106. What Would Jesus Do?

When I was in high school, I was known to dabble in a yellow rubber W.W.J.D. wristband.  I wasn't a hardcore WWJD-er, but I was familiar with the concept and thought it was a good idea.  In recent years, I've considered going back to it as a guiding principle, as a way of practicing what Christianity preaches and of being a better representative of my faith.

Part of what's held me back has been a reluctance to fully embrace the WWJD philosophy as I saw it.  In my mind, the answer to the question of what Jesus would do is that he would be really, really nice, never lose his temper, and find a way to be loving even when the other person was being a jerk.  It's a sort of constant other cheek turning that frustrates me even to think about.  A not small part of me wants to reserve the option to conduct to a well-deserved snapfest, even if I never actually do.  Being nice is just too hard.

Recently though I've started to think I've had a terribly dumbed down idea of what following a Jesus example actually entails.  The niceness is a part of it.  But that's all reactionary.  It's about how I respond to other people and circumstances beyond my control.  I think a much bigger part of it is how I conduct myself in general.  Not just What do I do when someone else does X?... but, quite simply, What do I do?  What do I do with my life?  What would Jesus do with a life?

I'm sure I'm behind a lot of people's curves, but the idea that the slogan on the wristband wasn't just about being nice to mean people, that it wasn't a cheat sheet for getting out of sticky situations... The idea that it was about being prepared... being creative, and informed, and disciplined; that it was about commiting yourself to the life you've been given to live, and seeing that it's done; that it's about living well and exhausting possiblities.. that's a revolutionary idea to me.  I've never read Rick Warren's book, but I would say that Christ's was the ultimate purpose-driven life.  And if that's the answer to the question, then I have been seriously underselling those wristbands.