When I was in high school, “WWJD” was the biggest cultural trend in the Christian community. The plastic bracelets, the T-shirts, the mugs: Jesus had officially been branded.
In any situation, we were to ask, “What would Jesus do?” This question called us to reflect on his teachings, life trajectory and words. That question was meant to help guide us so that we would know how to navigate whatever it was we were going through. It was a simple reminder for people of faith to do their damnedest to act like Jesus.
Over the last few years, it seems we’ve forgotten to ask that question. And—more often than not—the people who claim to be followers of Christ act in a way that is the exact opposite of what I understand that Jesus stood for.
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This new brand of Christianity—the one currently synonymous with MAGA—has managed to hijack the original intention of the Christian faith and make Jesus the face of gun rights, nationalism, racism, homophobia, and anti-women’s rights.
Somehow, they have allowed Jesus to become the face of their negative intentions and resistance towards social justice, compassion, and love. Their version of Jesus was birthed out of gross misinterpretations of the Bible—fear, resentment, and a need to have their exclusionary mindset validated.
As I’ve watched it all unfold, all I can ask is, “Do you truly think this is what Jesus would do?”
I have been a Christian my entire life. I was raised with a progressive mindset that always led with love and when I think about Jesus and all he stood for, I think about him vowing to help those in need: the hungry, the homeless, the sick and the imprisoned; or, as stated in Matthew 25, the least of these. I think about helping strangers, being a voice for the voiceless and always acting in love. And while it’s easy to pair Jesus with the phrase, “Love your neighbor as you love yourself,” what Jesus would do goes far, beyond that.
I firmly believe the people leading the conversations about social justice should be Christians, but the reality is, they aren’t.
When you take on the task of representing someone whose sole purpose was to make the world a better place, your actions should always speak louder than your words. But the actions we have seen from a party that weaponizes faith often negatively affect the lives of people who are not straight, white, Christian, cisgendered males.
So, if we aren’t showing all people that we are Christians and true followers of Christ by our love and by acting in a way that Jesus would, then what exactly are we doing?
Do we really think Jesus would look in the face of a Black American and shoot down claims of racial injustice as irrelevant and untrue? Or would he show the traumatic history of how Black lives have been systemically undervalued and devalued in this country and ask that you focus your attention on their needs?
Would he spend his time actively oppressing the LGBTQ community, or would he embrace them and show them love and affirm that they too are made in God’s image? The answer, based on his life trajectory, is clear. And grasping this key point and admitting that inequality exists in the world requires belief in a God that is not solely of our own reflection.
Jesus’ life and teachings have been misconstrued time and time again, leading people to not see the correlation between his example and being an advocate for social justice. And while there are several controversial issues within the church, one thing that should never be up for discussion is how we as followers of Christ advocate on behalf of and show up for one another.
We should never question the core message of what Jesus taught us and what he stood for: love.
And we show we love our neighbor by fighting for justice. We show we love our neighbor by not dismissing their cries for help, by showing up for them and replicating how Jesus chose to love justly, in a world riddled with inequality. That is what Jesus would do.
Why does advocating for the unborn take precedence over helping underprivileged neighborhoods? Why is preventing people who love each other from getting married more important than fighting for justice for your brother in Christ? Why is making sure opportunities are available for yourself while revoking them from others at the top of the priority list? Why are we constantly looking for ways to ostracize others and deny their existence in this world?
Pursuing justice and replicating the life and teachings of Jesus Christ go hand in hand. You cannot have one without the other.
Despite what current political rhetoric presents, Jesus wasn’t American and didn’t spend his time on Earth speaking out against gay marriage or women advocating for their own bodies. He didn’t do everything in his power to oppose an entire race of people that are simply asking to matter. And if he were alive today, something tells me he would be an advocate for gun regulation to save lives.
Christians need to take a hard look at what values they stand for. We must be about who we are for and not who we are against.
Controlling others and forcing them to live the way we think cannot be the entire impetus of any faith—not ours, and not anyone else’s. Micah 6:8 lays it out so simply. “And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.”
Truly ask yourself: What. Would. Jesus. Do? Then be ready to live out the answer.
