I was recently in the gym doing my daily workout, when I noticed a chap wearing a WWJD bracelet.
At first, I saw nothing odd about the sight, as these bracelets and other forms of WWJD apparel profusely lace the campus.
However, I began to ponder the meaning of the bracelet and the implications of wearing such bold attire. I began to mentally examine the question, "What would Jesus do?"
As I thought about it, I began to realize that there is much more to the question than the fad has shown.
It seems that by wearing WWJD garb, one should be making a profound statement to the world about their decisions to act as Christ would.
This is not to imply that the chap in the gym or anyone else wearing these bracelets are not acting as Christ would, but, at the same time, do they make a conscious effort to incorporate Christ into their every decision?
Two very important factors keep me from wearing WWJD apparel. At first, I thought the bracelets would be a good way of witnessing to the lost souls in this world.
However, as time passed, WWJD became more and more of a fad.
To me, marketing Jesus just seems to be a bit sacrilegious. Second, I have read the book "In His Steps."
I would strongly urge anyone who wears the WWJD attire to do so as well. Only then will one truly have a good understanding of the question, "What would Jesus do?"
After reading the book, I did some self-searching, and I have come to realize that I don't know if I could live up to the standards of WWJD. This is not to say that I live a lifestyle of revelry that would shame my heavenly father.
I, in fact, try to live a squeaky-clean life. Despite this, I still don't know if I could live up to the standards mandated by WWJD. Until I can, I don't think it is proper for me to wear the bracelet.
As stated before, the bracelet can be a powerful witnessing tool and as an ice-breaker to sharing news of Gods love with people.
What saddens me, however, is that it seems that the true meaning of WWJD has been lost in trendiness.
People don the bracelet without thinking about what it really means to act as Jesus would.
For example, consider these scenarios. Would Jesus go down to the 'Weed and do the bump-n-grind with some scantily clad female?
Would Jesus go to this Friday night's keg party and down a few liters of booze while jamming to Ozzy?
Would Jesus let a string of four-letter obscenities fly from his mouth after doing poorly on a test?
Would Jesus have sex outside of a marital relationship or condone immoral behavior?
The list of questions goes on, but unless we are unfamiliar with Christ, we can probably answer "no" to the above questions.
Hope is not lost, though. Here's another list of questions to consider.
Would Jesus spend his time praying and fasting?
Would Jesus spend as much time in the house of God as he could?
Would Jesus reach out to the hurt and needy?
Would Jesus go against the grain even if his stance was unpopular?
Again, the list of questions goes on and on, but anyone who knows Christ — and to know Christ one must deeply study the Bible — knows that the answer to these four questions would certainly be "yes."
Do we really understand why we're wearing WWJD apparel, or is it just a cool thing to do? Are we doing things that Jesus wouldn't do? If so, why?
Are we not doing things that he would do? If this is the case, then why not?
The world watches those who profess to be Christians with unblinking eagle eyes.
If we don't think that people notice our WWJD bracelets and then watch our lifestyles to see if our behavior matches up with the letters, then we are sadly mistaken.
Before we put on the bracelet each morning, we should earnestly analyze our lifestyles to see if we are in line with the WWJD philosophy.
Otherwise, we are doing a disservice to the kingdom of God, and we are living a lie. That's something worth thinking about.