WWJD

Most of my Lingua Espresso students think of the United States as being one type of place, like one giant Los Angeles or New York City. I can understand this misconception, but due to the size of the US, as well as many other factors, this is basically very wrong. Let's take religion, for example.

Most of the religion practiced in the US is overwhelming Christian, but there is no place more Christian than the states that make up "The Bible Belt." The Bible Belt consists of all of the South-Eastern states, tapering off into the Southwest (west of Texas). Since I grew up in that region, it is very easy for me to contrast religious activity in that part of the country with the part where I live now (i.e. Washington state, the Pacific Northwest). In what we just call "The South," you will see a church on every corner. I once lived in a town of 1300 people in Arkansas, and there were SIX churches of different denominations. Life is still very bound up with church, and people sometimes go to services on Wednesday as well as Sunday. People from different churches, such as Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses, are known for going door to door handing out literature about God and the Holy Trinity (the Father (God), the Son (Jesus), and the Holy Spirit). I once worked with a woman from New Jersey would couldn't believe that school sports teams prayed to God for strength and protection before games. Finally, signs and posters with religious messages are everywhere, and you see a lot of bumper stickers on cars that say things like "Honk If You Love Jesus" and "WWJD: What Would Jesus Do?"

What you'll observe in Washington state is almost completely opposite. There are churches, but they do not typically "advertise." I did pass one church in Ballard that had a neon sign that read "Jesus Saves," and I swear, I got a little homesick ;-) No one really talks "religion" here, and I've only had a pair of missionaries show up at the door since I've been here (I was so excited by friendly human contact, that I took the literature and almost offered them cookies!) Easter seems completely secular, as does Christmas (when you will almost certainly not see a billboard that reads "Jesus Is the Reason for the Season.")

Given that by contrast, this area IS so non-religious, I was surprised the other day when I was shopping for bonito and sea vegetables and sake at my local Korean market, Pal-Do World. Two women stopped me on the way out, and one of them asked in a heavy Korean accent if I went to church and knew Jesus. Well, I was startled so I said "yes" even though I don't go to church anymore. But I do know Jesus, having grown up, as I said in a strongly religious area in a strongly religious family.

Or, I know "of" him. One of the most different things about religion in the South, and why it surprised me here in the Korean market, is that relationships with Jesus are VERY personal. People speak of him as a friend or an intimate, not someone who is far away in the clouds somewhere. Hence the stickers that ask "What Would Jesus Do?" This means, in effect, "Stop and think how Christ would behave in this situation: Would he scream and yell and break this dumb guy's nose, or offer forgiveness? Would he put some money in the donation box, or would he use it to buy himself a new CD?" The answers are pretty clear.

Ocassionally, you'll meet someone who knows Jesus perhaps better than he should. When I was a teenager, I worked as a waitress at the local Waffle House. We frequently had a mentally ill customer who would come in with Jesus (or so he said; Jesus was invisible to the rest of us) to have coffee. He and Jesus would argue about baseball and politics over coffee, and then we would all get distressed, because they always argued about who would pay the tab. Thank goodness this man always won the argument, because we were terrified that one day Jesus would win, and we might be forced to deal with invisible money!

I have to say, I don't miss the overwhelming religious presence of the South, but I do miss something about it. I miss the Faith. I think everyone should have some kind of Faith to ground them in this life. Perhaps not WWJD: perhaps WWBD (What Would Buddha Do?) But whatever persona or principle is the cornerstone of your journey, I think it's worthy of sharing: not as an advertisement and not against anyone's will, but whenever it feels like the right thing to do.