Now it gets a bit murky , doesn ’ t it ? Christians may be fired if they take on the task of whistleblower , or their work life may become totally miserable in retaliation if they don ’ t “ play along ”. Job security is a powerful tug these days . And if a believer is self-employed , can he or she afford to “ fire ” a profitable client because they do not do business fairly ? Time to dig out the old rubber bracelet that has WWJD on it ― What Would Jesus Do ? Remember wearing one of those ? For many , it was a stealth reminder to live out the gospel .
How do we determine what God would have us do when we are met with opposition , unfairness , and selfish power plays ? Through studying the Gospels and seeing how our Lord handled these situations . Yes , they
existed back then , too .
Read about Jesus ’ confrontations with the Pharisees in the Book of John , especially chapters 7-10 . How did Our Lord handle opposition ?
Peter stated how , and he walked for three years with the Savior on earth . “ If you suffer for doing good and you endure it , this is commendable before God . To this you were called , because Christ suffered for you , leaving you an example , that you should follow in his steps . “ He committed no sin , and no deceit was found in his mouth .” When they hurled their insults at him , he did not retaliate ; when he suffered , he made no threats . Instead , he entrusted himself to him who judges justly ” ( I Peter 2:20-23 ). Through reading about Jesus ’ life when he walked our soil , we learned that He did three things in the face of misunderstanding , opposition and downright persecution .
First , Jesus prayed . And so should we . He received wisdom from the Father through the Holy Spirit who had descended upon Him when He was baptized , just as happened to us at our baptism . When confronted or misinterpreted , He often went off to pray . He got His head and His heart straight . And He received insight , strength and Divine power . We are no different . God will speak and act through us if we yield ourselves and the situation to Him .
Jesus said , “ I have told you these things , so that in me you may have peace . In this world you