person.<p>Ask a theologian about it some time. They explain it better.