The Golden Rule is useless by itself

I found my way to an article a little with "practical tips" for living your life according to the Golden Rule: Love your neighbor as yourself. A secular article, mind you, but nice enough.

There are some objections in the comments that might make one pause. If you have bad desires, and don’t mind being treated in ways that others would very much mind, then it’s not so good! Or even, the golden rule allows others to impose their rules and morals on you without consulting you at all.

Perhaps. But, then, one ought not forget that the Golden Rule is second to another: Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength. When you take God out of the equation, or put him anywhere but first, your understanding and execution of love will always be fundamentally flawed.

Only insomuch as you love God will you be able to love anyone else. (And only when we realize and accept God's unconditional love and mercy toward us will we be able to love him in the first place.)