WWMD

I’m sure you remember the fad in the 90’s when just about everyone was asking, “WWJD – What Would Jesus Do?” We wore the four letters on bracelets, around our neck, even had them printed on t-shirts. It was supposed to inspire us to live like Christ. Like so many fads, it faded. I have a new question.

Just about every day, the Church commemorates at least one martyr saint. The way they died may have been different, but their story was the same. Someone wanted them to give up their faith. The martyrs refused and were tortured, ultimately dying for their faith.

There was another similarity that caught my attention today. The martyrs didn’t fight back. They didn’t act as if they were the victims of some sort of injustice. They knew the world hated Christ and would stop at nothing to put down the Church’s mission. The martyrs peacefully accepted martyrdom.

Since the Church presents the martyrs as examples for us in our faith journey, a new question presented itself to me today. Instead of WWJD, I’m asking WWMD. What would the martyrs do? How would the ancient Christian martyrs respond today, if they had the chance.

The world today is still fighting against the Church’s mission. The world today still does everything in its power to silence those whose faith has been noticed by others. While some are still being killed, most of the world has changed its response. Instead of killing, the world now chooses to slander and defund.

Christians today that have been inspired to fight for their faith find themselves in the crosshairs. Do they stop living their faith, or do they give in for the sake of remaining in business? It seems to me the martyrs of yesterday, if they were in business today, wouldn’t take their fight to court. They would peacefully lose business as a witness to their faith.

WWMD isn’t just a slogan. It is a challenge to live for Christ amid a world that hates Him. WWMD is inspiration to accept slander and defunding as honorable treatment of Christ’s servants. Christ warned us. “They will put you out of the synagogues.” (John 16.2) WWMD is a motivational cheer for those who find themselves at the receiving end of a court injunction.

If you want to be a Christian today, start to live like a modern martyr. Stop fighting back. Accept that we will be slandered and defunded. Yes, we may even still be killed, but the world is much slyer these days. The world knows that killing us would bring too much attention to the hate. The world knows more Christians will give up their faith to save face.

WWMD? They would love Christ enough to endure whatever it takes, without fighting back.