“What Would Jesus Do?” Actually What would you do?

Last updated on: May 28, 2013 at 10:28 am by David Matthew Brown

“What Would Jesus Do?” Actually What would you do? 2013-05-28T10:28:20-06:00 David Matthew Brown

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The other day I heard someone ask the question, “What would Jesus do?” I just about fell down laughing. Because we have a sense of what he would do already from the bible, Gospel Of Mary, Thomas, etc…we also have an idea of what Buddha would do, Mother Teresa, Martin Luther King, Muhammad, etc…my question is “What would you do?” For myself I know what it is like to deal with people who love you then turn their back on you and creating hate, lies, violence, manipulation, cleverness, Facebook rants, etc…and I know how I responded to it. It was difficult but I passed the test. Jesus and Buddha and all the rest of them are wonderful examples for us to follow their lead, for they too have given us ways on how to deal with a world that seems to be in constant struggle, survival, violence, and corruption.

Most spiritual leaders quote Jesus and the old and new testament, teachers of the Course in Miracles quote the course all the time in ways to bring up examples of Jesus, these are all wonderful ways to help others, but at some time we must move out of this endless quoting and into our experience. We must take the next level and live it, and be the example. To constantly quote someone else I don’t think that is what Jesus had in mind with his disciples, he was teaching them to walk it and live it and not quote him. In fact it is no wonder it has taken us 2000 years to understand the teachings of Buddha and Jesus because we got in the way of it. With dogma, man made rules, and power.

Now am I mocking these teachings of the Course, Christianity or any other religion, or spiritual practice, no I am not. But we really need to take a look at ourselves as a world. And stop asking what Jesus would do, and start asking, “What are we doing? How are we being now in life? How are we living?” It is easy to quote Jesus, the bible, the Course, rather than live it, and take it to another level. Jesus’s hope in the Gospel of Thomas was for us and his disciples to take it to another level and take the baton and run for it. But we stopped as a group, and stayed stagnant.

At some time we have to leave the co-dependence of the religious Jesus, spiritual Jesus, and listen to what he said and practice it ourselves and see if it is true. Some people hold on to the teachings of Jesus as though they are true and then cut others up, gossip, judge, criticize, harbor resentments, violent toward others, well that isn’t following or listening, that is like a child refusing.

Teachings of Christianity, Jewish, Islam, Spirituality, New Age, New Thought, etc…are marvelous teachings at their core. Wonderful paths to walk down and experience who you are, but you have to walk it and the walking it on this planet is the problem, everybody is used to talking, quoting, referencing, giving examples, trying to be positive, and no body wants to live it. Walking it is the struggle, is the road less traveled, taking the high road when the low road is easier, forgiving others and self when revenge and killing another is easier. And yes you are killing a person when you gossip, judge, or criticize them, it is easy to blame, throw your hurt at another because you are hurt, and all the rest of it.

So our work in this life is to figure out what is standing in the way of our FULL EXPRESSION and to rid ourselves of it. Go inside and find out what Jesus was saying and stop quoting him and telling everyone what he would do and all the while live your life not dong any of it. So “what would you do? How would you stop someone who was hating on you and lying?” Discover your heart.

wrestling with yourself

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