If Jesus Was An American

Periodically, I hear Jesus' name mentioned by politicians and political pundits who love to claim if he were alive today, Jesus would be a member of their political party. In their ignorance, they assume if Jesus were alive today, he would be an American. At any rate, I thought I would weigh in with my thoughts on the matter and tell you where I think Jesus would stand on the issues we face today.

Let's assume, for argument's sake, if he were alive today, Jesus would be an American citizen. How would he feel about our country?

For starters, would Jesus be part of the ninety-nine percent or one percent? I believe he would be part of the one percent. Jesus would be far wealthier than the average American if he had any desire to spread his message. In today's world, if you do not have money, or access to someone else's money, your voice goes unheard. I believe Jesus would make full use of today's technology. He would tweet away every chance he got. He would also appear on as many television news and talk shows spreading his message of love for all. He would command large sums of money to speak at universities or private functions. There would be a slew of books authored by him in which his sermons would appear and you could go into any Wal Mart or Target and buy his line of apparel which would be splashed with his message. Finally, his web site would be among the most, if not the most, viewed web sites on the planet allowing him to not only spread his word but to bring in millions of dollars every month.

In this regard, Jesus would not be much different than Oprah, Rush, or any other well know personality who seems to pop up everywhere. However, I also believe that with this wealth, Jesus would use that money for the betterment of all mankind rather than sinking it into get rich quick scams that add to his wealth while bilking innocent people of their hard earned money.

I also believe Jesus would be outraged over the number of Americans who live a glutenous life, both rich and poor, while others around the world starve. He would not like seeing a nation as wealthy as ours fail to deliver affordable health care to its citizens or to the citizens in other nations. I believe he would tell our citizens who make a life of living off of the welfare system to get off their butts and start contributing to our society rather than bleeding it dry.

Jesus would have little positive to say to those who do not vote but are quick to complain about the job their leaders do. While he would sympathize with the occupy protesters, he would also remind them there are plenty of jobs that need doing in this country if they can swallow their pride and do the dirty work that seems to to only be done by illegals or go undone.

I also think Jesus would be troubled by people who claim it is okay to bring harm to those who provide abortions while doing little to curb the number of people killed each year by hand guns or assault weapons. He would tell us it does not take a village to raise a child if that child has parents who put him before their career goals or material desires. Jesus would look at our schools and ask our leaders how can they expect so much from our children when few expectations were placed on them when they were young.

And in the end, Jesus would deliver a simple message, one that is easy to follow but all too often lost in a world made complicated by leaders who fail more than they succeed. He would simply tell all of us, male or female, young or old, rich or poor, black or white, to treat one another the way you want to be treated in return.

However, I also believe if Jesus were alive and living in America today, he would not live to see old age. You see, we have had plenty of others deliver a message of love and hope who have all to often been struck down too soon. Do the names Martin, Bobby or John ring a bell?

The world we live in can seem like a crazy place but it does not have to be. All we need is to live life by the golden rule and the rest will take care of itself. It was that way 2,000 years ago when Jesus first graced this planet and can be that way today if we allow it to happen.