Do you remember the WWJD trend? Did you own a bracelet with these letters? I’m not sure who designed it, but the purpose was to make you stop and think before making a decision… If Jesus were in this position, what would He do? How would He respond? What would He say? I wore that bracelet proudly, but I’m not sure it made that much of a difference. In fact, for most people, it probably didn’t do what it was designed to do. Except for the ones selling the jewelry… they made out well.
I wonder if our verse today motivated the designer of the WWJD bracelet. I’m not sure, but this verse caught ahold of me this morning as I was reading Scripture. Paul writes: “Don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do.” I’m wondering if he noticed the people of God making poor decisions… poor decisions that negatively affected their families, their relationships, their work, their church, and ultimately, their future.
Here’s the thing… the decisions we make today will affect our tomorrow. So if we don’t stop to think before we make the decisions – our tomorrow, our friendships, our attitudes, our families, and our ministries – may be negatively affected. Therefore, I think this verse is valuable for all of us… TODAY. Everyday we make lots of decisions… what will I do with this money? How will I respond to this situation? What will I say to this person? How will I handle the hurt deep in my heart? Will I choose to walk away from temptation? What will I put into my thoughts?
This is very convicting for me because I often don’t stop and think about the decision and what the Lord would have me do. I think that Paul addressed this to protect his audience from the hard things they would face if they continued to act thoughtlessly. We don’t need a WWJD bracelet to remind us… we just need to make a conscious decision to stop and consider what we’re about to do. Praying always helps. We should always stop and consider how this decision will affect everyone and everything in our life. Hope this encourages you today.