A Character Lesson from Pawn Stars

By Allen White

So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets. Matthew 7:12

When I was a kid, I belonged to a scouting group called the Royal Rangers. It was a church group. Boy Scouts were far too worldly for us. (For the record, my son is a Cub Scout. No hate mail, please).

At the beginning of each Royal Ranger meeting, we recited the pledge: “I will do my best to serve God, my church and my fellow man. To live by the Ranger code, and to make the Golden Rule, my daily rule.” Then, we would go outside and play kickball in the church parking lot.

In case you didn’t know, Matthew 7:12 is the Golden Rule – “Do to others what you would have them do to you.” Wouldn’t our world be a better place if everyone would follow the Golden Rule?

Now, I know what you’re thinking, “Yes, my world would be a better place if people treated me right.” But, here’s the thing – making the world a better place starts with you. You and I can’t change anyone else. I hope you weren’t counting on that.

I was watching an episode of Pawn Stars yesterday. A woman came in with a bejeweled spider brooch. It had been passed down to her by family. She thought it was ugly and maybe she could get a little money out of it.

After examining the piece, the dealer asked her what she wanted for it. She said she wanted $2000. The dealer looked her in the eye and said, “This is a rare Faberge’ piece. I’m an honest man, and in good conscience, I will offer you $15,000 for the piece.” Rather than bursting into a fit of excessive jubilation, the women countered with $17,000. Seriously?

The woman left the shop with $15,000 and was happy about it. The dealer could have easily made an extra $13,000 from that one deal, and the customer would have had exactly what she asked for. But, the dealer treated his customer the way he wanted others to treat him.

Now, while we need to remind our children of the Golden Rule, everyone else is off limits. We should “tell” them the Golden Rule by our good example. If someone saw us drop $20, we would want them to return it. So, return it.

If others were talking behind our backs, we would want someone to speak up for us. So, speak up about others. If we long for someone to encourage us, then we should encourage others.

You get the idea. Your world would be a different place if you thought of others the way that you think about yourself. How can you apply the Golden Rule in your home, your workplace, your traffic or your break room today?

More from Allen White: allenwhite.org

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