WWJD-AHWIHAHC?

{What would Jesus do - and how would I have a hot clue?)

I've been thinking about the phrase What Would Jesus Do? While it had a very popular Christian subculture explosion a few years ago, I first remember it from a Christian comic based on the 1896 novel "In His Steps". Later in life, I read the book, too. In it, the characters make a pledge that for one year they will not do anything without asking themselves that question first.

It is interesting to see the 1896 take on the question. One of the characters is a newspaper editor, and he feels that Jesus would not publish an article on a boxing match. Nowadays, I'm not sure a Christian editor would feel it especially troublesome to write up the results of a sporting event. What we think Jesus would do is so colored by our own perceptions, which is a mix of so many different influences.

What bothers me about the WWJD? craze is that it was, IMO, accompanied by a certain blase-ness. Like it would be obvious or easy to tell what Jesus would do.

One thing I do see when reading the scriptures is that Jesus kept on doing exactly what people did not think he would do, and frankly, they go against my own perceptions of what I think should be done. Just accepting an expensive jar of perfume being dumped at one time when it could have been sold to feed hundreds of poor people? Using a whip to chase people out of the temple?

It is a great question to ask. But my guess is that the closer I get to the true answer, the more uncomfortable I will become.