The question “What would Jesus do?” has become a rallying cry for many Christians. Faced with everyday problems ranging from a tyrannical boss to a cheating spouse, they keep murmuring WWJD — but it doesn’t work for me.
Let’s say your inbox is overflowing and in comes the boss with an urgent, last-minute project that must be done immediately or else. What would Jesus do? There really is no clear answer because Jesus didn’t have an inbox, nor did he work on a deadline basis.
What about a wife whose husband goes on a gambling spree and loses the mortgage payment? What would Jesus do? I have no idea because he wasn’t faced with mortgages or an unruly spouse.
So the big problem with asking “What would Jesus do?” is this: All too often, the brutally honest answer is “I don’t know.”
The question also sets impossibly high standards for people struggling to feed their kids, pay the car-repair bills and keep their jobs. It’s tempting to give up and say, “Well, I am clearly not Jesus, so I can’t do what he would do.”
Instead of WWJD, there’s another question that is much more helpful: What did Jesus say? This one you can answer by opening the nearest Bible.
What did Jesus say about my obligations to other people? Well, he said we should love our neighbors as ourselves. Does your neighbor include the rude cashier, the guy in the next cubicle who’s vying for your job and the lady who uses the leaf blower when you’re relaxing on your porch?
You’ll find that answer by studying what Jesus said about the Good Samaritan, and discovering that even complete strangers count as neighbors — and deserve our mercy.
Understanding what Jesus said takes careful discernment. Sometimes he spoke in parables and sometimes he used symbols. And when he advised plucking out your eye rather than gazing at sinful things, well, fortunately we know that wasn’t literal. And when the devil tempted him in the desert, that sly guy wasn’t a symbol but a real being.
What about the devilish annoyances of life? There’s the elderly relative who phones you multiple times with the same questions, the toddler who draws on the wallpaper with permanent markers and the puppy that is convinced your carpet is a patch of grass.
Asking WWJD gets you nowhere, because Jesus didn’t have a puppy, a toddler or an aging aunt. But did he say anything about them?
Well, he didn’t mention them specifically, but he did say, “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.”
The cross can mean the annoying relative, the naughty child, the recalcitrant dog. The cross can be the belligerent boss, the dreaded diagnosis — and the million-and-one other trials and tribulations of everyday life.
Jesus experienced rejection from the crowds and misunderstanding from the magistrates. And what did he actually do? He picked up his cross and died on it, undergoing enormous suffering for the sake of love.
In short, he put his own words into practice. He walked the talk — and that’s what we should do.
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