WWJD - "What Would Jesus Do?".
- RevShirleyMurphy
- Sep 4
- 5 min read
WWJD is an acronym for "What Would Jesus Do?". It is a Christian slogan and motto that encourages people to consider Jesus Christ's actions and teachings from the Gospels when making personal decisions, serving as a reminder to act in a way that reflects Christian values.
The concept was popularized by Charles Sheldon's 1896 novel, In His Steps, which features characters who pledge to ask, "What would Jesus do?" before acting.
The phrase saw a resurgence in the 1990s as a personal motto for Christians, who used it as a reminder of their belief in the moral imperative in a way that demonstrated the love of Jesus through their actions. The resurgence of the motto in the 1990s stemmed from the WWJD abbreviation on inexpensive nylon bracelets with the WWJD initials that became popular among Christian youth groups.
Sheldon’s book inspired Janie Tinklenberg to use the phrase to encourage modern Christian youth to live as Jesus did.
To adapt the phrase to contemporary audiences, Tinklenberg created the acronym WWJD for “What would Jesus do?” She wanted the young people in her Michigan youth group to easily recollect the phrase and think about what Jesus would do in everyday situations.
Soon, Tinklenberg had created cloth bracelets bearing “WWJD” for teens to wear as a visible reminder to follow Christ. Clothing and accessories with the acronym also increasingly grew in popularity.
While the bracelets and other accessories became fashionable items in the 1990s and 2000s, many of the teens and young people who wore these items did so intentionally to consider what Jesus would do in their own life situations.
The acronym easily and visibly reminded Christians in youth groups to pause and think about their everyday choices in light of how Jesus would respond.
Because of Sheldon’s book, In His Steps, and Tinklenberg’s influence in creating a grassroots movement among both Catholic and Protestant Christians, a series of films were created in the 2010s based on the concept of WWJD.
Today, it continues to serve as a reminder for ethical decision-making, aiming to guide behaviour and align actions with Christian principles.
The WWJD notion has a long history: a notable example is Thomas à Kempis’ The Imitation of Christ – and that was 600 years ago. Today, however, there is some suspicion that the use of the WWJD bracelets, and related objects, is largely to identify the wearer as belonging to the Christian subculture, rather than as an aid to making moral decisions.
Criticism of WWJD may, however, be perceived as hurtful by some Christians, so let us consider it in more detail.
On the positive side, the WWJD slogan makes people think about Jesus – and not just when they are at church. It can be a helpful reminder to consider ‘What would Jesus do?’ in a particular situation you find yourself in. It also encourages people to do good and if it promotes a Jesus-like attitude then this is thoroughly biblical. In Philippians 2:5 Paul says that our ‘attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus’ (NIV). Paul is encouraging an outlook of humility, gentleness, forgiveness, truth, compassion and love.
However, WWJD has shortcomings as a guide to the Christian life. Christianity has never worked when reduced to a slogan, let alone an acronym of just four letters. Christianity is not about a set of rules or a moral philosophy; it is about an encounter with the living Jesus Christ. WWJD focuses on moral questions, while New Testament teaching centres on being a new creation in Christ, being adopted into God’s family and having the Holy Spirit dwelling in us. The fullness of a transformed, spirit-filled life cannot be captured in a slogan!
WWJD also downplays Jesus himself, focusing on him as a great moral teacher. He is not only a moral teacher, he is the living Lord, God on earth, who died and rose again to save humanity. If Jesus were only a prophet or a moral teacher, then WWJD would be the key to Christianity. Yet he is much more, so focusing on WWJD means we can lose some really important elements of a biblical Christianity. A basic reading of the Gospels indicates that Jesus is a man with a mission: to go to Jerusalem, be rejected and betrayed by his own people and then die on the cross. So, although human, just as we are, he is very different: he is also divine and on a divine mission. He gave up normal life and family relationships to fulfil his calling to live and die for God’s people.
It is not clear how Jesus would react if he was put in our place. Although he challenged many of the abuses of the Old Testament law (particularly concerning the Sabbath and moral legalism), he seems to have been a faithful first-century Palestinian Jew. As such, he would have attended synagogue, memorised large portions of the Hebrew Bible, dressed conservatively, shunned pork and presumably prayed at regular intervals during the day.
Little of this applies to modern Christians, so are we being inconsistent in not doing as Jesus would have done? Jesus threw moneychangers out of the temple (Matthew 21:12-13) but this is not a model for a universal condemnation of capitalism. It was a rebuke to the Jewish leadership of the time that what should have been the holy place – somewhere the Gentile nations came to meet with God – had been turned into a corrupt marketplace.
WWJD oversimplifies the difficult area of ethics and morality and downplays other things that Christians have traditionally invoked to help them make decisions: conscience; the Old Testament Law, summarised in the Ten Commandments; the letters of the early church, which say much about the practicalities of morality; the guidance of the Holy Spirit; and the support and wisdom of the wider church, including Christian friends. The best summary of Jesus’ moral teachings are the beatitudes, which emphasize a heart change. This heart change can only occur with a daily encounter with the risen Lord through the Spirit.
What would Jesus do? Often, we simply cannot know. What we can be sure of is Jesus’ attitude. He exemplified humility and obedience (Philippians 2:5-8). So, what about WWJD? Well, it is better than nothing. But Christianity cannot be reduced to a slogan – we need a living relationship with Christ and to know the power of the Holy Spirit. We also need the wisdom that comes through study of Scripture. It is great to see Jesus’ name elevated and it is good that the phrase is gaining popularity in the wider world, but as Christians we need to reclaim it and use it as a springboard to a deeper and more thoughtful consideration of what a Christian life should be and how we can seek to follow in the footsteps of the Son of God.
Christians have been challenging unjust laws for the sake of the faith since the beginning of the Church. Though for the most part we enjoy freedom today in our countries, in many places around the world Christians fear for their rights and even for their lives. Though some laws in our society may be immoral, Christ calls us to respect the rule of law as long as they do not conflict with the teachings of the Church. Whenever we face uncertainty, all we have to do is ask the Lord for grace to discern the best course of action. Usually, we can't go wrong if we act in answer to the question, "What would Jesus do?"
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