I have a confession.
I grew up in the 80s and 90s during the heyday of Christian bookstores, and I, sadly, participated in way too many Christian fads, wore way too many Christian clothing items, and used entirely too much Christianese.
Looking back on those years as a teenage pharisee, all I can really do is shake my head in embarrassment and thank God for therapy.
One of the most popular trends of those days was the wearing of WWJD bracelets.
We would don the bracelets in the standard green or black and brag to our friends and youth group mates about the fact that we never took them off, claiming that seeing that small little piece of fabric reminded us to ask ourselves “What would Jesus Do” when we were faced with temptations of any kinds or decisions that we had to make.
The irony of the situation, though, is that even though we wore these bracelets to remind us to think about what Jesus would do, we weren’t thinking about what Jesus did do while he was on earth. For us youth group kids during the 80s and 90s, those bracelets served as more of a reminder to not screw up ourselves. They functioned more as a tool to follow rules than they did as a reminder to emulate the ways of Jesus.
What I’ve come to learn, though, is that the way of Jesus isn’t at all about remembering to follow Jesus; the way of Jesus is about so much more.
During the early years of the WWJD movement, we didn’t talk about
Feeding the homeless.
Taking care of the orphans.
Visiting the widows.
Providing bibles to the prisons.
Fighting for equality.
Eliminating racism.
Freeing the oppressed.
No, we talked about things like:
Not saying cuss words.
Not causing men to lust.
Not talking back to our parents.
Not cheating on tests.
Not gossiping with our friends.
Making sure everyone knew we were Christians.
Dating other Christians or evangelizing the people we were dating.
Wearing Christian tshirts and promise rings.
I’ve noticed a resurgence of these iconic bracelets as of late, and it has me thinking about not just what Jesus would do, but more about what Jesus DID do.
A few months ago, I read “Drop the Stones” by Carlos Rodriguez and led a small group through it, and one of the major things I walked away from that book with was the fact that I have spent years in the church, I have completely deconstructed my faith, I’m writing a book about faith reconstruction, and, still, I’ve never truly looked in detail at the man Jesus was when he walked this earth.
How he treated the lepers
How he interacted with his friends
How he communicated with the pharisees
Why he flipped the tables
How he cared for his mom
How he healed the masses
Why he taught with stories
How he showed grace and love to the marginalized
How he truly flipped the narrative from the law to love
I’ve heard all of these things in churches and read about them in books and devotions, but I’ve never really studied them or thought about them from a human and relational perspective–to truly understand what it is Jesus would do.
Have you?
Humble Beginnings
Like so many Bible stories, I think I’ve heard the story of Jesus’s birth more times than I can count. It’s one of those stories I find myself taking for granted and whose significance I can easily forget. Luke explains it like this in Chapter 2:
During those days, the Roman emperor, Caesar Augustus, ordered that the first census be taken throughout his empire. (Quirinius was the governor of Syria at that time.) Everyone had to travel to the hometown of their family to complete the mandatory census.
So Joseph and his wife, Mary, left Nazareth, a village in Galilee, and journeyed to their hometown in Judea, to the village of Bethlehem, King David’s ancient home. They were required to register there, since they were both direct descendants of David. Mary was pregnant and nearly ready to give birth.
When they arrived in Bethlehem, Mary went into labor, and there she gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped the newborn baby in strips of cloth, and Mary and Joseph laid him in a feeding trough since there was no available space in any upper room in the village. Luke 2:1-7 TPT
Mary and Joseph were living in Nazareth in Galilee even though Joseph’s family was from Bethlehem in Judea. Do you know what set Nazareth and Bethlehem apart from all the other cities/towns of the time?
Nothing.
Neither had much notoriety.
In fact, Nazareth was looked down upon by the Jews of Jesus’s day. It was a small, poor town–only around 200-400 people lived there when Jesus was growing up, and some of the same prejudices that plague small towns today plagued the Nazareth of Jesus’s day: criticism of the dialect, a lack of culture, and a reputation of moral lenience.
Nathaniel sums it up pretty well in John 1:46– “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?”
Bethlehem’s reputation wasn’t as poor as Nazareth's, but it was still simply a small town situated quietly in the shadow of Jerusalem during the time of Jesus’s birth. Its claim to fame was based on three things: the burial place of Rachel, the place where Ruth met Boaz, and the birthplace of David.
Both Bethlehem and Nazareth were important in the fulfillment of prophecy concerning the Messiah, but neither one was especially respected, important, or even desirable at the time of Christ’s birth. They were just small, humble towns in the shadows of bigger, more desirable, cities–not the birthplace or childhood home one would expect for a King, celebrity, rabbi, and especially not the Savior of the World.
I don’t think it’s a coincidence that God chose these humble beginnings for Christ.
What DID Jesus Do?
When I was in high school wearing my WWJD bracelet, I’m not sure humility was ever in my vocabulary or on my mind when I thought about what Jesus would do. It’s easy to make excuses here and say that Jesus didn’t choose to be born and raised in these no-name towns. I suppose that’s technically true, but Jesus did choose to ride into a town on a donkey, and we can’t really argue with the humility in that act. So, I’m going to stick to my guns here and say that we need to think about his humble beginnings as well when we ask ourselves what Jesus would do by thinking about what Jesus did do.
What does that humility and these humble beginnings mean for us?
Webster defines humility as “a modest or low view of one’s importance; humbleness.” When I take a step back from this and think about what this looks like in our personal lives, our workplaces, our families, our ministries, and our faith communities, I can’t help but think that this world we live in does not value humility, and that, unfortunately, bleeds over into so many areas of our lives.
The world tells us to:
Chase wealth and success
Have the biggest and the best
Perform at all times
Rise to the top regardless of who you have to step on
Seek notoriety
If we’re truly trying to do what Jesus would do and what Jesus did, we have to rethink humility:
In our personal lives
In our families
In our workplaces
In our ministries
In our faith communities
Humility in the Real World
Matthew records the words of Christ in Chapter 25:
“When the Son of Man appears in his majestic glory, with all his angels by his side, he will take his seat on his throne of splendor, and all the nations will be gathered together before him. And like a shepherd who separates the sheep from the goats, he will separate all the people. The ‘sheep’ he will put on his right side and the ‘goats’ on his left. Then the King will turn to those on his right and say, ‘You have a special place in my Father’s heart. Come and experience the full inheritance of the kingdom realm that has been destined for you from before the foundation of the world! For when you saw me hungry, you fed me. When you found me thirsty, you gave me drink. When I had no place to stay, you invited me in, and when I was poorly clothed, you covered me. When I was sick, you tenderly cared for me, and when I was in prison you visited me.’
“Then the godly will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty and give you food and something to drink? When did we see you with no place to stay and invite you in? When did we see you poorly clothed and cover you? When did we see you sick and tenderly care for you, or in prison and visit you?’
“And the King will answer them, ‘Don’t you know? When you cared for one of the least of these, my little ones, my true brothers and sisters, you demonstrated love for me.’ Matthew 25:31-40 TPT
I spent years focusing on the wrong things–on the rules, on trying not to sin, on making sure I performed appropriately, but I was missing the point entirely. I spent too much time on my podium and couldn’t be bothered to step off of it long enough to sit down at the table with the least of these.
If we’re being honest, then we have to admit that too many churches today are in that same boat–but that’s a story for another day.
When we focus on the rules, checklists, and how we’re performing, our focus is solely on ourselves. We become the center of attention, the star of our own show, and the celebrity of our own story.
That’s not the example we have in Christ from his humble beginnings, his ministry, his friends, or his teachings. The savior of the world was born in a no-name town overshadowed by its larger, famous neighbor Jerusalem, and he spent his childhood in the armpit of Galilee, Nazareth.
He grew up and preached about:
Feeding the hungry
Quenching the thirst of those in need
Housing the homeless
Clothing the poor
Caring for the sick
Visiting the incarcerated
Those things require a heart of humility.
Friend, with the resurgence of WWJD bracelets, there has also been the addition of those that say HWLF–He Would Love First. As we head into this new year, I hope that, like me, you take the time to think about not only what Jesus would do, but what he DID do. I pray that you remember his humble beginnings as well as the humility that drove his life and ministry and you choose humility over the ways of the world.
Reflections:
What does humility look like in your personal life? Faith life? Work life?
What are the areas where you need to refocus on humility?
How are you sitting at the table with the least of these?