What Would Jesus Do?

A year or so ago I decided I wanted to finally read the Bible. I’m not religious. In fact, for most of my life I’ve been atheist or agnostic. But here’s how I’ve decided to explain myself to those who are super religious: I believe in living by the word of God and the teachings of Jesus, I just don’t necessarily believe in them.

Oh boy… this post has gotten controversial!

I just wanted to straighten that out to begin with, because this post might actually sound like I AM religious. Going through my thoughts and beliefs on all that would have to be a separate post (or even a blog), so I’m going to skip that for now.

I wanted to read the Bible for several reasons. It is a very important piece of literature. It is a very important work of philosophy. It would benefit me to read it such that I know what I’m talking about when I get into conversations and debates about it. Plus I’m just intrigued and curious. I’m pointing that out now because I have not actually finished reading it, so I don’t know what all is in there and what to quote. It’s just a disclaimer.

So here’s what I’ve been thinking, and if you are religious, stay with me for a second. We could all be Jesus. We could all live our lives from a place of pure love and compassion. We just choose not to. Jesus, whether a great man, the Son of God, or a myth, was pure Love. We all have that inside of us, it is just covered up. We all have a choice every single day to choose Fear or Love. We can choose to judge or we can choose to accept. Jesus was on a mission to change the world, and he did.

What if I wanted to change the world? What would the world look like if I did? That is such a POWERFUL question. I can’t even answer that. I know that I want to serve and spread love, much like Jesus did. I want to change people’s perceptions and open their eyes. You can’t force it, though. You can only do it through love and acceptance. You can’t pick up someone’s life and say, “Here, let me fix this for you. This is how you do it correctly.” That takes their power away from them. That isn’t love - that is a quest for power and for praise. All you can do is guide, make suggestions, pose questions and lead by example.

I’m still dumbfounded by that question: If I could change the world, what would it look like when it was finished? I realize the intensity of that question. There would be consequences for living a life of pure love, and I don’t know what they would be. I would imagine everything we know and do on a daily basis would be different, but how so? Human beings would still have all their humanly emotions. How would that be handled if the culture was one of compassion and love? Is it even possible to not judge or pressure people in any way? So many questions. So many fascinating questions to ponder.

I’m starting to think that 25 is the magic age. Wasn’t Jesus around 25 when he really started sharing his teachings? And I’ve heard sayings about how guys start finally maturing when they get to be 27. And I’m sure there is a counterpart for women, maybe a couple years earlier (aka 25). I think this is the age where you start seeing that the world you were living in was so tainted by your mind. Maybe you can do it earlier, I don’t know. I’m just going with what I know. I was already so smart, aware and sharp when it came to perceiving things about the world and people, but as my journey in life hit 25, I really cranked it up that last notch to intense clarity. Or who knows, maybe this clarity just keeps getting better and better forever. I wish I knew all of this when I was much younger, but I’m not sure I’d believe it or be able to handle it.

If you could change the world for the better, what would you do? Are you living a life of pure love and compassion? Why not? What is so important that is keeping you from living a pure and loving life?

I feel so calm. I had a crazy fun but crazy hectic weekend, and I just pulled an eleven hour day at work, and will probably repeat it tomorrow to prepare for a deadline, but I feel so calm and at peace. I’m not stressed out in the least. I feel very limited amounts of judgment and fear. I feel very much in control of my human emotions, and I feel such a deep connection to my inner soul. I can now recite affirmations to myself and have them stick.

I recently tried to express my feelings to someone and was worried about their response. I told myself, “Stand behind your words.” I meant what I said, and I’d tried to word things as benevolently as possible. Normally I would feel worried, paranoid and shameful if the person came back and was angry or sad. I would take it personally, like I’d done something horrible. No. Stand behind your words. People will perceive things however they want. I can then take it from there. I did not say anything wrong. I did not mean any harm. I have nothing to feel bad about. If there are misunderstandings, I can come to it with love and compassion. It will be okay. I don’t need to beat myself up for standing up for myself. I felt so empowered as I recited my affirmation: “Stand behind your words.”

Spread Love, not only to others, but also to yourself.