Click here to read the full article at RENEW.org: https://renew.org/what-did-jesus-do/ 

This is an audio version of a written Article from RENEW.org

I was in middle school when I got my first WWJD bracelet. It was a black silicone band with white letters, and I can still remember how it felt on my wrist. I wore it every day like the moral compass that it was. Every time I was tempted to cheat on a test, I would look down and see it…What Would Jesus Do? When I saw someone sitting alone, there it was…What Would Jesus Do? When my teenage brain would snap with unreasonable anger…What Would Jesus Do?

I wore it to help me follow Jesus. But over time, something weird began to happen. The question stopped challenging me. In fact, Jesus started sounding a lot like me. He’d say what I wanted to say, avoid what I would avoid, and get mad at all the same people I wanted to get mad at.

I eventually discovered I wasn’t following Jesus. Rather, I was following a version of Jesus I had created. With that realization, I quit wearing the bracelet. And I’ve spent the ensuing 30 years searching for a better question.

I was recently engaged in a conversation with people in my home, wrestling with this question: “How can we be sure we are loving people in the way Jesus intended for us to love them?” As that discussion unfolded, someone inevitably brought up a memory of wearing the WWJD bracelets. A spontaneous survey revealed that 19 of the 21 people present had worn a WWJD bracelet at some point in their life. And in fact, one of the men in the room was even wearing one at that very moment.

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