James 3:11 Does a spring send forth fresh water and bitter from the same opening? 12 Can a fig tree, my brethren, bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Thus no spring yields both salt water and fresh. 13 Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom. 14 But if you have bitter envy and self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth. 15 This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic. 16 For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there. 17 But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. 18 Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.
Psalm 1:1 Blessed is the man Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor stands in the path of sinners, Nor sits in the seat of the scornful; 2 But his delight is in the law of the Lord, And in His law he meditates day and night. 3 He shall be like a tree Planted by the rivers of water, That brings forth its fruit in its season, Whose leaf also shall not wither; And whatever he does shall prosper. 4 The ungodly are not so, But are like the chaff which the wind drives away. 5 Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, Nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. 6 For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, But the way of the ungodly shall perish.
Exactly. And that is precisely why we have the natural instinct to want to follow the things that are of God. It's now our natural instinct to want the Golden Rule. It isn't something we try to do. It is something that God has change our nature to want to do. We are not perfect and fail to follow it completely, but we try and repent when we fail.
Fearing the Lord is an honest appraisal of our situation. God is sovereign and in complete control of everything, including our lives. He could, at a moment's notice, give the command and chaos would come into our lives as it did with Job. And God would be perfectly right and just in doing so. He knows best. We should rightfully fear Him not because He is so powerful, but because we're so wicked. We rely upon His love and mercy. That is why He's our merciful Father. He doesn't judge us as He should. He judges us according to His mercy.
For unbelievers the Golden Rule in some cases is a very nice thing to practice or something to be dismiss. For Christians the Golden Rule is something we try to imitate.