08/21/2026
Maybe the Golden Rule isn’t just about treating people the way we’ve learned to tolerate being treated.
Maybe it’s about asking:
**What did God intend for us in the first place?**
If the wound says **shame**, God intended **dignity** — so I offer others **honor**.
If the wound says **abandonment**, God intended **belonging** — so I offer **presence**.
If the wound says **fear**, God intended **safety** — so I offer **gentleness**.
If the wound says **rejection**, God intended **acceptance** — so I offer **welcome**.
If the wound says **worthlessness**, God intended **worth** — so I offer **respect**.
If the wound says **powerlessness**, God intended **agency** — so I offer **choice**.
If the wound says **isolation**, God intended **community** — so I offer **connection**.
If the wound says **condemnation**, God intended **grace** — so I offer **mercy**.
If the wound says **secrecy**, God intended **truth** — so I offer **honesty**.
If the wound says **chaos**, God intended **peace** — so I offer **stability**.
If the wound says **scarcity**, God intended **provision** — so I offer **generosity**.
If the wound says **unforgiveness**, God intended **mercy** — so I offer **forgiveness**.
This is where Luke 6:31 meets recovery.
“Do to others as you would have them do to you.”
But for some of us, our wounds have seriously distorted what we think we deserve.
So maybe the question becomes:
**How would I want to be treated if I saw myself the way God sees me?**
And then—
**Can I learn to see the person in front of me that way too?**
Luke 6:31 asks us to look honestly at the places where our wounds became wounds we inflicted on somebody else.
Not so we can drown in shame.
So we can heal.
So we can become willing.
So the cycle can stop with us.
**Do unto others not according to what your wounds taught you to expect, but according to what God intended His children to receive.**