What Would Jesus Actually Do?

I have been watching something unfold in this country that I cannot stay quiet about. Not as a political commentator. Not as someone with a party affiliation. But as a believer who takes the Bible seriously and who believes that when we stand before God and give an account of our lives, we need to be able to stand flat footed on what we said, what we did, and whose example we followed.

So let me ask the question plainly: when did Christianity become synonymous with power, force, and exclusion?

Because the Jesus I read about in my Bible was none of those things.

The Jesus of the Bible

Jesus fed people. He healed people. He sat with the ones that everybody else walked past. The lepers. The tax collectors. The woman at the well who had been married five times and was living with a man who was not her husband. He did not shoo her away. He sat down and talked to her. He gave her living water. He sent her back into her community as a witness.

That is the model. That has always been the model.

"Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation." Mark 16:15 (NIV)

Not go into all the world and legislate. Not go into all the world and intimidate. Not go into all the world and decide who is worthy of dignity and who is not. Go. Preach. Bring people in. That is the assignment.

Jesus also said in Matthew 5:9, "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God." Peacemakers. Not peace takers. Not people who use the name of God to justify aggression, cruelty, or the removal of care from the most vulnerable among us.

There is a difference between contending for the faith and weaponizing it. Jude 1:3 tells us to "contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to God's holy people." We are absolutely called to stand firm in what we believe. To not be moved. To not be silent. But contending for the faith looks like living it out loud, in love, with clean hands and a pure heart. It does not look like using the cross as a political prop.

When the World Outworks the Church

Recently, a group of Buddhist monks completed a peace walk. Miles on foot. In silence. In prayer. For the wellbeing of people they had never met. And rather than being received with curiosity or respect, some so called Christians mocked them. Belittled them. Dismissed them.

But I want to ask: who was modeling the way of Jesus in that moment?

The monks who were walking in peace, or the Christians who were pointing fingers?

We do not have to agree with another person's theology to recognize when someone is doing the work of loving their neighbor. And we do not get to call ourselves followers of Christ and consistently be the loudest voices for division, fear, and the removal of mercy from public life.

Romans 13 does tell us to submit to governing authorities. Yes. That is in the Bible. But the same Bible that says obey the laws of the land also says in Micah 6:8, "What does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God." You cannot claim one scripture and discard the other because it is inconvenient.

Where SAVEDpreneur Stands

This platform was built on one foundation: the Word of God. Not a political platform. Not a cultural trend. Not whoever is loudest on social media this week. The Bible.

And the Bible is clear. We are called to love our neighbors. We are called to care for the poor, the widow, the stranger. We are called to be known by our love, not our legislation. We are called to go into the world and bring people to Jesus, not drive them away from Him with our behavior.

At SAVEDpreneur, we will always use scripture as our reference point. When something is happening in the world and we feel called to speak, we will not speak from a place of political allegiance. We will ask one question: what does Jesus say?

And we will follow that.

We are not a Republican platform. We are not a Democratic platform. We are a Kingdom platform. And the Kingdom of God does not operate by the rules of this world. It operates by the rules of a God who so loved the world that He gave. That He served. That He washed feet. That He died for people who did not deserve it.

That is the Christianity we are contending for here.

If you are tired of seeing the name of Jesus used to justify what Jesus never stood for, you are in the right place. This is a space where we take the Word seriously, love people fiercely, and refuse to let the loudest voices in the room define what it means to follow Christ.

We are SAVEDpreneur. And we stand on the Word.

"By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." John 13:35 (NIV)

— Maleeka Hollaway Editor in Chief, SAVEDpreneur Media