What would Jesus do? No idea.
16 09 2008We’ve all seen the bracelets. It sounds great, doesn’t it, as a way to find direction through life situations: ‘What would Jesus do?’ I’ve even talked about it in sermons.
The trouble is that, increasingly, I find it doesn’t work very well in practice, because I can’t imagine Jesus being in the situation in the first place.
Here’s an example: a few days ago someone made a decision which affected me adversely, and which I disagreed with. (I think it was a wrong decision – it wasn’t just that I disagree with it because it affected me adversely.)
This left me with two choices: I could object to the decision (in which other people had an emotional stake). This would cause a lot of unpleasantness. Or I could go along with it for the sake of not upsetting anyone, even though I thought it was the wrong thing.
‘What would Jesus do?’ I can’t imagine him being objectionable, but neither can I imagine him compromising for the sake of a quiet life. The bottom line: I can’t imagine him being in a position where he was a hostage to someone else’s decisions in the first place. Yet I often am, both at home and at work.
‘What would Jesus do?’ I’m pretty sure he wouldn’t have reacted the way I did, but I really have no idea what he would have done. This leaves me wondering whether the question is quite as useful as it first appears.
Categories : Facing the Challenge of Our Times
