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Culture Watch:W.W.J.D.?: Is It The Right Question?
by Lee Warren (Lee's bio)
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The San Francisco Chronicle ran an article recently by columnist Stephanie Salter, entitled "W.W.J.D.?" in which she pretends to take on the persona of Christ in an open letter to President Bush. In the letter, Christ tells Bush that He notices that Bush isn't asking himself "W.W.J.D.?" anymore, especially in regards to the war against terrorism.
"What Would Jesus Do?" We see its acronym splattered all over bracelets, bumper stickers and tee shirts. But it's the wrong question to ask when trying to determine the right way to handle a situation. Jesus never told us to ask what He would do. He told us what to do. And when we lack wisdom, He told us to ask and it would be given to us. Of course, the wisdom we receive from God is always rooted in His Word.
Jesus is the Word (John 1:1)—the entire Word, not just the red lettered portions. Which means, in Ms. Salter's case, that all she had to do was turn to Deuteronomy 20 and read the principles that govern warfare. Or to Genesis 14 that tells how Abram prepared for battle against unjust kings. Or to Numbers 31 to find out how God instructed Israel to prepare for war against the Midianites.
Asking "W.W.J.D.?" usually leads to a subjective answer because it isn't tied solely to scripture. In Ms. Salter's case for example, she incorrectly concluded that Jesus would "beg" President Bush to stop the war. To her credit, her conclusion wasn't based solely on subjectivity. She did use scripture as a part of her argument (although she also cites Gandhi and her own interpretation of how Christ would respond), citing passages that tell followers of Christ to seek peace and to love our enemies. The problem is, those passages are addressed to individual followers of Christ, not to governing authorities. And yes, a follower of Christ can also be a governing authority, but when that is the case, they are to follow the scriptural principles set forth for government when they are acting on behalf of the office.
Ms. Salter got off track when she tried to combine scripture with Gandhi's wisdom—or lack thereof and with her own interpretation of how Jesus would respond—as if He hadn't already.
That brings us to another problem with asking the "W.W.J.D.?" question—the assumption that scripture is incomplete. II Timothy 3:16 shatters this assumption: "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work." If scripture thoroughly equips us for every good work, shouldn't we be studying scripture to find out what Jesus said to do rather than asking what He would do?
I'll be the first to admit that oftentimes I don't know how to handle situations. But that's not because scripture doesn't address it. It's because I either haven't studied the issue long enough or comprehensively enough or maybe even at all. And sometimes I need help to understand passages thoroughly. That's when it's time use commentaries, lexicons or a pastor's help—all with the intention of interpreting what God has already said about the subject.
Only after a careful examination of His Word can we truly know how Jesus would handle a certain situation.
Copyright 2002, Lee Warren. All rights reserved. Used with permission.
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About Lee Warren: Lee Warren is a freelance writer from Omaha, Nebraska. He has written for various publications and is currently working on a novel. If you are interested in reading more of his work or in receiving his column via e-mail, please go to his website: www.leewarrenjr.com or drop him an e-mail: LeeWJunior@cox.net.
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