Words from WW Blog

“In everything do to others as you would have them do to you, for this is the Law and the Prophets.” (Matthew 7:12)

Mike Woodruff in “The Friday Update” writes that the Platinum Rule is now getting playing time. The Platinum Rule takes Jesus’s Golden Rule (“In everything do to others as you would have them do to you, for this is the Law and the Prophets.“) and rewords it to make it all about the person. It says to “treat ourselves the way we want others to treat us.”

In a culture obsessed with selfies, the emphasis is now on grabbing the last piece of the pie before anyone else gets it. More to the point, grab it instead of asking someone else if they’d like it. After all, you are the queen, or king, of your own make-believe kingdom.

Jesus approached it differently. He astounded his own disciples when he said, “… the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve and to give his life a ransom for many.” (Matthew 20:28) Not only did Jesus not take that last piece of pie (or probably bread), he served it to the one who was considered by others to be the least.

Serving others and making them feel they are worth serving is a valuable commodity, despite the increasing trend toward the Platinum Rule. Chick-Fil-A has elevated it to a core value. Although we sometimes chuckle at the person bringing the tray to your pleasure with their reply of “My pleasure!” to our thank you, I have never left a Chick-Fil-A feeling unappreciated or undervalued. The company wants you to know that you are important and valued.

Jesus applauded selflessness and self-sacrifice, drawing attention to the widow’s mite, which was a stretch for her to give up, although it didn’t even compare with the large amounts of coins others brought to the temple, which made loud sounds when dropped into the offering containers. And Jesus demonstrated servanthood when he grabbed the water and the cloth and washed his disciples’ feet. It was the prelude to his sacrificial servanthood displayed on the cross.

The Platinum Rule treats servanthood as if it were one of those kindergarten lessons meant to keep the students from pushing and punching one another when they get in line to go down the playground slide. To avoid chaos and broken arms, give the kids a few lessons on kindness and courtesy. According to the Platinum Rule, personal injury lawyers are where it’s at. Mother Teresa is a person from the past, outdated and old-fashioned. Social influencers wearing an exorbitant amount of bling is where it’s at now.

The thing is, we’re never satisfied. Paul David Tripp, in his devotional, New Morning Mercies, writes that sin “…causes us to look horizontally for what can only be found vertically.” The mindset “it’s all about me” never reaches a point of peace and satisfaction, and yet it’s the bill of goods we’ve bought into.

Serving others brings us to the heart of Jesus.

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This entry was posted on January 19, 2026 at 1:48 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can subscribe via RSS 2.0 feed to this post's comments.

Tags: Bible, Christianity, Faith, God, Jesus

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