34567

FEBRUARY 15, 2012

D
SIMPLIFIED ENGLISH EDITION

STUDY ARTICLES

APRIL 2-8

Imitate Jesus’ Example

of Watchfulness
PAGE 3 ˙ SONGS: 108, 74

APRIL 9-15

“Be Courageous
and Very Strong”
PAGE 9 ˙ SONGS: 101, 92

APRIL 16-22

Preserve the Positive Spirit

of the Congregation
PAGE 15 ˙ SONGS: 20, 75

APRIL 23-29

Happiness Is Possible
in a Divided Household
PAGE 21 ˙ SONGS: 76, 56
34567 6
PURPOSE OF STUDY ARTICLES

FEBRUARY 15, 2012 STUDY ARTICLE 1 PAGES 3-8

Vol. 133, No. 4 Semimonthly

Why did Jesus urge his followers to keep
ENGLISH watchful? In this article, we will learn

about three ways that Jesus was watchful
THE PURPOSE OF THIS
MAGAZINE, The Watchtower, during his life on earth and how we can
is to honor Jehovah God, the imitate his example.
Supreme Ruler of the universe.
Just as watchtowers in ancient
times enabled a person to STUDY ARTICLE 2 PAGES 9-14
observe developments from How can we benefit from the examples
afar, so this magazine shows us
the significance of world events of Jehovah’s servants of the past who
in the light of Bible prophecies. showed courage? We will learn the an- COVER: At a railway
It comforts people with the swers to these questions in this article station in New Delhi,
good news that God’s Kingdom, India, which handles
that will help us act courageously.
which is a real government in
heaven, will soon bring an end
over 300 trains daily,
brothers witness to
to all wickedness and transform STUDY ARTICLE 3 PAGES 15-20
the earth into a paradise. It commuters and travel-
promotes faith in Jesus Christ, Each of us shows a certain spirit, or ers from all parts of
who died so that we might gain attitude. From this article, we will learn the country
everlasting life and who is now how we can help to preserve a good spirit
ruling as King of God’s Kingdom.
This magazine has been pub- in the congregation.
lished by Jehovah’s Witnesses

continuously since 1879 and is

nonpolitical. It adheres to the STUDY ARTICLE 4 PAGES 21-26
Bible as its authority. Christians in religiously divided homes

may have challenges every day. This
This publication is not for sale. It is
provided as part of a worldwide Bible article discusses how they can promote
educational work supported by voluntary
donations. Unless otherwise indicated,
peace in the home and do their best to
Scripture quotations are from the modern- help their family to accept the truth.
language New World Translation of the
Holy Scriptures—With References.

INDIA
“Some Expressions Explained” are
contextual explanations of words used POPULATION
within an article.

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 Imitate Jesus’
Example of
Watchfulness
AVE you ever asked yourself: ‘Is it really

H
“Keep on the watch and
pray.”—MATTHEW 26:41. possible to be watchful, as Jesus was?’ You
might think it is not possible for you be-
cause Jesus was perfect. Also, Jesus at times knew
exactly what would happen thousands of years in
HOW WOULD YOU ANSWER? the future. Did Jesus really need to be watchful?

(Matthew 24:37-39; Hebrews 4:15) Let us answer
How can our prayers show both of these questions first so that we can under-
that we are on the watch? stand how important and urgent it is for us to be
watchful.
2 Can a sinful human learn from a perfect exam-

ple? Yes, just as a student learns from the example

of a good teacher. Imagine a man having his first

lesson on how to shoot arrows. At first, he cannot
In what ways can we show
hit the target at all, but he takes more lessons and
that we are watchful in our
ministry?
keeps on trying. To become better at it, he careful-
ly studies the example of his teacher, who is an ex-
pert archer. The student pays attention to how the
teacher stands, positions his arms, and uses his
fingers on the bowstring. Little by little, he learns

how much pressure to put on the string and how
When we suffer trials, why
the wind will affect the arrow. If he keeps working
is it important that we keep hard and imitates his teacher, he will learn to hit
on the watch? And how can closer and closer to the center of the target. In a
we do this? similar way, we continue to do our best to become
better Christians by following Jesus’ instructions
and imitating his perfect example.
1, 2. (a) What questions might you ask yourself about Jesus’
example of being watchful? (b) Can sinful humans imitate Je-
sus’ perfect example? Give an illustration.

3
SOME Watchful: To be alert to
dangers that can affect our
EXPRESSIONS relationship with Jehovah,
EXPLAINED to look for opportunities to
preach, and to rely on Jeho-
vah’s wisdom
Self-righteous: An attitude
of being proud, being criti-
cal of other people, and
thinking that we are better
than them

3Did Jesus really need to be watch-
ful? Yes, he did. For example, on the
night before he died, Jesus urged his
faithful apostles: “Keep on the watch
with me.” Then he said: “Keep on the
watch and pray continually, that you
may not enter into temptation.” (Mat-
thew 26:38, 41) Jesus had always been
watchful while on earth. But dur-
ing those very difficult hours before
his death, he wanted to be especial-
ly watchful and as close to his heav-
enly Father as possible. He knew that
his followers needed to be watchful
too, not just at that time, but also in
the future. So we will discuss why Je-
sus wants us to keep on the watch.
Then we will learn about three ways in
which we can be watchful like Jesus.
WHY JESUS WANTS US
TO BE WATCHFUL
4 Jesus wants us to stay watchful be-
cause of what we do not know and
what we do know. When Jesus was a
man on earth, he did not know every-
thing about the future. He humbly ad-
mitted this when he said: “Concerning
that day and hour nobody knows, nei-
3. (a) What did Jesus say to show that he need-
ed to be watchful? (b) What will we discuss in
this article?
4. Why do we need to keep watchful?
ther the angels of the heavens nor the
Son, but only the Father.” (Matthew
24:36) At that time, Jesus, “the Son,”
We must be alert for
opportunities to tell
others what we know
about God’s Kingdom
did not know exactly when the end of
this wicked world would come. What
about us today? Do we know every-
thing about the future? Of course not!
We do not know exactly when Jeho-
vah will send his Son to destroy this
wicked world. If we did know every-
thing about the future, we would not
need to keep on the watch. Jesus ex-
plained that the end of this wicked
world would come suddenly, when
we would not expect it. So we need
to keep watchful.—Read Matthew
24:43.
5 Jesus knew many wonderful
things about the future that most peo-
ple around him did not know at all. We
5, 6. (a) How does our knowledge of God’s
Kingdom help us to be watchful? (b) Why
should what we know about Satan make us
want to be even more watchful?

4 SIMPLIFIED ENGLISH EDITION

do not know as much as Jesus did. But
he taught us a lot about God’s King-
dom and what it will do in the near
future. Most of the people around
us at school, at work, or in the ter-
ritory do not know these wonderful
things. So this is another reason for be-
ing watchful. Like Jesus, we need to
be alert for opportunities to tell others
what we know about God’s Kingdom.
These opportunities are precious, and
we want to make sure that we do not
waste any of them. People’s lives are in
danger!—1 Timothy 4:16.
6 Jesus knew something else that
helped him to stay watchful. He knew
that Satan was determined to tempt
him, to persecute him, and to break
his integrity to God. That wicked ene-
my was constantly looking for “anoth-
er convenient time” to test Jesus. (Luke
4:13) Jesus was always alert. He want-
ed to be ready for any test, whether
it was temptation, opposition, or per-
secution. We are in the same situation
as Jesus was. We know that Satan is
still “like a roaring lion, seeking to de-
vour someone.” That is why the Bible
tells all Christians: “Keep your senses,
be watchful.” (1 Peter 5:8) But how can
we do that?
HOW PRAYER HELPS US
TO BE WATCHFUL
7 The Bible tells us that prayer is
very important for us to stay alert, or
watchful, so that we can protect our
relationship with Jehovah. (Colossians
4:2; 1 Peter 4:7) Soon after he asked
his followers to keep on the watch with
7, 8. What counsel did Jesus give about
prayer? And what can we learn from the way he
prayed?
FEBRUARY 15, 2012
him, Jesus said: “Keep on the watch
and pray continually, that you may not
enter into temptation.” (Matthew 26:
41) Did he mean that they needed to
pray only during the very difficult sit-
uation that they were in at that mo-
ment? No, his counsel is a principle
that we should live by every day.
8 Jesus’ example shows us the val-
ue of prayer. You may remember that
Jesus once prayed to his Father for
an entire night. (Read Luke 6:12, 13.)
If we give ourselves
time for prayer to
Jehovah, we will
stay close to him
Imagine this: It is spring, and Jesus is
probably near the town of Capernaum.
As it becomes nighttime, Jesus goes
up one of the mountains near the Sea
of Galilee. He looks out over the land
and perhaps sees the little lights of oil
lamps down in Capernaum and oth-
er nearby villages. Jesus then begins
to pray, and nothing distracts him as
he speaks to Jehovah. The hours go
by. He barely notices the lights far be-
low going out one by one or the moon
moving across the sky or the sounds
of animals nearby. He probably prays
about a big decision that he has to
make. He has to decide who will be his
12 apostles. We can imagine Jesus in-
tensely praying to his Father for guid-
ance and wisdom as he tells Him all
his thoughts and concerns about each
disciple.
5
 9
Does Jesus’ example teach us that
we must spend many hours in prayer?
No. Jesus kindly said about his fol-
lowers: “The spirit, of course, is eager,
but the flesh is weak.” (Matthew 26:
41) Even though this is true, we can
imitate Jesus. For example, do we talk
to our heavenly Father before making
any decision that may affect our faith
and loyalty, that of our family, or that
of those in the congregation? Do we
pray for our brothers and sisters in the
truth? Do we pray from the heart, or
do we repeat a set pattern of words?
Also notice that Jesus valued person-
al and private talk with his Father. In
today’s busy world, it is very easy to
forget what is most important. We will
be more watchful if we give ourselves
plenty of time to pray privately to Jeho-
vah from the heart. (Matthew 6:6, 7)
We will draw closer to Jehovah, doing
everything we can to strengthen our
relationship with him and avoid doing
anything that would weaken it.—Psalm
25:14.
HOW TO BE WATCHFUL
IN THE PREACHING WORK
10
Jesus was watchful in the work
that Jehovah gave him to do. There
may be some types of work which
allow a person to think about oth-
er things while working without caus-
ing any serious problems. But there
are many jobs that require a worker to
stay alert and not think about anything
else while he is working. The Christian
ministry is like that. Jesus was always
9. What can we learn from Jesus’ example of
praying all night?
10. What example shows us how Jesus was
watchful for opportunities to preach to others?
6 SIMPLIFIED ENGLISH EDITION
alert in his work. He was watchful for
opportunities to tell others about the
good news. For example, when Jesus
and his disciples arrived at the town
of Sychar after walking all morning,
the disciples went to buy food. Jesus
stayed near the town’s well to rest, but
he was watchful and saw an oppor-
tunity to witness. A Samaritan wom-
an came to the well to get water. Je-
sus could have slept, or he could have
thought of reasons not to speak to
A family head who is
watchful, as Jesus
was, uses God’s
Word to guide him
her. But he started a conversation with
her and gave a powerful witness that
helped many people in that city. (John
4:4-26, 39-42) Can we do more to imi-
tate Jesus’ example, being more watch-
ful for opportunities to preach to peo-
ple we meet every day?
11 Sometimes, sincere people tried
to distract Jesus from his work. In Ca-
pernaum, they wanted to keep Jesus
with them because of his miracles of
healing the sick. It is understandable
why they would want to do that. But Je-
sus’ special work was to preach to all
“the lost sheep of the house of Israel,”
not just to those in one city. (Matthew
15:24) Jesus told those people: “Also
to other cities I must declare the good
11, 12. (a) What did Jesus say to those who
tried to distract him from his work? (b) How
did Jesus show balance in his ministry?

Jesus preached to the woman
at the well. Do you make opportunities
to preach every day?
news of the kingdom of God, because
for this I was sent forth.” (Luke 4:40-
44) So the most important thing in Je-
sus’ life was his ministry. He did not al-
low anything to distract him.
12 Was Jesus so busy with his work
that he was unbalanced, perhaps not
allowing himself time to enjoy other
things in life? Or was he so busy in
his ministry that he did not know what
people needed? No, Jesus showed per-
fect balance in his ministry. He en-
joyed life and happy times with his
friends. He had compassion for fami-
lies and great understanding of their
needs and problems. He freely showed
affection for children.—Read Mark
10:13-16.
13 As we imitate Jesus’ example of
being watchful, how can we try to be
13. How can we imitate Jesus’ example of be-
ing watchful and balanced in the ministry?
FEBRUARY 15, 2012
balanced, as he was? We do not let this
world distract us from our work. Even
sincere friends and relatives may tell
us to do less in the ministry or to live
what they think is a normal life. But if
we imitate Jesus, our ministry will be
as important to us as food. (John 4:34)
Our ministry helps to strengthen our
relationship with Jehovah and makes
us happy. But we never want to be un-
balanced, showing a self-righteous at-
titude or not allowing ourselves to en-
joy other things. Like Jesus, we want
to be joyful, balanced servants of “the
happy God.”—1 Timothy 1:11.
HOW TO BE WATCHFUL
WHEN WE HAVE TRIALS
14 Jesus gave his followers some of
his most urgent counsel when he had
trials. (Read Mark 14:37.) When we
are in difficult situations, we need to
remember Jesus’ example more than
ever. At these times, people often for-
get a very important truth. It is a truth
so important that the book of Proverbs
says it twice: “There exists a way that
is upright before a man, but the ways
of death are the end of it afterward.”
(Proverbs 14:12; 16:25) If we rely on
our own thinking, especially when we
have serious problems, we will like-
ly put ourselves and those we love in
danger.
15 For example, a family head may
be struggling to provide for the materi-
al needs of “those who are his own.”
(1 Timothy 5:8) He might feel tempt-
ed to accept a job that causes him
14. When we are in difficult situations, what
should we not forget? Why?
15. What may a family head who is struggling
to provide for his family be tempted to do?
7

If you help your family to strengthen
their relationship with Jehovah,
you show that you are watchful
to miss meetings or that keeps him
from taking the lead in family worship
or participating in the ministry. If he
does only what he thinks is right, ac-
cepting the job might seem like the
right thing to do. He could lose his
friendship with Jehovah and even turn
against him. It is much better to fol-
low the counsel of Proverbs 3:5, 6. Sol-
omon said: “Trust in Jehovah with all
your heart and do not lean upon your
own understanding. In all your ways
take notice of him, and he himself will
make your paths straight.”
16 When Jesus suffered trials, he re-
fused to rely on his own opinion. Just
think about that. The wisest man who
ever lived on this earth chose not to
rely on his own wisdom. For exam-
ple, when Satan tempted him, Jesus
16. (a) What do we learn from Jesus’ exam-
ple of relying on Jehovah’s wisdom? (b) How
are many family heads imitating Jesus’ example
during difficult times?
8 SIMPLIFIED ENGLISH EDITION
repeatedly answered with the words:
“It is written.” (Matthew 4:4, 7, 10) Je-
sus relied on his Father’s wisdom to
fight temptation. By doing this, Jesus
showed humility, a quality that Sa-
tan does not have and that he hates.
Do we rely on Jehovah’s wisdom? A
family head who is watchful, as Jesus
was, uses God’s Word to guide him,
especially in difficult times. All over
the world, thousands of family heads
are doing this. They are putting God’s
Kingdom and true worship first, even
ahead of their material needs. In this
way, they take the best care of their
families. Jehovah blesses their efforts
to provide for the material needs of
their families, just as he promised.
—Matthew 6:33.
17 There is no doubt that Jesus is
the best example of being watchful.
His example is helpful and even saves
lives. Remember, Satan really wants
you to fall asleep spiritually. He wants
to weaken your faith, make you lose
your zeal in worshipping Jehovah,
and cause you to break your integrity.
(1 Thessalonians 5:6) Do not let him
win! Be watchful, as Jesus was. Give
yourself time to pray from the heart, be
alert in the ministry, and trust in Je-
hovah when you have trials. By do-
ing this, you will have a meaningful,
happy, and satisfying life even now as
you see the end of this wicked world
getting closer. If you stay watchful, Je-
sus will find you alert and busy serv-
ing God when he comes to destroy this
wicked world. Jehovah will be very
happy to reward you for your faithful-
ness!—Revelation 16:15.
17. What makes you want to imitate Jesus’ ex-
ample of being watchful?
 “Be Courageous
and Very Strong”
“Be courageous and very OURAGE is the opposite of fear, weakness,
strong . . . Jehovah your
God is with you.”
—JOSHUA 1:7-9.
C and cowardice. We may think of a coura-
geous person as someone who is strong and
bold. But sometimes, courage is needed simply to
keep doing what is right in our daily life.
2 Some people mentioned in the Bible were

fearless in very difficult situations. Others showed

HOW WOULD YOU ANSWER? courage in situations that happen to Jehovah’s
servants every day. What can we learn from Bi-
In what ways did Enoch and ble examples of courage? How can we be coura-
Noah show courage? geous?
COURAGEOUS WITNESSES
IN AN UNGODLY WORLD
3 It took courage to be a witness of Jehovah

among wicked people on earth before the Flood of
How were some women in the Noah’s day. But Enoch, “the seventh one in line
past good examples of faith from Adam,” boldly preached this prophetic mes-
and courage? sage: “Look! Jehovah came with his holy myriads,
to execute judgment against all, and to convict all
the ungodly concerning all their ungodly deeds
that they did in an ungodly way, and concerning
all the shocking things that ungodly sinners spoke

against him.” (Jude 14, 15) Enoch spoke as if these
What are some examples of things had already happened because that proph-
young people who impress you? ecy was sure to come true. And wicked humans
did die in a global flood.
1, 2. (a) What is sometimes needed to keep doing what is
right in our daily life? (b) What are we going to learn about in
this article?
3. What did Enoch prophesy about the wicked?

9
SOME Courageous: Bold, fear-
less, strong. God’s servants
EXPRESSIONS need to be courageous
EXPLAINED both in difficult situations
and in situations of every-
day life
Authorities: Those who
have power or control, such
as government officials,
police, judges, and so on

4 The Flood happened in the year
2370 before Christ, more than 650
years after Enoch died. Meanwhile,
Noah was born, raised a family, and
with his sons built the ark. Wicked
angels made human bodies for them-
selves, took good-looking women, and
had sons with them. These sons were
called Nephilim. Most people were
wicked, and violence was everywhere
on the earth. (Genesis 6:1-5, 9, 11)
In spite of all these things happen-
ing around him, “Noah walked with
the true God” and witnessed boldly as
“a preacher of righteousness.” (Read
2 Peter 2:4, 5.) We need similar cour-
age in these last days.
THEY SHOWED FAITH
AND COURAGE
5 Moses was an example of faith and
courage. (Hebrews 11:24-27) God used
him from the year 1513 to the year 1473
before Christ to take the Israelites out
of Egypt and lead them in the wilder-
that Jehovah used to rescue the Israel-
ites and to prove that Egypt’s gods had
no power. (Exodus, chapters 7-12) Mo-
ses showed faith and courage because
he had constant help from God, just as
we do today.—Deuteronomy 33:27.
6 We know we will need the same
kind of courage that Moses had. Jesus
said: “You will be haled before gover-
nors and kings for my sake, for a wit-
ness to them and the nations. How-
ever, when they deliver you up, do not
become anxious about how or what
you are to speak; for what you are to
speak will be given you in that hour;
for the ones speaking are not just you,
but it is the spirit of your Father that
speaks by you.” (Matthew 10:18-20) If
the authorities question us about our
service to God, Jehovah’s spirit will
help us to show respect as we defend
our beliefs with faith and courage.
—Read Luke 12:11, 12.
7 Joshua, who became the leader of

ness. Moses did not think that he had
the ability to carry out this assignment,
but he did accept it. (Exodus 6:12) He
and his brother, Aaron, spoke to cru-
el Pharaoh again and again. They cou-
rageously announced the Ten Plagues
4. Noah walked with God in spite of what
things happening around him?
5. How did Moses show faith and courage?
Israel after Moses, strengthened his
faith and courage by regularly study-
ing God’s Law. In the year 1473 before
Christ, Israel was ready to enter the
Promised Land. God told Joshua: “Be
6. If the authorities question us, what will help
us to defend our beliefs with courage?
7. Why was Joshua courageous and successful
at his assignment?

10 SIMPLIFIED ENGLISH EDITION

courageous and very strong.” He also
told Joshua that if he obeyed the Law,
he would act wisely and do well at his
assignment. God said: “Do not suffer
shock or be terrified, for Jehovah your
God is with you wherever you go.”
(Joshua 1:7-9) Those words must real-
ly have strengthened Joshua! And God
certainly was with him. We know that
because most of the Promised Land
was conquered in only six years, by the
year 1467 before Christ.
WOMEN WHO SERVED GOD
WITH COURAGE
8 In the past, many women showed
courage in their service to Jehovah. For
example, the prostitute Rahab of Jer-
icho believed in Jehovah’s protection.
She courageously hid two spies sent by
Joshua. When some men came look-
ing for the spies, she sent these men
somewhere else. She and her family
were kept alive when the Israelites
conquered Jericho. Rahab stopped her
8. Why is Rahab an example of faith and cour-
age?
sinful way of life, started to worship Je-
hovah faithfully, and even became part
of the Messiah’s family line! (Joshua 2:
1-6; 6:22, 23; Matthew 1:1, 5) She was
greatly blessed for her faith and cour-
age.
9 After Joshua’s death about the
year 1450 before Christ, God ap-
pointed men as judges in Israel. Ca-
naanite King Jabin was very cruel to
the Israelites for 20 years. God used
the prophetess Deborah to tell Judge
Barak to fight against this king. Ba-
rak gathered 10,000 men on Mount Ta-
bor and was ready for battle with Ja-
bin’s military chief Sisera. Sisera had
entered the dry riverbed of the Kishon
with his army and its 900 war chari-
ots. When the Israelites marched into
the valley, God caused a sudden flood.
The ground was so muddy that the
Canaanite chariots could not move.
Barak’s men won the battle, and the
whole army of Sisera was killed. Sise-
ra himself tried to hide in the tent of
9. How did Deborah, Barak, and Jael show
courage?
Enoch preached
courageously in an
ungodly world

Jael was courageous and strong
a woman whose name was Jael, but
she killed him while he slept. Just as
Deborah had prophesied, the praise
for the victory over the Canaanites
went to a woman, that is, to Jael. Be-
cause Deborah, Barak, and Jael act-
ed courageously, Israel had no further
trouble from the Canaanites for 40
years. (Judges 4:1-9, 14-22; 5:20, 21, 31)
Many men and women have shown
similar faith and courage.
OUR WORDS CAN HELP OTHERS
TO HAVE COURAGE
10 What we say can help other wor-
shippers of Jehovah to have courage.
In the 11th century before Christ,
10. How do we know that our words can help
others to have courage?
12
King David told his son Solomon: “Be
courageous and strong and act. Do not
be afraid nor be terrified, for Jehovah
God, my God, is with you. He will not
desert you or leave you until all the
work of the service of Jehovah’s house
is finished.” (1 Chronicles 28:20) Solo-
mon courageously built the beautiful
temple of Jehovah in Jerusalem.
1 1 In the tenth centur y before
Christ, the words of a courageous Isra-
elite girl helped a leper to be healed
and to learn about Jehovah. This girl
had been captured by the Syrians and
became a servant of the army chief.
His name was Naaman, and he was
a leper. The girl knew about the mir-
acles that Jehovah performed through
his prophet Elisha. So she told Naa-
man’s wife that if her husband went to
Israel, Elisha would heal him. Naaman
did what the girl said, was miraculous-
ly healed, and became a worshipper of
Jehovah. (2 Kings 5:1-3, 10-17) If you
are a young person who loves God as
that girl did, he can give you courage to
witness to teachers, schoolmates, and
others.
12 The right words can help some-
one to have courage in a dangerous sit-
uation. When the Assyrians marched
against Jerusalem in the eighth centu-
ry before Christ, King Hezekiah told
his people: “Be courageous and strong.
Do not be afraid nor be terrified be-
cause of the king of Assyria and on ac-
count of all the crowd that is with him;
for with us there are more than there
are with him. With him there is an arm
11. How did the words of a courageous Israel-
ite girl help someone?
12. How did the words of King Hezekiah influ-
ence his people?
SIMPLIFIED ENGLISH EDITION
of flesh, but with us there is Jehovah
our God to help us and to fight our bat-
tles.” How did those words influence
the people of Judah? The words helped
them to have greater courage. The Bi-
ble says: “The people began to brace
themselves upon the words of Hezeki-
ah.” (2 Chronicles 32:7, 8) Encouraging
words like Hezekiah’s may help us and
other Christians to have greater cour-
age when we are being persecuted.
13 We sometimes show courage by
what we do not say. In the tenth cen-
tury before Christ, King Ahab’s stew-
ard Obadiah courageously hid a hun-
dred prophets of Jehovah “by fifties in
a cave” so that they would not be killed
by wicked Queen Jezebel. (1 Kings
18:4) Like Obadiah, who feared God,
many of Jehovah’s servants today have
courageously protected their brothers
and sisters by not giving persecutors
information about them.
QUEEN ESTHER WAS COURAGEOUS
14 Queen Esther showed great faith
and courage. In the fifth century be-
fore Christ, wicked Haman planned to
kill all the Jews in the empire. When
the Jews heard that they were going
to be killed, they mourned and fast-
ed. They also must have prayed with
all their heart. (Esther 4:1-3) Queen Es-
ther was extremely worried for the
Jews. Her cousin Mordecai sent her a
copy of the law that said that the Jews
should be killed and told her to go be-
fore the king and beg him to help her
people. But anyone who went to the
13. Why was King Ahab’s steward Obadiah an
example of courage?
14, 15. How did Queen Esther show faith and
courage? What was the result?
FEBRUARY 15, 2012
king without an invitation would be
killed.—Esther 4:4-11.
15 Mordecai told Esther that if she
did not go to the king, Jehovah would
save the Jews in some other way. Mor-
decai said that the reason she became
queen might have been to help Jeho-
vah’s people. Esther then asked Mor-
decai to gather the Jews in Shushan
together to fast. She said: “I shall fast
likewise, and upon that I shall come
Like Esther,
we should be strong
when we suffer trials
in to the king, which is not accord-
ing to the law; and in case I must per-
ish, I must perish.” (Esther 4:12-17) Es-
ther acted courageously, and the book
of Esther tells us that God delivered
his people. Today, anointed Christians
and the other sheep show similar cour-
age when they suffer. And Jehovah,
the “Hearer of prayer,” always helps
them.—Read Psalm 65:2; 118:6.
“TAKE COURAGE”
16 One time, when Jesus was 12
years old, his parents found him at
the temple, “sitting in the midst of
the teachers and listening to them and
questioning them.” And “all those lis-
tening to him were in constant amaze-
ment at his understanding and his an-
swers.” (Luke 2:41-50) Even though he
was young, Jesus had the faith and
courage needed to ask questions of
16. What example did Jesus set for young
ones?
13
older teachers at the temple. Young
people in the Christian congregation
should remember Jesus’ example. This
will help them use all the opportuni-
ties they have to explain to others the
reason for their faith.—1 Peter 3:15.
17 Jesus told others to “take cour-
age.” (Matthew 9:2, 22) He told his dis-
ciples: “Look! The hour is coming, in-
deed, it has come, when you will be
scattered each one to his own house
and you will leave me alone; and yet
I am not alone, because the Father
is with me. I have said these things
to you that by means of me you may
have peace. In the world you are hav-
ing tribulation, but take courage! I
have conquered the world.” (John 16:
32, 33) The world hates us just as it
hated the first disciples of Jesus, but
we do not want to become part of the
world. We can have the courage to
keep separate from this world if we
meditate on Jesus’ example of courage.
He conquered the world, and so can
we.—John 17:16; James 1:27.
“BE OF GOOD COURAGE!”
18 The apostle Paul endured many
trials. Once, Jews in Jerusalem were
going to kill Paul, but Roman soldiers
rescued him. During the night, “the
Lord stood by him and said: ‘Be of
good courage! For as you have been
giving a thorough witness on the
things about me in Jerusalem, so you
must also bear witness in Rome.’ ”
(Acts 23:11) Paul did exactly what Je-
sus told him to do.
17. Why did Jesus tell his disciples to “take
courage”? Why do we need to be courageous?
18, 19. How did the apostle Paul show faith
and courage?
14
19 Paul showed no fear when he told
the “superfine apostles,” who tried to
corrupt the congregation in Corinth,
that they were wrong. (2 Corinthians
11:5; 12:11) These men were false apos-
tles. Paul could prove that Jesus had
sent him because of all the things he
had endured, such as imprisonment,
beatings, dangerous journeys, difficul-
ties, hunger, thirst, sleepless nights,
and his anxiety for all the congrega-
tions. (Read 2 Corinthians 11:23-28.)
Paul’s excellent example of faith and
courage proved that his strength came
from God!
20 Not all Christians will suffer in-
tense persecution. But we all need
boldness to endure difficult situations
in life. For example, a young person in
Brazil was part of a gang. After study-
ing the Bible, he knew that he need-
ed to make changes, but usually any-
one who left that gang was killed. He
prayed, and he used scriptures to show
the leader why he could not stay in
the gang. The young man was allowed
to leave without suffering any punish-
ment, and he became a publisher.
21 We need courage in many situa-
tions. We need it to preach the good
news. Young people need courage to
keep integrity at school. It takes cour-
age to ask for time off from work to
go to all sessions of a convention. And
we could give many other examples.
Whatever the situation may be, Je-
hovah will hear our “prayer of faith.”
(James 5:15) And certainly he can give
us his holy spirit so that we can “be
courageous and very strong”!
20, 21. (a) Give an example to show that we
need courage to endure difficult situations in
life. (b) In what situations may we need to show
courage? And of what can we be certain?
SIMPLIFIED ENGLISH EDITION
 Preserve
the Positive
Spirit of the
Congregation
HE Philippian Christians in the first centu-

T
“The undeserved kindness
of the Lord Jesus Christ ry were poor. But they were generous and
be with the spirit you showed great love for their brothers and sis-
show.”—PHILIPPIANS 4:23. ters. (Philippians 1:3-5, 9; 4:15, 16) That is why
Paul wrote to them: “The undeserved kindness of
the Lord Jesus Christ be with the spirit you show.”
(Philippians 4:23) Because the Christians in Thya-
HOW CAN WE tira had a similar spirit, or attitude, Jesus Christ
INFLUENCE OTHERS IN told them: “I know your deeds, and your love and
THE CONGREGATION TO faith and ministry and endurance, and that your
HAVE A GOOD SPIRIT . . . deeds of late are more than those formerly.”—Rev-
elation 2:19.
when associating with our 2 Each congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses to-
brothers? day shows a certain spirit, or general attitude.
Some congregations are known for being kind and
loving. Others show great zeal in supporting the
preaching work and the full-time ministry. When

all of us work hard to have a good attitude, we help
by our zeal in the field ministry? the congregation to remain united and to keep its
good spirit. (1 Corinthians 1:10) But when individ-
uals have a bad attitude, this may influence those
in the congregation to do less in God’s service,
lose zeal for the ministry, and even tolerate serious

sin. (1 Corinthians 5:1; Revelation 3:15, 16) What
by telling the elders about spirit does your congregation show? How can you
a serious sin that we may help to encourage a good spirit in the congrega-
know of? tion?
1. Why did Paul and Jesus Christ speak well of the congrega-
tions in Philippi and Thyatira?
2. How does our attitude influence the spirit that our congre-
gation shows?

15
SOME Spirit of the congregation:
attitude of the congregation
EXPRESSIONS
Oneness of the spirit:
EXPLAINED unity
ENCOURAGE A GOOD SPIRIT
IN THE CONGREGATION
3 David sang to Jehovah: “I will
laud you in the big congregation;
among a numerous people I shall
praise you.” (Psalm 35:18) The psalm-
ist praised Jehovah when he was with
other servants of God. Our congrega-
tion meetings each week, such as the
Watchtower Study, give us opportu-
nities to show our zeal and faith by
our comments. We should all ask our-
selves: ‘Do I comment at the meetings
as much as I can? Do I prepare well
so that I can give good comments? As
family head, do I help my children be-
fore the meeting to prepare comments
and teach them to answer in their own
words?’
4 We can show that we have a stead-
fast heart, that is, a heart determined
to do what is right, by the way we sing
at the meetings. David said: “My heart
is steadfast, O God, my heart is stead-
fast. I will sing and make melody.”
(Psalm 57:7) The songs we use at our
meetings give us a very good opportu-
nity to “sing and make melody” to Je-
hovah with a steadfast heart. If we do
not know some of the songs well, per-
haps we could practice them during
our family worship. We want to do the
3, 4. How can we praise Jehovah in the congre-
gation?
16
Zeal for the ministry:
enthusiasm for field service
Murmuring: to make a
habit of complaining
same as the psalmist, who said: “I will
sing to Jehovah throughout my life; I
will make melody to my God as long as
I am.”—Psalm 104:33.
5 When we are hospitable to our
brothers and sisters, we also encour-
age love in the congregation. In the
final chapter of his letter to the He-
brews, Paul wrote: “Let your brother-
ly love continue. Do not forget hospi-
tality.” (Hebrews 13:1, 2) An excellent
way to show hospitality is to invite the
traveling overseer and his wife, or the
full-time servants in the congregation,
for a meal. Sometimes we may want to
Each person has a
part in keeping a
good spirit in the
congregation
invite widows, families with only one
parent, or others to join us for a meal
or for our family worship.
6 Paul told Timothy to encourage
others “to work at good, to be rich
in fine works, to be liberal, ready to
share, safely treasuring up for them-
5, 6. How can we be hospitable and generous
to others? What does this encourage in the con-
gregation?
SIMPLIFIED ENGLISH EDITION
 Do you encourage a good spirit in the congregation by preparing good comments?
selves a fine foundation for the future,
in order that they may get a firm hold
on the real life.” (1 Timothy 6:17-19)
Paul was encouraging his brothers and
sisters to learn to be generous. Even
when the economy is not good, we
can be generous. For example, if you
have a car, perhaps you can drive oth-
ers to the territory or to the meetings.
And how can brothers who are helped
this way show their gratitude and en-
courage a good spirit in the congre-
gation? They may give what they can
to help pay for the increasing cost of
fuel. Another way to make our broth-
ers and sisters feel needed and loved is
to spend more time with them. When
we do good things “toward those relat-
ed to us in the faith” and are ready to
use our time and the things we have
FEBRUARY 15, 2012
to help them, our love for them grows,
and we influence others in the congre-
gation to have a good spirit.—Galatians
6:10.
7 Friendship and confidentiality
also strengthen the love among our
brothers and sisters. (Read Proverbs
18:24.) If a friend tells us about his per-
sonal matters, we show that we are a
true friend if we do not tell others. We
keep personal matters confidential.
When our brother talks to us about his
personal thoughts and feelings and he
can trust that we will not tell others,
the love that we already have between
us grows stronger. Let us be a friend
who can keep things confidential and
7. How does keeping the personal matters of
others confidential help the congregation to
have a good spirit?
17
help the congregation to be like a lov-
ing family.—Proverbs 20:19.
BE ENTHUSIASTIC IN
THE MINISTRY
8 Jesus said to the congregation in
Laodicea: “I know your deeds, that
you are neither cold nor hot. I wish
you were cold or else hot. So, because
you are lukewarm and neither hot nor
cold, I am going to vomit you out of
my mouth.” (Revelation 3:15, 16) The
Laodiceans did not have zeal for the
Christian ministry. This attitude prob-
ably influenced how they felt about
one another in the congregation. So Je-
sus lovingly told them: “All those for
whom I have affection I reprove and
discipline. Therefore be zealous and
repent.”—Revelation 3:19.
9 If we want the congregation to
have a good spirit, we should have
zeal, or enthusiasm, for the field ser-
vice. One purpose of the congregation
is to find sincere people in the terri-
tory and teach them the truth. So we
need to imitate Jesus and have zeal for
the work of making disciples. (Mat-
thew 28:19, 20; Luke 4:43) The greater
our enthusiasm is for the ministry, the
more united we will be as “God’s fel-
low workers.” (1 Corinthians 3:9)
When we work with others in the min-
istry and see them defend their faith
and show their love for Jehovah and
the truth, we feel more love and re-
spect for them. Also, serving “shoul-
der to shoulder” in the ministry results
in a united spirit in the congregation.
—Read Zephaniah 3:9.
8. What did Jesus tell the Laodiceans? Why?
9. How does our enthusiasm for the field min-
istry influence the congregation?
18
10 Our efforts to become better at
our ministry also have a good effect
on others. If we show more interest in
the people we meet in field service and
work hard to reach their hearts, our
enthusiasm for the ministry will grow.
(Matthew 9:36, 37) If we are enthusias-
tic, those who are with us will become
enthusiastic. Jesus sent his disciples
out to preach, not by themselves, but
in twos. (Luke 10:1) This not only en-
couraged them and trained them but
also made them more enthusiastic for
the ministry. We certainly enjoy work-
ing with enthusiastic publishers! Their
enthusiasm encourages us and helps
us to continue in the preaching work.
—Romans 1:12.
DO NOT COMPLAIN
OR HIDE SERIOUS SIN
11 A few weeks after Jehovah made
the Israelites a nation, they started
to murmur, or complain. This caused
them to rebel against Jehovah and his
representatives, Moses and Aaron.
(Exodus 16:1, 2) Only a small number
of the Israelites who left Egypt were al-
lowed to enter the Promised Land. Not
even Moses was allowed to enter that
land because of the way he reacted to
the bad attitude of the Israelites. (Deu-
teronomy 32:48-52) What can we do
today to avoid having a bad attitude?
12 We must be careful not to have a
complaining attitude. Humility and re-
10. What effect do our efforts to become better
at our ministry have on others in the congrega-
tion?
11. What kind of attitude did some Israelites
have in Moses’ time? What did this cause them
to do?
12. What can help us not to have a complain-
ing attitude?
SIMPLIFIED ENGLISH EDITION
 Encourage a good spirit by knowing our songs well
spect for authority will help us avoid
this attitude. Something else that can
help us is carefully choosing whom we
associate with. There will be sad re-
sults if we choose bad entertainment
or spend too much time at work or
at school with people who do not
obey Jehovah. It is wise to limit our as-
sociation with those who have a com-
plaining attitude or who try to be in-
dependent.—Proverbs 13:20.
13 When people in the congregation
keep on complaining, this can slowly
lead to conduct that will damage their
relationship with Jehovah. A bad atti-
tude can influence others. For exam-
ple, Christ spoke of the bad influence
of “that woman Jezebel” on the congre-
gation at Thyatira. (Read Revelation 2:
20-23.) The apostle Paul warned of the
influences that come from within the
congregation and can corrupt it. He
13. What scriptures show that murmuring can
also happen within the congregation?
FEBRUARY 15, 2012
compared these influences to leaven.
He told the Corinthians: “Do you not
know that a little leaven ferments the
whole lump?” He continued: “Clear
away the old leaven, that you may be a
new lump, according as you are free
from ferment.”—1 Corinthians 5:1, 2,
6, 7.
14 What if you find out that someone
is hiding a serious sin, such as drink-
ing too much alcohol, viewing pornog-
raphy, or living an immoral life? What
will you do? (Ephesians 5:11, 12) If we
ignore serious sin, Jehovah can remove
his holy spirit from the congregation.
This could ruin the peace of the whole
congregation. (Galatians 5:19-23) Paul
told the Christians in Corinth that
they had to “clear away the old leav-
en.” In the same way today, we must
14, 15. (a) What can happen to the congre-
gation if serious sin is allowed to continue?
(b) What should we do if we know that some-
one is involved in a serious sin?
19
keep badness out of the congregation
so that we can protect its good spir-
it. What can you do to help keep the
peace of the congregation?
15 As mentioned earlier, it is impor-
tant to keep certain matters confiden-
tial, especially when others trust us
with their feelings and thoughts. It is
wrong and unkind to tell others con-
fidential things about someone else!
Even so, if someone has committed a
serious sin, the elders in the congrega-
tion need to know about it. They are
the ones who have the Scriptural re-
sponsibility to take care of the matter.
(Read Leviticus 5:1.) So if we know
that a brother or a sister has commit-
ted a serious sin, we should tell that
person to talk to the elders and ask for
their help. (James 5:13-15) But if he or
she does not talk to the elders within a
reasonable amount of time, we should
do it.
Humility and respect
for authority help
us to avoid a
complaining attitude
16 People should feel safe in the
Christian congregation, and we must
help to protect it by telling the elders
when someone has committed a seri-
ous sin. If the elders help the person
who sinned to understand how serious
his sin is, to repent, and to accept cor-
rection, the spirit of the congregation
16. How do we protect the congregation by
telling the elders if we know of serious sin?
20
is no longer in danger. But what if the
one who sinned does not repent and
does not accept the loving help of the
elders? Then he is disfellowshipped. In
this way, the bad influence is removed,
and the elders protect the spirit of
the congregation. (Read 1 Corinthians
5:5.) So all of us have the responsibili-
ty to tell the elders if we know of seri-
ous sin and to follow their direction.
Let us do what is best for our brothers
and sisters and protect the congrega-
tion.
ENCOURAGE
“THE ONENESS OF THE SPIRIT”
17 By “devoting themselves to the
teaching of the apostles,” Jesus’ ear-
ly followers helped the congregation to
become united. (Acts 2:42) They val-
ued the direction that the older men
gave them based on the Scriptures. In
the same way today, the congregation
has the help and encouragement it
needs to stay united because the elders
follow the direction of the faithful and
discreet slave class. (1 Corinthians 1:
10) When we obey the instruction that
Jehovah’s organization gives us from
the Bible and follow the direction of
the elders, we show that we are “ear-
nestly endeavoring to observe the one-
ness of the spirit in the uniting bond of
peace.”—Ephesians 4:3.
18 Let us do everything we can to
help the congregation to have a good
spirit and to keep that spirit. If we
do this, we can be sure that “the un-
deserved kindness of the Lord Jesus
Christ” will be with the spirit we show.
—Philippians 4:23.
17, 18. What will help us to keep the unity of
the congregation?
SIMPLIFIED ENGLISH EDITION
 Happiness
Is Possible
in a Divided
Household
“How do you know but that NE time when Jesus sent out his apostles,
you will save your [mate]?”
—1 CORINTHIANS 7:16. O he said: “As you go, preach, saying, ‘The
kingdom of the heavens has drawn near.’ ”
(Matthew 10:1, 7) This good news would bring
peace and happiness to those who accepted it
with gratitude. But Jesus warned his apostles that
many would oppose their preaching work. (Mat-
CAN YOU FIND thew 10:16-23) Family opposition can be especial-
THE ANSWERS? ly difficult.—Read Matthew 10:34-36.
2 Does this mean that we cannot be happy if our

What can Christians do to have family is not in the truth? No. Even though some
peace in a divided household? Christians have strong family opposition, not all
do. Also, family opposition may not be perma-
nent. Whatever our situation, it is possible to be
happy if we react in the right way when fami-
ly members oppose us or when they show no in-

terest in the truth. Also, Jehovah helps those who
How might a Christian help his
are loyal to him to be joyful even under difficult
family to accept the truth? circumstances. Christians can be happier if they
(1) work hard to have peace in the home and
(2) sincerely try to help their family accept the
truth.
WORK HARD TO HAVE PEACE IN THE FAMILY
3 The family is more likely to accept the truth
What can we do to help those if there is peace in the home. (Read James 3:18.)
who live in divided households?
1. When someone accepts the truth, what can be the effect
on his family?
2. Why is it possible for us to be happy even if our family is
not in the truth?
3. Why should a Christian work hard to have peace in the
family?

21
SOME Religiously divided
household: A family
EXPRESSIONS where not everyone is
EXPLAINED a Witness of Jehovah
Even if the family does not yet worship
Jehovah, a Christian must work hard to
have peace in the family. How can he
do that?
4 We must keep our inner peace, or
calmness. To do this, we need to pray
for “the peace of God that excels all
thought.” (Philippians 4:6, 7) Happi-
ness and peace result from learning
about Jehovah and living according to
Bible principles. (Isaiah 54:13) We also
need to have a share in congregation
Our worship of
Jehovah gives us
peace, satisfaction,
and happiness
meetings and to be zealous in the field
ministry if we want to have peace and
happiness. Those who live in a divid-
ed household can usually find a way to
do these important things. For exam-
ple, one sister named Enza has a hus-
band who is violently opposed.1 (See
footnote.) She goes out preaching after
she has finished her housework. Enza
says, “Jehovah richly blesses me with
1 Names have been changed.
4. How may we keep our inner peace?
22
Unbelieving mate:
A husband or wife who
is not one of Jehovah’s
Witnesses
good results each time I make the ef-
fort to share the good news with oth-
ers.” These blessings give her peace,
satisfaction, and happiness.
5 We need to work hard to have
peace with family members who are
not in the truth. This may be difficult
because sometimes they may want
us to do things that are against Bible
principles. Some in our family who
are not in the truth may become an-
gry when we loyally follow the Bible.
That should not stop us from doing
what is right. If we work hard, some-
day we may have peace in the family.
Of course, we do our best to cooperate
with the family when something is not
against Bible principles. In this way,
we avoid unnecessary disagreements.
(Read Proverbs 16:7.) When there is a
problem, it is important to seek Bible
counsel from publications of the faith-
ful and discreet slave class and from
the elders.—Proverbs 11:14.
6 We can have peace in the family
if we trust in Jehovah and try to un-
derstand how our family feels. (Prov-
erbs 16:20) Even new Bible students
can try to do this. Some unbelieving
5. What can be hard for those whose family is
not in the truth? Where can they get help?
6, 7. (a) Why do some oppose family mem-
bers who begin to study with Jehovah’s Wit-
nesses? (b) How should a Bible student or a
Witness react to family opposition?
SIMPLIFIED ENGLISH EDITION
husbands or wives may not oppose
their mate if he or she studies the Bi-
ble. They may even say that this could
be good for the family. But others may
show strong opposition. Esther, who
is now a Witness, admits that she got
very angry when her husband began
studying with Jehovah’s Witnesses.
She says, “I either threw out his liter-
ature or burned it.” Howard opposed
his wife when she began to study the
Bible. He says that many husbands are
afraid that their wives are joining a
religious sect that has deceived them.
He also says that since a husband may
think that his wife is in danger, he may
speak and act harshly.
7 We should help a Bible student
whose mate is opposed to understand
Jehovah helps us
to be joyful even
under difficult
circumstances
that he does not have to stop his Bi-
ble study. He or she will often be able
to improve the situation by being gen-
tle and by showing respect for his or
her mate. (1 Peter 3:15) Howard says,
“I am so grateful that my wife stayed
calm and did not overreact!” His wife
explains that Howard demanded that
she stop studying the Bible because he
thought that the Witnesses were de-
ceiving her. She explains: “Instead of
arguing, I said that he could be right,
but I also told him that I could not hon-
estly see how. So I asked him to read
FEBRUARY 15, 2012
the book I was studying. He did so and
could not disagree with what it said.
This deeply affected him.” It is impor-
tant to remember that people may feel
lonely or think that their marriage is in
danger when their mate leaves them
behind to go to the meetings or in field
service. But the Bible student or Wit-
ness can speak kindly and lovingly to
his or her mate. This will help the mate
not to worry.
HELP THEM TO
ACCEPT THE TRUTH
8 The apostle Paul advised Chris-
tians that they cannot leave a mar-
riage mate just because he or she is
not a Christian.1 (See footnote.) (Read
1 Corinthians 7:12-16.) It will help a
Christian to be happy if he remembers
that someday, his mate may accept the
truth. But it is good for him to be care-
ful about the way he tries to help his
mate understand the truth, as the fol-
lowing experiences show.
9 Jason was very excited when he
first learned the truth. He says, “I
wanted to tell everyone!” When a Bi-
ble student realizes that what he has
learned from the Bible is the truth, he
may be so happy that he talks about
it almost all the time. He may expect
his family to accept the truth imme-
diately, but they may not agree with
him. How did Jason’s wife react to his
1 Paul’s counsel did not forbid Christians to sepa-
rate from their mates in extreme situations. That is
a serious personal decision. See “Keep Yourselves in
God’s Love,” pages 220-221.
8. What counsel did the apostle Paul give to
those whose mates were not Christians?
9. What must a Christian be careful not to do
when he introduces Bible truth to his family?
23
 excitement? She says that she felt that
he never stopped talking about the
truth. One woman who accepted the
truth 18 years after her husband did
It is important to have
patience when you try
3:1, 2) By being humble and showing
deep respect for her husband even if
he treats her harshly, a wife may be
able to help him accept the truth. And
a believing husband should behave as
God wants us to behave and be a lov-
ing family head even if his wife oppos-
es his beliefs.—1 Peter 3:7-9.
11 Many Christians today have ben-

to help your family efited from following Peter’s advice.

Selma is one example. When she be-
learn the truth gan to study the Bible with Jeho-
vah’s Witnesses, her husband, Steve,
was not pleased. He says that he be-
says that she needed to learn it grad-
came angry, jealous, and afraid. Sel-
ually. You might be conducting a Bi-
ble study with someone whose mate
has no desire to accept the truth. It
would be good to show the student Choose the right time to explain your beliefs
how he can explain the truth in a kind
way that does not upset his mate. The
prophet Moses said: “My instruction
will drip as the rain, my saying will
trickle as the dew, as gentle rains upon
grass.” (Deuteronomy 32:2) A few
words about the truth said in the right
way and at the right time will often do
more good than a flood of words.
10 God inspired the apostle Peter to

give wise advice to Christian wives

whose husbands were not Christians.
He said: “Be in subjection to your own
husbands, in order that, if any are not
obedient to the word, they may be won
without a word through the conduct
of their wives, because of having been
eyewitnesses of your chaste conduct
together with deep respect.” (1 Peter
10-12. (a) What advice did the apostle Peter
give to those whose mates are not Christians?
(b) How did one Bible student learn to follow
the advice written at 1 Peter 3:1, 2?

24 SIMPLIFIED ENGLISH EDITION

ma says that even before she learned
the truth, he was not easy to live with.
She had to be very careful about every-
thing she said and did. She also says
that he had always had a bad temper,
but this problem became even worse
when she started studying the Bi-
ble. What helped to improve the situa-
tion?
12 Selma remembers a lesson she
learned from the Witness who studied
with her. She says: “On one particu-
lar day, I didn’t want to have a Bible
study. The night before, Steve had hit
me as I had tried to prove a point, and
I was feeling sad and sorry for my-
self. After I told the sister what had
happened and how I felt, she asked
me to read 1 Corinthians 13:4-7. As
I did, I began to reason, ‘Steve never
does any of these loving things for me.’
But the sister made me think different-
ly by asking, ‘How many of those acts
of love do you show toward your hus-
band?’ My answer was, ‘None, for he
is so difficult to live with.’ The sister
softly said, ‘Selma, who is trying to be
a Christian here? You or Steve?’ ” Sel-
ma realized that she needed to change
her thinking. She said: “I prayed to Je-
hovah to help me be more loving to-
ward Steve. Slowly, things started to
change.”After 17 years, Steve accepted
the truth.
HOW OTHERS CAN HELP
13 Just as gentle drops of rain soak
the ground and help plants to grow,
each of us in the congregation can help
those who live in a divided household
to be happy. Elvina in Brazil says, “The
13, 14. What can we do to help those who live
in a divided household?
FEBRUARY 15, 2012
love of my brothers and sisters was
what helped me to stand firm in the
truth.”
14 Kindness and interest from the
brothers and sisters in the congrega-
tion can change the heart of an un-
believer. A brother in Nigeria who ac-
cepted the truth 13 years after his wife
did says: “While I was traveling with a
Witness, his vehicle broke down.
He sought out fellow Witnesses in a
neighboring village, and they gave us
accommodations for the night. They
cared for us as if we had known them
from childhood. Right away, I felt the
Christian love that my wife had al-
ways spoken about.” In England, a sis-
ter who came into the truth 18 years af-
ter her husband did remembers: “The
Witnesses invited both of us for meals.
I always felt welcome.”1 (See footnote.)
A man from England who eventually
became a Witness says: “Brothers and
sisters would visit us, or we were in-
vited to their homes, and I found that
they had a caring attitude. This was es-
pecially noticeable when I was in the
hospital and many came to visit me.”
Can you show similar interest in the
families of those who are alone in the
truth?
15 Of course, even if we do what is
right and witness in a kind way for
many years, not everyone in our fami-
ly will accept the truth. Some will still
show no interest or will remain strong-
ly opposed. (Matthew 10:35-37) But
when we show Christian qualities, this
1 The Bible does not forbid us to eat with people
who are not in the truth.—1 Corinthians 10:27.
15, 16. What can help those who are alone in
the truth to continue to be happy?
25

Show interest in unbelieving mates
can have very good results. One man
who became a Witness after his wife
did says that one may not even know
how those beautiful Christian qual-
ities will affect the mind and heart
of the unbelieving mate. He also says,
“Don’t ever give up on your unbeliev-
ing mate.”
16 Those whose family members do
26
not accept the truth can still be hap-
py. One sister has made an effort to
witness to her husband for 21 years,
but he has not accepted the truth.
She says that she has been able to
keep her joy by trying to please Je-
hovah, by being loyal to him, and by
working to have a stronger relation-
ship with him. She also says that she
keeps herself busy by doing person-
al study, going to meetings, preaching,
and helping others in the congrega-
tion. This has helped her to feel closer
to Jehovah and to stay faithful to him.
—Proverbs 4:23.
DO NOT GIVE UP!
17 If you are a faithful Christian in
a divided household, do not give up.
Remember that Jehovah will not leave
his people. (1 Samuel 12:22) He is with
you as long as you stay close to him.
(Read 2 Chronicles 15:2.) So find joy
in learning about Jehovah, and “rely
upon him.” (Psalm 37:4, 5) “Persevere
in prayer,” and have faith that our lov-
ing heavenly Father can help you to en-
dure all kinds of difficulties.—Romans
12:12.
18 Pray to Jehovah, and ask him for
his holy spirit to help you have peace
in the family. (Hebrews 12:14) If you do
this, it is possible that you will have a
good influence on those in your fami-
ly who are not in the truth. You will
be happy and will have inner peace
when you “do all things for God’s
glory.” (1 Corinthians 10:31) Also, you
can be sure that your brothers and sis-
ters will give you their love and sup-
port.
17, 18. What can help a Christian in a divided
household not to give up?
SIMPLIFIED ENGLISH EDITION

NAPOLEON BONAPARTE had it. Julius Caesar had it. Alexander the
Great had it. Even though they were powerful and famous, these men
had in their heart a feeling that was like a poison. If a person has this
feeling, it can ruin his thinking. All three men envied someone else.
English philosopher Bertrand Russell wrote
that Napoleon envied Caesar, Caesar envied Al-
exander the Great, and Alexander envied Her-
cules, who never even existed. Anyone can be-
come envious, even someone who has a lot of
money, talent, and success in life.
Envy is a bad feeling toward others because
of the money, advantages, and other things that
they have. A Biblical reference book explains that
jealousy is the desire to have what another person
has, but envy is more than that. The envious per-
son is jealous of what others have and wants to
take it from them.
It is wise to think about how we could become
envious and what the results of that would be. We
especially need to know what to do to keep envy
from controlling our lives.
AN ATTITUDE THAT
CAN MAKE ENVY STRONGER
Imperfect humans have “a tendency to envy.”
But there are things that can make this tenden-
cy stronger. (James 4:5) The apostle Paul tells us
about one of them when he says: “Let us not be-
come egotistical, stirring up competition with one
another, envying one another.” (Galatians 5:26)
FEBRUARY 15, 2012
A Trait
That Can Poison
Our Minds
Envy
The attitude of wanting to show that we are bet-
ter than others can make our imperfect tendency
to envy even worse. Two Christians named Cris-
´
tina and Jose have learned that this is true.1—See
footnote.
Cristina, a regular pioneer, says: “I often find
myself looking enviously at others. I compare
what they have with what I don’t have.” One
time, Cristina was having a meal with a couple
who serve in the traveling work. Cristina and her
husband, Eric, were about the same age as the
traveling overseer and his wife and had had sim-
ilar assignments in the past. So Cristina said: “My
husband is also an elder! So how is it that you are
in the traveling work and we are nothing?” An at-
titude of wanting to be better than others made
her envious. It caused her to forget the good work
that she and her husband were doing and made
her feel unhappy with their life.
´
Jose wanted to serve as a ministerial servant in
the congregation. When others in the congrega-
tion were appointed and he was not, he became
envious of them. He also became angry at the
´
coordinator of the body of elders. Jose confesses
that he started to hate this elder and to think that
1 Names have been changed.
27

this brother did not want him to have responsi-
´
bilities in the congregation. Jose says that when
envy controls your life, you cannot think clearly.
You think only about yourself.
WHAT SCRIPTURAL EXAMPLES TEACH US
There are many warning examples in the Bible.
(1 Corinthians 10:11) Some of these show how
envy starts and grows. They also show that it can
be like a poison in the minds of those who allow
it to take complete control of them.
For example, Adam and Eve’s firstborn son,
Cain, was angry when Jehovah accepted Abel’s
sacrifice but not his. Cain could have chosen to
do what was right, but the envy he felt for his
brother was so strong that Cain killed him. (Gen-
esis 4:4-8) That is why the Bible speaks of Cain as
one “who originated with the wicked one,” Satan!
—1 John 3:12.
Joseph’s ten brothers envied the special rela-
tionship Joseph had with their father. They hat-
28
ed Joseph even more when he told them
about his prophetic dreams. They want-
ed to kill him. Finally, they sold him as a
slave and cruelly made their father be-
lieve that Joseph was dead. (Genesis 37:
4-11, 23-28, 31-33) Years later, they ad-
mitted their sin and said to one anoth-
er: “Unquestionably we are guilty with
regard to our brother, because we saw
the distress of his soul when he implored
compassion on our part, but we did not
listen.”—Genesis 42:21; 50:15-19.
Korah, Dathan, and Abiram became
envious when they compared their as-
signments with those of Moses and Aar-
on. They accused Moses of trying “to
play the prince” and of acting as if he
was better than others. (Numbers 16:
13) This was not true. (Numbers 11:14,
15) Jehovah himself had appointed Mo-
ses. But these men envied Moses’ assign-
ment. Jehovah finally destroyed them be-
cause of their envy.—Psalm 106:16, 17.
King Solomon saw the terrible things
that envy can make people do. A woman whose
own newborn baby had died tried to make anoth-
er woman believe that it was her baby who had
died. When they came to Solomon for a solution
to this argument, the woman who was lying even
agreed with the idea of killing the surviving baby.
But Solomon made sure that the child was given
to the real mother.—1 Kings 3:16-27.
The results of envy can be terrible. The exam-
ples we just talked about show that it can result
in hatred, injustice, and murder. And in each of
these examples, the person who was envied had
done nothing wrong. What are some of the things
we can do to make sure that envy does not con-
trol our lives?
POWERFUL WAYS TO CONTROL ENVY
Have love and affection for the brothers and
sisters. The apostle Peter told Christians: “Now
that you have purified your souls by your obe-
dience to the truth with unhypocritical brother-
SIMPLIFIED ENGLISH EDITION
ly affection as the result, love one anoth-
er intensely from the heart.” (1 Peter 1:
22) And what is love? The apostle Paul
wrote: “Love is long-suffering and kind.
Love is not jealous, it does not brag, does
not get puffed up, does not behave in-
decently, does not look for its own inter-
ests.” (1 Corinthians 13:4, 5) If we have
this kind of love for others in our heart, it
will control any tendency to envy. (1 Pe-
ter 2:1) Instead of envying David, Jona-
than loved him as much as he loved his
own life.—1 Samuel 18:1.
Associate with people who serve
God. The writer of Psalm 73 was envious
of the wicked who had a good life and
seemed to have no problems. But he was
able to get rid of his envy by going to “the
grand sanctuary of God.” (Psalm 73:3-5,
17) His association with other worship-
pers of God helped him to recognize the
“Rejoice with people
blessings he had because of his friend- who rejoice”
ship with God. (Psalm 73:28) Regular as-
sociation with our brothers and sisters at
the meetings can help us in the same way. preaching work. (Luke 10:17, 21; John 14:12) Jeho-
Look for ways to do good. When Jehovah no- vah’s servants are united. When something good
ticed that Cain felt envy and hatred, God told happens to one of us, we all feel happy. (1 Corin-
him: “Turn to doing good.” (Genesis 4:7) What thians 12:25, 26) So when others receive greater
does “doing good” mean for Christians? Jesus responsibility, we should rejoice, not feel envious.
said that we must love Jehovah with our whole
ENVY IS NOT EASY TO CONTROL!
heart and with our whole soul and with our
whole mind and that we must love our neighbor We may have to make constant effort to control
as ourselves. (Matthew 22:37-39) When serving envy. Cristina says: “I still have a strong tendency
Jehovah and helping others are the most impor- toward envy. Even though I hate it, the feeling is
´
tant things in our lives, we get satisfaction. This there.” She has to control it constantly. Jose feels
satisfaction can help us not to have feelings of the same way. He says that Jehovah has helped
envy. When we do our best in the work of preach- him to value the good qualities of the coordinator
´
ing the Kingdom and making disciples, we are of the body of elders. Jose says that his efforts
serving God and our neighbor in a fine way, and were successful only because he had a good rela-
we will have “the blessing of Jehovah.”—Prov- tionship with God.
erbs 10:22. Envy is one of “the works of the flesh,” which
“Rejoice with people who rejoice.” (Romans every Christian should avoid. (Galatians 5:19-21)
12:15) Jesus rejoiced when his disciples had good If we do not allow envy to control us, our lives
results in their ministry, and he said that they will be happier and we will please our heavenly
would do even more than he had done in the Father, Jehovah.

FEBRUARY 15, 2012 29

 IT IS not easy to make a man who has
great authority realize that he has done
something wrong and that he needs to
change his ways. Would you have the
courage to go and talk to a powerful
man if you knew that he had killed a
man just to protect his own reputation?

NAT H A N
Loyal Advocate of Pure Worship

King David of ancient Israel had committed adultery

with Bath-sheba, and she became pregnant. To hide their
sin, David had her husband killed and then took Bath-
sheba as his wife. For many months, David continued to
do his work as king and did not tell anybody about his sin.
But Jehovah did not ignore the king’s sins. He sent his
prophet Nathan to make David understand how serious
his sin was.
This was a difficult assignment. Imagine that you were
Nathan. Nathan’s loyalty to Jehovah and his firm decision
to defend God’s commands motivated him to remind Da-
vid of his sins. How could the prophet do this and help
King David to understand that he needed to repent?
TACTFUL TEACHER
Why not take a few minutes to read 2 Samuel 12:1-25?
Imagine that you were standing in Nathan’s place as he
told David this story: “There were two men that happened
to be in one city, the one rich and the other of little means.
The rich man happened to have very many sheep and cat-
tle; but the man of little means had nothing but one fe-
male lamb, a small one, that he had bought. And he was
preserving it alive, and it was growing up with him and
with his sons, all together. From his morsel it would eat,

30 SIMPLIFIED ENGLISH EDITION

and from his cup it would drink, and in his bos-
om it would lie, and it came to be as a daughter
to him. After a while a visitor came to the rich
man, but he spared taking some from his own
sheep and his own cattle to get such ready for the
traveler that had come in to him. So he took the
female lamb of the man of little means and got
it ready for the man that had come in to him.”
—2 Samuel 12:1-4.
Nathan’s story made David very angry, and
David exclaimed: “As Jehovah is living, the man
doing this deserves to die!” Then Nathan pow-
erfully declared: “You yourself are the man!”
(2 Samuel 12:5-7) David had been a shepherd
himself, and it seems that he believed this sto-
ry to be a real situation. He may have thought
so because, as one Bible commentator says, Na-
than might have often gone to David to speak
for those who had suffered injustice and had no
one to help them. Even if that was true, Nathan
had to have loyalty to God and courage to speak
to the king in the way he did.
Think about why Nathan chose to speak about
the problem in the way he did. It is not easy for
a person who has become emotionally involved
with someone to think about his situation clear-
ly. All of us tend to make excuses to explain
our wrong actions. But Nathan’s story made Da-
vid condemn his own actions without realizing
it. The king saw clearly that the conduct Nathan
described was terribly wrong. It was only after
David himself had condemned it that Nathan
said that the story was about the king. Then Da-
vid could understand how serious his sin was.
This helped him to have the right attitude to ac-
cept discipline. David confessed that he had “de-
spised” Jehovah by his conduct with Bath-sheba,
and he accepted the needed discipline.—2 Sam-
uel 12:9-14; Psalm 51, superscription.
What can we learn from this? A Bible teacher’s
goal is to help his students to be able to think
about matters and understand for themselves
what is right. Nathan respected David, and he
spoke to him tactfully. Nathan knew that David
FEBRUARY 15, 2012
loved righteousness and justice. So he used a sto-
ry that he knew would have an influence on a
man who had these qualities. We too can help
people to understand what Jehovah thinks. How
can we do this? People have a general idea of
what is right. We can help them to use their own
knowledge of what is right without making them
feel that we are better than they are or that we
have the right to tell them what to do. The Bible,
not our own opinion, tells us what is right and
what is wrong.
It was mainly because of his loyalty to God
that Nathan was able to reprove a powerful king.
(2 Samuel 12:1) Our loyalty to God will give us
the courage to defend Jehovah’s righteous prin-
ciples.
DEFENDER OF TRUE WORSHIP
It seems that David and Nathan were good
friends. David later even named one of his sons
Nathan. (1 Chronicles 3:1, 5) The first time Na-
than is mentioned in the Bible, he is with Da-
vid. Both of them loved Jehovah. We know that
the king trusted Nathan’s opinion because he
told the prophet how much he wanted to build a
temple for Jehovah. David said: “ ‘See, now, I am
dwelling in a house of cedars while the ark of the
true God is dwelling in the middle of tent cloths.’
Upon that Nathan said to the king: ‘Everything
that is in your heart—go, do, because Jehovah is
with you.’ ”—2 Samuel 7:2, 3.
Nathan was a faithful worshipper of Jehovah,
and for this reason, he was ready to support Da-
vid’s plan to build the first temple of true wor-
ship on earth. But on that occasion, what Nathan
said was his own opinion and not what Jeho-
vah told him to say. That night, God instruct-
ed his prophet to give the king a different mes-
sage: David would not build Jehovah’s temple. It
would be built by one of David’s sons. But Na-
than said that God was making a covenant with
David so that his throne would become “firmly
established to time indefinite.”—2 Samuel 7:4-16.
Nathan’s opinion about who should build the
temple did not agree with God’s will. But this
31

As a defender of the kingship,
Nathan tactfully spoke to Bath-sheba
humble prophet did not complain. He accepted
Jehovah’s direction and cooperated with it. Na-
than is a good example for us to follow if we are
ever corrected by God in some way. We know
that Nathan continued to have God’s favor be-
cause of how Jehovah used him later as a proph-
et. It seems that Jehovah inspired Nathan and
Gad the visionary to direct David in organizing
4,000 musicians in temple service.—1 Chronicles
23:1-5; 2 Chronicles 29:25.
DEFENDER OF THE KINGSHIP
Nathan knew that Solomon should become
king after David. So Nathan acted immedi-
ately when Adonijah tried to take the throne
away during David’s older years. Again Nathan
showed tact and loyalty. First he urged Bath-
sheba to remind David of his promise to make
www.watchtower.org
their son Solomon king. Then Nathan himself
went to the king to ask if David had chosen Ad-
onijah as the next king. David realized how seri-
ous the situation was, so he instructed Nathan
and other loyal servants to have Solomon anoint-
ed and declared king. Adonijah’s plan to make
himself king failed.—1 Kings 1:5-53.
HUMBLE HISTORIAN
People usually agree that Nathan and Gad
were the writers of 1 Samuel chapters 25 to 31 as
well as all of 2 Samuel. First Chronicles 29:29
says about those inspired books: “As for the af-
fairs of David the king, the first ones and the last,
there they are written among the words of Sam-
uel the seer and among the words of Nathan the
prophet and among the words of Gad the vision-
ary.” The Bible also mentions that Nathan wrote
about “the affairs of Solomon.” (2 Chronicles 9:
29) This means that Nathan probably continued
to serve at the royal court after David’s death.
Much of what we know about Nathan may
have been written by Nathan himself. But we can
also learn much about him from what he did not
write. It seems that Nathan was a humble histori-
an, and he was not interested in being famous.
One Bible dictionary says that he is mentioned
in the Bible with no introduction and no infor-
mation about his family. We know nothing about
Nathan’s personal life.
MOTIVATED BY LOYALTY TO JEHOVAH
From the few things we read about Nathan
in the Bible, we know that he was humble and
zealous in supporting God’s way of doing things.
Jehovah God gave him heavy responsibilities.
Think deeply about Nathan’s qualities, such as
loyalty to God and love for God’s standards.
Work hard to imitate these qualities.
You will probably not have to reprove kings
who committed adultery or stop someone’s plan
to become ruler. But with God’s help, you can be
loyal to God and defend what he says is right.
You can also be a courageous but tactful teacher
of truth and a defender of true worship.
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