Just What Would Jesus Do?

Just What Would Jesus Do?

“W”, “W”, “J”, “D”. (repeat the letters twice).

Most of you know, that that stands for “What Would Jesus Do”.

A phrase that has been quite popular for some time now.

Four simple words in an expression that has meant much to most, or has it?

Not to many months ago, this WWJD was at the height of it’s popularity here on Guam and elsewhere, like in the States.

You could walk into any Christian sales/book/gift store and have a choice of many items bearing the WWJD wording, it’s initials or phrase. When I recently called the home office of the largest Christian bookstore on island to speak with the administrative office, my conception about the continued popularity of WWJD craze was 100% true. Of course I’d been there many times myself and had seen in person many items they sold with this inscription.

The “What Would Jesus Do?“ merchandise is still very much for sale. Still popular enough to fill shelves with these products. The very kind lady on the other end of the telephone proceeded to list by memory, without putting me on hold and checking, many store items they had in stock that carried the WWJD phrase.

They included such items as (Show the items I brought): rings, journals, pencils, pins, erasers, bookmarks, purse mirrors, key rings, pewter jewelry, board games, license plates and neck lanyards (which nearly everyone seems to wear).

Some of these items seem to be very popular as give-aways at children church programs, like AWANA.

And of course we can’t forget about the most popular items like...t-shirts, bumper stickers, and what the lady at the bookstore referred to as “pass-it-along-cards”.

Well, the popularity of this WWJD phenomenon may be fading just a bit, as all commercialized products and fads do over time.

Even now, in a congregation this size,

there is perhaps a few of you here this morning,

with this logo, this inscription, this embossment, this ...inscription of “WWJD” on your body right now, in some form or fashion.

And do you know what ...that’s great! Absolutely fantastic......isn’t it ?

No, no, no. I’m not criticizing anyone for owning such items. I personally don’t buy WWJD item’s for myself, but my own kids certainly have plenty of them, as you saw from what I displayed earlier. They sure have accumulated over the last couple years.

But, ...but!, my concern, and my reason for speaking about this topic today, is ...do we posses one of these “WWJD” objects because it was -one of those “in-things” you just had to have at the time during the height of the craze?

Some folks crave this type of commercial merchandise when it’s hot, when it’s the in-thing.

...or do we own this type of product because we truly want it to remind us of what it’s meant to remind us of?

If not, we could wear any other jewelry. We could use different pencils that simply say “Jesus loves you”. Or we could own a bumper sticker that says something other than “WWJD”, like “At the time of rapture, this car may not have an operator”.

At the peak of this WWJD phenomenon, I’d be willing to believe that over 75% of many church memberships had a WWJD item. That’s how popular it had been. And again, that’s ok, ...if the meaning behind the “WWJD” item meant what it was supposed to mean.

I’d be willing to bet that if you had not had such an item yourself -you would have at least heard about it, read about it, seen it, or bought a “WWJD” item for somebody else. Again, partly because it was popular at the time.

I myself rather like seeing the WWJD lettering everywhere I look. If nothing else, it allows me to “spot” other possible Christians - and in some small way, reminds me of Jesus. And that’s a good thing.

But friends, I’m much more interested in the behavior aspect behind the popular “WWJD” phrase. The action part, not the display part. The theme, the impression, the meaning, behind and involved with this coveted WWJD commercialism. Are we going through our daily lives fulfilling the true intent of what this phrase is supposed to be reminding us of? Think about that...are we?

Can you imagine two girls talking about their new “WWJD” jewelry. Each telling the other how pretty it is, neither realizing the true meaning behind the phrase itself. Purchased, really, because everyone else is wearing it.

So is it just the fad of the time...or as I’ve mentioned, are we using it to remind us of what it’s suppose to remind us of, which is of course is, “What would Jesus do?”.

And that’s not all, there are other expressions beside the “WWJD” expression.