What Would Jesus Do?

"He who is devoid of wisdom despises his neighbor, but a man of understanding holds his peace." Proverbs 11:12 "A man of understanding…" We all have people we don't like. But what we do with that shows who and what we are. How we behave toward those we don't like says a lot about our character. The human thing to do is to criticize them and express our disdain for them, and worse - gossip about them. We fancy that we are better than them ...and perhaps we are ...that's not the point. The point is that the believer represents Christ before the world, and we need to keep that in mind ESPECIALLY when we are around those we do not like. Kindness speaks more about us than all the preaching in the world. vs 13: "A talebearer reveals secrets, but he who is of a faithful spirit conceals a matter." "A faithful spirit…" Faithful to whom? To the one who has revealed a secret to us? Well yes, we are faithful if we do not share that secret with others. But how much more is our faithfulness revealed when we keep in mind that it is to God that we are being faithful? There was a saying going around in recent years, "What would Jesus do?" If we want to follow Jesus Christ, everything we say, everything we do, must be done in the context of this question, "What would Jesus do?" Many times what Jesus would do is "hold his peace." What do I gain by speaking against the one I don't like? Nothing. Absolutely nothing is gained. All that results is a black mark on my soul. When we are with someone we don't like, the temptation to voice our disapproval can be great. To answer them back after a hurtful remark comes almost automatically. But if we want to be true and faithful followers of Jesus Christ, we hold our peace. We silence our tongue. We keep in mind that Jesus died even for this one whom we dislike. We maintain our behavior as he would, and we choose not to grieve the Holy Spirit within us. "And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire by hell." James 3:6 Many times silence is the best option. It takes wisdom and understanding of the Word of God to motivate us to reply – or not reply – as Jesus would. It takes wisdom that doesn't come naturally. It has to be sought after, by spending time daily in the Word of God, and seeking the will of God in our lives. Oh what damage Satan can bring about simply by tempting us to sin with our words! Maybe we don't commit murder, maybe we don't steal, but to sin with our words is just as sinful. Our words can destroy a person. Let us always be aware whom we represent, that we might not sin against him and against our neighbor with hateful words or judgments, or criticisms. Let us ever answer the temptation with "What would Jesus do?" "Whoever guards his mouth and tongue keeps his soul from troubles." Proverbs 21:23