A W.W.J.D. Lifestyle

“If then God gave the same gift to them as he gave to us

when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ,

who was I that I could stand in God’s way?”

– Acts 11:17

Years ago W.W.J.D. bracelets were all the rage. As a kid I had a navy blue one that I wore. I stopped wearing it for awhile, then a few years back I started wearing it again until it broke last summer. (I went out and bought a new one, which is a permanent fixture on my wrist.)

I also have an ichthus (think “Jesus fish”) on the back of my car.

And I wear a cross around my neck, a constant reminder of the sacrifice my Savior made for me.

I tell you these things not to make you believe – incorrectly – that I’m some kind of super-Christian, or that every Christian should wear or display these things. In fact, I’m doing it to point out the opposite, to preface a confession I have to make.

Lean in close, please. (I’m ashamed to speak too loudly.)

Sometimes I wish I didn’t wear a bracelet or necklace as a symbol of Christ – because, honestly, there are times that the last thing I want to be is Christ-like.

Especially when I’m driving. I don’t get mad very easily, but you can throw my regular temperament right out the window when I get behind the wheel. I’m a little prone to road rage, and there are times where I’ll honk or turn on my high beams and then promptly ask for forgiveness when I remember the fish on the back of my car. (I may or may not hope that the other cars somehow miraculously didn't see the fish.)

There are times where I’ll say something rude or laugh at a mean joke or do something selfish and then, ashamed of my behavior, hope that people nearby didn’t see my bracelet or necklace.

I’m a human. Humans fail. And I don’t want my failures to reflect badly on the cross of Christ, on the love of my Lord, on the face of His forgiveness. How bad would I feel if my actions behind the wheel caused someone to turn away from Christianity because something I did led them to believe that “Christians are hypocrites”? Because that’s precisely what they will think if we act no differently from the rest of the world.

So what’s the cure?

My guilt is worthless and wasted if it doesn’t spur me to do better. I should strive daily to live in a way that glorifies Jesus in every thought I think, syllable I say or deed I do.

The cure is to live life in a way so that my focus always is on Christ – that at the forefront of my mind doesn’t lie my action, but my motive. If I everything I do follows from a desire to please Him, then pleasing actions will follow.

If used solely as accessories, my necklace, bracelet and fish are worthless – just meaningless symbols that, given the human propensity for failure, do more to hinder than help the cause of Christ.

I don’t want to get in the way of God’s ministry.

For these things to make a difference I need to incorporate them – and what they represent – into my everyday living, every moment of every day. I need to come to the realization that a mindset of Love is key to being a positive witness.

I need more than a bracelet and a catchy slogan.

I need a W.W.J.D. lifestyle.