JDL - Direction Forty-two - W.W.J.D. (What Would Jesus Do?)

For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. (Romans 7:18 (ESV))

A while back, the latest thing was the WWJD merchandise being sold, not only in Christian bookstores but everywhere. The WWJD stands for “What Would Jesus Do?” and is meant to remind the person wearing it to ask the question, “What Would Jesus Do?” when making especially important decisions. This same question was asked by a stranger who came to visit the neighborhood church in a book called In His Steps by Charles Sheldon. The stranger challenged the members of this congregation to ask this question before making any decision. The rest of the book gives an account of the details of how this affected the lives of the people who did ask this question.

At first this might seem like a good question to ask especially when we consider that we are trying to live a Jesus-directed life; however, when we look deeper, we will see that it is not as simple as it seems. The difficulty with this question is that it is too difficult of a question to ask. Yes, there might be some instances that we can answer and say, “Jesus would do this,” or “Jesus would do that.” But then, do we do this, or that? What would Jesus do? In many instances I do not know what Jesus would do, and even if I did know what Jesus would do, I probably would not do the same thing because I am a sinner and my inclination is to sin.

This question really frustrates us especially in those instances where either answer is not necessarily a God-pleasing answer. For example: What would Jesus do in Nazi Germany? If Jesus’ family were hiding Jews and the Nazis came and asked if they were hiding Jews, what would He do? Would He lie and say, “No,” or would He tell the truth and let them be hauled off to be killed? Of course, Jesus could do neither of these proposed answers because He is God and He cannot sin. I like the answer someone gave, “Jesus would do the right thing.” But what is the right thing?

Unfortunately in too many instances, the WWJD “What Would Jesus Do” became simply a nice piece of jewelry. Everyone was wearing it, but not everyone understood what it meant. It is like the cross. Many people wear a cross because it is a nice piece of jewelry. My question is, “Really?” If the cross is a nice piece of jewelry, then would you wear electric chair earrings? That may sound like a harsh analogy, but remember, the cross is an instrument of death!

I am not trying to beat up on the WWJD “fad,” and it was a “fad” because it did not last too long, and there were spin offs from this “fad.” If it is a good tool to help you, great. I pray that it does not become the thing that brings you good “luck” like the cross in the pocket has become such for many people. And I do pray that you will remember that asking this question does not make you Jesus. If two different people asked the same question, “What would Jesus do?” and each came up with their own answer of what Jesus would do, then how would you decide what Jesus would really do?

What would Jesus do? We have been asking that question for years. Do we have an answer? Will we ever have an answer? The answer is not as simple as the question. And if we are to lead a Jesus-directed life, the only place we can go to find the answer to that question is to Him, and we do that as we let Him speak to us through His Word. At the same time we understand that He does not contradict Himself as He speaks to us through His Word. But again, we keep going back to the difficulty in understanding that this is not as simple as it might sound.

Think About
How often when we ask, “What would Jesus do?” do we answer according to what we would do, and then when it turns out not a good answer we turn and blame Jesus? Perhaps we would do best to ask for God’s will to be done?

Prayer
Heavenly Father, thank You for a mind to think and make decisions. Forgive me when I make wrong decisions. Help me to search Your Word for Your guidance, for Jesus’ sake. Amen.