The Golden Rule? - Or the Platinum Principle!

In everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets
(Matt. 7:12)

The Golden Rule is the one moral maxim that is supposed to sum up all ethical behavior, that appears in one form or another in practically all religions, and is thought to be universally and invariably applicable.
It has been said that if people everywhere obeyed literally this rule, we would have heaven on earth. But although virtually all are willing to assent to the validity of the rule in theory, they are convinced that it will not work in practice in every situation. In some respects it is utterly impracticable. They say that if we were to try to take it literally, matters would be made much worse.
AND THIS CONTENTION IS QUITE TRUE! For example, suppose you were a judge in a criminal court, and a prisoner should be brought before you. Would you, if you were in the place of that criminal, want to be sentenced to twenty years in the penitentiary? You are confident that what you would have that man do to you (were conditions reversed), and what that prisoner wants you to tell him, is to go in peace and sin no more. If you literally obey the Golden Rule you must do just that. But all people of mature judgment know that we dare not do to the evil-minded as we know they would have us do.
What then is the answer? When we discover that this saying from the lips of Jesus seems impracticable, we may be sure that the difficulty is with ourselves. We do not understand it.
To begin with, it is not necessarily a rule at all. Jesus never called it a rule. Jesus made many statements which were in themselves excellent advice, but not necessarily rules.
It has been said that the difference between a rule and a principle is: A rule is a regulation of life; a principle is the source of life itself. One forms the banks which direct the channel of the stream; the other is the basic spring from which the stream flows.
People usually prefer a list of rules, a book of regulations. It is always easier for a person to regulate his life by a list of rules outside himself than by a principle inside.
The Bible does not attempt to spell out the exact Christian behavior for every situation that may arise. It is for this reason that we are admonished to have our “senses exercised” so as to be able always to “discern between good and evil,” that whatever we do all may be done to God’s glory (Heb. 5:14; 1 Cor. 10:31).

The Platinum Principle

Rather than living by a “Golden Rule”, or even any other system of rules and regulations, or even a golden principle, God would have us live by what can be called the PLATINUM PRINCIPLE. Platinum is more precious even than gold. Whatever places deep within our being, in our mind and conscience, the power to guide and control human conduct is priceless in comparison with something external.
And what is the basis or the source of this Platinum Principle? What is the source of the “river” which flows between the shores?
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart; and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths” (Proverbs 3:5-6).
People instinctively think of themselves as quite self-sufficient. They are quite able to order their own lives, and plot their own course down the river of life (avoiding the rocky banks of the river, of course), until some unexpected emergency interrupts the carefully plotted course of their lives.
Our reaction to the unexpected is an important part of our developing that special virtue of “trust” in the Lord. In fact, “trust” is a virtue which can flourish most in an atmosphere of tension and concern.
God unfolds the future to us as we travel, ONE STEP AT A TIME. But we in our finiteness and weakness need to remember that we are in danger of jumping to conclusions and mapping out the future days and weeks when He has given us instructions for only one STEP. Just where that one step in the midst of the swirling waters of life is leading may be quite different than we think. But we must trust. The whole of the Christian’s life is in the hands of the Lord Jesus. And He comes at our new birth to live within us and take control as we are aware and allow Him to do so. His one purpose is to bring each to full maturity as a child of the Father.
This does not mean that it is wrong for us to have a schedule, to plan ahead, to put down engagements in a notebook, to make reservations ahead of time, to project what should or should not be done. Not at all. However, we are warned that we are not to be positive in stating what we will and will not be doing, but that we must always preface our plans, at least in our minds if not our words, with: “The Lord willing I will..”.
James 4:13-17 in the Message Bible states: “And now I have a word for you who brashly announce, ‘Today – at the latest, tomorrow – we’re off to such and such a city for the year. We’re going to start a business and make a lot of money.’ You don’t know the first thing about tomorrow. You’re nothing but a wisp of fog, catching a brief bit of sun before disappearing. Instead, make it a habit to say, ‘If the Lord wills it and we’re still alive, we’ll do this or that!’ As it is, you are full of your grandiose selves. All such vaunting self-importance is evil. In fact, if you know the right thing to do and don’t do it, that, for you, IS evil.”
But how do we acknowledge His will on a continual basis, in “all” our ways? How do we make the Platinum Principle work? Isn’t it an attitude of humble submission to His leading in confidence that you know Him well enough to receive His message, hinging our plans on His by the day, the month and the year? And when the unexpected where no rule applies (and perhaps the unwanted) comes, then we have a practical opportunity to live the “Lord willing” clause we might so easily say at times.
We may be shocked to learn how contrary God’s will is to our own, and will even overrule the “Golden Rule” at times - and how worldly influences can get a hold on us at times making us unwilling to ‘follow”.
Now let’s apply this Platinum Principle” in place of the Golden Rule to the case already mentioned. The judge on the bench has a prisoner before him. As a Christian judge, the Golden Rule dictates his course of action by Jesus’ words: “In everything do to others what you would have them do to you…” The Platinum Principle would lead him to take into consideration all the circumstances, surroundings and ameliorating conditions. And at the same time, the judge must put himself in the place of those others the judge represents – the great mass of honest society which is to be protected – and act with justice and mercy toward all concerned.
My earlier definition of a rule and a principle bears repeating: A rule is the banks that keep the stream in its channel; a principle is the spring or the source from which the stream gets its birth.
The effects of every good deed, every good thought, every good attitude we manifest by our trust in Christ is continually being formed into habit. We become more and more pre-programed into right habits. This is the Platinum Principle in operation. Seeing that we have been in the habit of trusting Christ, we continue to do so in critical times. It becomes, as they say, “second nature” – which, for Christians, is really their true nature!

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