Is Jesus My Homeboy?

I saw a shirt the other day that said, “Jesus is my homeboy”. I’ve seen these shirts many times before, but they still bother me. I know that there’s some truth to the notion that “Jesus is my homeboy” and I’ll get into that truth later, but there are other things implied by this saying that are at best irreverent and at worst sinful.

Two implications of “Jesus is my homeboy” I find especially problematic. First, it seems to me that this saying is used in order to make Jesus “cool”. Instead of obeying him as our Lord – the one who died to forgive our sins and rose to give us new life – we use him as a fashion statement. I suppose someone could say, “C’mon, Jesus himself says that he’s our friend. (John 15:14) What’s wrong with calling him my homeboy?”

But let’s be honest: by referring to Jesus as “homeboy”, we’re not just saying that he’s our friend. If we were trying to communicate that he’s our friend, the shirt simply would say, “Jesus is my friend”. By saying he’s my homeboy, it’s obvious we’re attempting to make him “cool”. What then happens when we discover that the real Jesus hangs a major question mark over all that we say and do? What happens when the real Jesus proves himself to be very un-cool by cultural standards, like when he blesses the meek, prohibits divorce, and commands that we love our enemies? (Matthew 5) Is he still our “homeboy” when he’s not very “cool”?

The second problem with “Jesus is my homeboy” is the implication that Jesus supports us in what we do. The common use of the word “homeboy” refers to someone who’s “got my back” and who’s my equal in this thing called life. But Jesus is not our equal: he is our Lord. Indeed he calls us his friends, but there’s a very important caveat that Jesus places on his friendship: “You are my friends if you do what I command you.” Somehow I doubt that the makers and wearers of “Jesus is my homeboy” shirts would be willing to add the subscript, “insofar as I obey him”.

Ultimately, the “Jesus is my homeboy” shirts seem to violate the second commandment by using the Lord’s name in vain. (Exodus 20:7) Jesus is not to be used as a fashion statement, nor does he support us in all that we do. Rather, he is our friend if and when we obey him as our Lord. If and when that happens, Jesus promises that he and God the Father will become our homeboys in a way far better than our silly t-shirt slogans imagine: “Those who love me will keep my word, and my Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them.” (John 14:23)