WWJD?

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The phrase What Would Jesus Do originated back in 1891 when Charles Spurgeon used it in his sermons.  Soon thereafter, an author named Charles Sheldon wrote a book called In His Steps, which challenges readers to ask themselves what would Jesus do, before doing anything.  Almost a hundred years later, in 1989, a youth leader in Michigan started what we know as the WWJD movement after reading Sheldon’s book. That youth leader ordered 300 friendship bracelets (popular then, before Taylor Swift made them a thing again) – they went like wildfire, and quickly became a commercial and spiritual hit.  

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At its most basic, the phrase forces us to ask ourselves what Jesus would do in certain circumstances.  Sometimes, it’s easy to answer that by saying I don’t know – Jesus never had to deal with the things we deal with today.  We don’t know how He would have responded to cell phones and social media, to the mass of information, to modern temptations, and to modern evil.

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But today’s Scripture tells us that he was tempted in every way, just as we are.  Sure, the letter to the Hebrews was written shortly after Jesus’ time, and they didn’t have to deal with the crazy of today.  But the truth is still there - Jesus experienced the same temptations that we deal with; he just responded to them without sinning.  And so, it’s important to ask ourselves how we think Jesus would have acted in situations of today.  

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I think it’s easy to think that Jesus was tempted to commit sins like pride, greed, wrath, envy, lust, gluttony, and laziness. It’s more challenging when I think about how He might have been tempted to sin in specific cases.  I can imagine that He was tempted to compare Himself with the neighbors, to disobey His parents, to cheat a customer with bad wood or shoddy product, to get angry and shout and swear when he hit his thumb with a hammer, and to judge his peers who looked at him like a goody-two-shoes. The list goes on and on. The difference is that, while Jesus experienced the types of temptation we experience, He did so without sinning.  

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We are called to follow His example, knowing that he experienced the temptations we face. Ephesians 5:1 says to “be imitators of God, as dearly loved children” (CSB). In 1 Corinthians 11:1, Paul tells the church to “imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ” (NKJV).  We are supposed to model our lives after Him and do what he did.

Today, I encourage you to reflect on “What Would Jesus Do,” and think about some specific examples, such as when:

He’s behind a rude driver on the Glenn?

He sees a homeless woman in Anchorage?

He’s called to tithe and more to Restoration Life, but the money just isn’t there?

He’s called to serve with ACF Kids, but He’s protective of His time?

He dislikes His boss or His job?

He knows He would never get caught tweaking tax numbers in His favor.

He sees the neighbors’ new _____ (fill in the blank – car, truck, snowmachine, vacation, garage, etc.?

He picks up his phone?

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What would Jesus do? Should that change what you will do?