Would Jesus Do That?
Then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.” – Luke 9:23 NKJV.
Ken Falzini is a repo man, and he was assigned to pick up a car belonging to a Mr. Neal in Akron, Ohio. Mr. Neal is actually, Bishop Neal, a pastor of a church in the area. Falzini tried to take possession of the car on a Sunday morning, with Neal still inside of the vehicle. Somehow, Falzini ended up holding onto the hood of the Lexus, while Neal took him for a ride, trying to throw him off. Neal, drove in enough of a dangerous way, to be charged with felony assault. Falzini claims that Neal was actually laughing during part of the time. And…Falzini said he was wondering if, this is what Jesus would do? (Beacon Journal, Akron, Ohio 2.12.2011)
Personally, I would not want to repossess vehicles for a living. While I was still in college, I worked for a finance company in Oklahoma City for a brief period, and one time I had the assignment of arranging for a car to be repossessed. I did find the vehicle and called for the tow truck; which picked it up, and took it away. It was at the workplace of the person who had the car, and I have always wondered how they felt when they came out at the end of the day to find their vehicle was gone. I know I felt bad about the situation. I discovered that I was not a very good repo man, or finance company employee, and left after only about six weeks.
As for whether, or not, Bishop Neal was acting like Jesus would act? I think we know the answer to that one! Of course not! In Matthew 5:39 Jesus tells us, “But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also.” At times, as we seek to follow our Lord, it is not always perfectly clear what Jesus would do. However, in many situations it is perfectly clear what Jesus would do.
Would Jesus kill another person? Exodus 20:13, “You shall not murder.”
Would Jesus lie? Exodus 20:16, “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.”
Would Jesus steal? Exodus 20:15, “You shall not steal.”
Would Jesus commit adultery? Matthew 5:28, “But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”
Would Jesus read the Bible frequently? Matthew 4:4, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’”
Would Jesus pray frequently? Luke 18:1, “Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart.”
Would Jesus go to church? Hebrews 10:25, “Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.”
It would be an almost endless list of the things that we know Jesus would do. If we were to begin trying to follow the known instructions given to us by the Bible, we would then have much less difficulty following Jesus in those situations where it is not clear, as to what Jesus would do. Begin doing what you know Jesus would do, and then hearing His voice about other situations will be much easier.
(Begin doing what you know Jesus would do, and then hearing His voice about other situations will be much easier.)