Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Ws E 20140615
Ws E 20140615
SIMPLIFIED EDITION
STUDY ARTICLES
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“You Must Love “You Must Love Do You View Help Others Reach
Jehovah Your God” Your Neighbor Human Weakness Their Full Potential
PAGE 3 SONGS: 3, 65 as Yourself” as Jehovah Does? PAGE 21 SONGS: 42, 124
PAGE 9 SONGS: 84, 72 PAGE 15 SONGS: 77, 79
STUDY ARTICLES
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29 “Smooth Out the Course of Your Feet” to Make Progress
BOTSWANA
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“You Must Love Jehovah Your God”
“You must love Jehovah your God with your whole heart
and with your whole soul and with your whole mind.”
—MATTHEW 22:37.
JESUS described the close relationship he has with his Fa- HOW WOULD YOU
ther when he said: “I love the Father” and, “the Father has ANSWER?
affection for the Son.” (John 5:20; 14:31) Before Jesus came ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
to earth, they worked together for many billions of years. What does it mean to
(Proverbs 8:30) During this time, Jesus learned much love God?
about his Father’s qualities, and their love for each other
grew.
2When you love someone, you have deep feelings for
that person. David sang: “I have affection for you, O Jeho-
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
vah, my strength.” (Psalm 18:1) That is how we should feel
about God. He promises that if we obey him, he will show Why should we love Jehovah?
his love for us. (Read Deuteronomy 7:12, 13.) But we can-
not see God, so how can we love him? What does it mean
to love Jehovah? Why should we love him? And how can
we prove that we love God?
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
1. Why did the love between Jesus and his Father grow?
2. (a) What does it mean to love someone? (b) What questions will we
discuss?
3, 4. Why is it possible for us to love Jehovah?
24) Even so, it is possible to love Jeho- God “who made the world and all the
vah. In fact, the Bible commands us to things in it.” He explained that God
love him. For example, Moses told the does not live in temples. People who
Israelites: “You must love Jehovah your search for God can find him, no mat-
God with all your heart and all your ter where they live on earth. Then he
soul and all your strength.”—Deuteron- said that God “is not far off from each
omy 6:5. one of us.” (Acts 17:24-27) Yes, peo-
4 Why is it possible to love God? He ple can find God. Over seven and a
created us with the need to worship half million of Jehovah’s Witnesses
him, and he also gave us the ability to have found him, and they truly love
show love. When we get to know Jeho- him.
vah, our love for him grows, and this
makes us happy. This is what Jesus
meant when he said: “Happy are those Jesus said that we must
conscious of their spiritual need, since
the Kingdom of the heavens belongs
love Jehovah with our
to them.” (Matthew 5:3) In his book whole heart, whole soul,
Man Does Not Stand Alone, A. C. Mor-
rison said that it is amazing to see that and whole mind
humans have always searched for and
have wanted to believe in God. Like WHAT IT MEANS TO LOVE GOD
the writer, many understand that hu- 6 How strong should our love for Je-
mans are born with a need to know
hovah be? When a Pharisee, a re-
God.
ligious man, asked Jesus: “Teacher,
5Can we ever find God? Yes, he
which is the greatest commandment
wants us to have a relationship with in the Law?” Jesus clearly said: “‘You
him. The apostle Paul made that must love Jehovah your God with your
clear when he spoke to a group in whole heart and with your whole soul
ancient Athens. Many of them felt and with your whole mind.’ This is
that they needed to go to a temple the greatest and first commandment.”
to worship the goddess Athena. But —Matthew 22:34-38.
Paul said that they could find the true
6. What is “the greatest and first command-
5. How do we know that we can find God? ment”?
4 SIMPLIFIED EDITION
given us this beautiful earth to live on.
(Psalm 115:16) He also gives us food
We must love Jehovah and other things so that we can stay
with all we are and alive. That is why Paul could tell peo-
ple in Lystra that they should not wor-
with all we have ship idols but should worship Jeho-
vah, “the living God.” Paul said about
7What did Jesus mean when he God: “He did good, giving you rains
said that we must love God with from heaven and fruitful seasons, sat-
our “whole heart,” “whole soul,” and isfying you with food and filling your
“whole mind”? Our “whole heart” hearts with gladness.” (Acts 14:15-17)
means our true emotions, desires, Jehovah lovingly gives us everything
and feelings. Our “whole soul” means we need. What a good reason to love
who we are as a person and includes our Grand Creator!—Ecclesiastes 12:1.
10God will remove the sin and
everything we do in our life. And
our “whole mind” means the way we death we inherited from Adam. (Ro-
think and what we think about. In this mans 5:12) The Bible says: “God rec-
way, Jesus emphasized that we must ommends his own love to us in that,
love Jehovah with all we are and with while we were yet sinners, Christ died
all we have. for us.” (Romans 5:8) If we are truly re-
8We show God that we love him pentant and have faith in the ransom
sacrifice, God will forgive our sins. We
with our whole heart, soul, and mind
are deeply thankful to Jehovah be-
when we regularly study the Bible,
cause he loves us so much that he sent
carefully do everything he asks of us,
his Son to die for us.—John 3:16.
and zealously talk to others about the 11 Jehovah has given us the hope of
Kingdom. (Matthew 24:14; Romans
living forever. (Romans 15:13) This
12:1, 2) When we do these things, our
hope helps us to endure when our
relationship with him will grow stron-
faith is tested. Faithful anointed ones
ger. (James 4:8) It is impossible to list
have the hope of living forever in
all the reasons why we should love
heaven. (Revelation 2:10) Other faith-
God, but let us discuss a few of them.
ful ones have the hope of living for-
WHY SHOULD WE LOVE JEHOVAH? ever in Paradise on earth. (Luke 23:43)
9Jehovah is our Creator, and he How do we feel about our hope? It fills
gives us everything we need. Paul us with joy, peace, and love for the
said: “By him we have life and move God who gives us “every good gift and
and exist.” (Acts 17:28) Jehovah has every perfect present.”—James 1:17.
12Jehovah has given us the resur-
7. What does it mean to love God with our rection hope. (Acts 24:15) We are very
(a) “whole heart”? (b) “whole soul”? (c) “whole
mind”? 10. How do you feel about the ransom?
8. How do we show God that we love him? 11,12. In what ways has Jehovah given us
9. Why do you love Jehovah? hope?
6 SIMPLIFIED EDITION
Jehovah has provided elders who listen to us and care for us
(See paragraph 19)
ing me. When anxieties overwhelmed alize that Jehovah has answered us.
me, you comforted and soothed me.” (Nehemiah 2:1-6) If we keep on pray-
(Psalm 51:17; 94:18, 19) Jehovah and ing and see how Jehovah answers our
Jesus show mercy to all who suffer. prayers, our love for him grows. When
(Isaiah 49:13; Matthew 15:32) When our faith is tested, we will be con-
we study the Bible, we can learn about vinced that Jehovah will help us to en-
Jehovah’s love for us. This helps to dure.—Romans 12:12.
deepen our love for him. 17Regularly attend Christian meet-
16Pray to God regularly. When we ings, assemblies, and conventions.
pray to God and see that he answers (Hebrews 10:24, 25) The Israelites
our prayers, our love for him grows. gathered to listen and learn about
(Psalm 65:2) For example, we may Jehovah so that they could worship
have experienced that he does not al- him with deep respect and obey his
low us to be tempted beyond what we Law. (Deuteronomy 31:12) If we truly
can endure. (1 Corinthians 10:13) If love Jehovah, we will regularly attend
we are worried and sincerely pray for Christian meetings. (Read 1 John 5:3.)
help, we can experience “the peace of Let us do everything we can to attend
God.” This peace is a calmness that all the meetings. We must never lose
only Jehovah can give us. (Philippians the love that we had for Jehovah when
4:6, 7) Sometimes we may say a silent we first learned about him.—Revela-
prayer, as Nehemiah did, and later re- tion 2:4.
16. How can regular prayer help our love for 17. If we love God, how will we feel about at-
God to grow? tending the meetings?
LET YOUR LOVE FOR GOD GROW but he also said that we must love our
20Jehovah has given us a “perfect neighbor. (Matthew 22:37-39) When
law,” which tells us everything he we love Jehovah and his principles, it
wants us to do. (Read James 1:22-25.) will help us to love our neighbor. We
If you want a strong relationship with will learn about what this means in
the next article.
18. What does love for God make us do?
19. Why should we appreciate the congrega- 21.What can you compare your sincere
tion elders? prayers to?
20. If you love God, what will you do? 22. What will we learn in the next article?
8 SIMPLIFIED EDITION
“You Must Love Your
Neighbor as Yourself”
“The second [commandment] is this:
‘You must love your neighbor as yourself.’”
—MATTHEW 22:39.
WHEN a Pharisee asked Jesus what the greatest com- HOW WOULD YOU
mandment in the Law is, Jesus said: “You must love Jeho- RESPOND?
vah your God with your whole heart and with your whole ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
soul and with your whole mind.” We discussed what this Who really is our neighbor?
means in the previous article. Jesus also stated what the
second greatest commandment is. He said: “You must
love your neighbor as yourself.”—Matthew 22:34-39. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
2 Jesus said that we must love our neighbor. But who is
Why should we show love
our neighbor? How can we do what Jesus said? In this ar- for our neighbor? How can
ticle, we will answer those questions and will see how lov- we do this?
ing our neighbor pleases Jehovah and benefits everyone.
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO LOVE OUR NEIGHBOR?
We usually think of a neighbor as someone who lives
3 ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
near to us. (Proverbs 27:10) But when a man asked Jesus: Why will we be happy if we
love our neighbor as we love
1, 2. (a) What did Jesus say is the second greatest commandment? ourselves?
(b) What questions will we answer?
3, 4. (a) What illustration did Jesus use to show what it means to love
our neighbor? (b) How did the Samaritan help the man who had been
robbed, beaten, and left on the road to die? (See opening picture.)
“Who really is my neighbor?” he an- 5We live in “the last days” when
swered him using the illustration of most people do not have compas-
the Samaritan and explained what sion. Many are cruel, love violence,
it means to love others. (Read Luke and have no love for their neighbor.
10:29-37.) A Jewish man had been (2 Timothy 3:1-3) For example, in Oc-
robbed, beaten, and left on the road to tober 2012, Hurricane Sandy badly
die. An Israelite priest and a Levite, damaged an area of New York City.
who were supposed to be good neigh- Many people did not have electricity,
bors, saw him but did not help him. heat, or the things they needed. Sad-
Instead, a Samaritan helped him. At ly, looters stole from those who were
that time, most Jews and Samaritans already suffering. Jehovah’s Witness-
hated one another.—John 4:9. es were different. They organized help
4The Samaritan poured oil and for their brothers and for others in the
wine on the injured man’s wounds to area because true Christians love their
neighbor. What are some other ways
help the wounds heal. Then he took
to show love for our neighbor?
him to an inn and gave the innkeeper
two denarii. This was equal to the pay WAYS TO SHOW LOVE
that a person would receive for two FOR OUR NEIGHBOR
days of work. (Matthew 20:2) When 6Offer help from the Bible. In our
we think of how much that Samaritan preaching work, we give our neighbor
did to help the injured man, we know
5. How did Jehovah’s Witnesses show love for
that he had real love for his neighbor. their neighbor after Hurricane Sandy?
We can be like that Samaritan if we 6. What help from the Bible can we offer to our
have compassion and love for people. neighbor?
10 SIMPLIFIED EDITION
“comfort from the Scriptures.” (Ro-
mans 15:4) We show love for him
when we use the Bible to tell him
about the good news of God’s King-
dom. (Matthew 24:14) It is an honor to
bring this message of hope from Jeho-
vah God to our neighbor.—Romans
15:13
7Follow the Golden Rule. Jesus
told us what the Golden Rule is when
he said: “All things, therefore, that
you want men to do to you, you also Japan
must do to them. This, in fact, is what
the Law and the Prophets mean.”
(Matthew 7:12) “The Law” refers to
the books of Genesis through Deu-
teronomy, and “the Prophets” refer
to the prophetic books of the He-
brew Scriptures. Jehovah gave “the
Law” and “the Prophets” to his people
because he loved them and wanted
them to love one another. Today, too,
Jehovah expects us to love our neigh-
bor. In the book of Isaiah, Jehovah
says: “Uphold justice, and do what is
righteous . . . Happy is the man who
does this.” (Isaiah 56:1, 2) If we show Canada
love for our neighbor and follow the
Golden Rule, we will be happy. Jehovah’s servants are quick to help their neighbor
(See paragraph 5)
8Love your enemies. Jehovah has
always taught us to love our enemies.
In Jesus’ time, some taught that peo- him; if he is thirsty, give him some-
ple should hate their enemies. But thing to drink.” (Romans 12:20; Prov-
Jesus counseled: “Continue to love erbs 25:21) In ancient Israel, Jehovah
your enemies and to pray for those gave his people laws instructing them
who persecute you.” (Matthew 5:43- to help their enemies and even their
45) Paul gave similar counsel when he enemies’ animals. (Exodus 23:5) By
said: “If your enemy is hungry, feed applying that counsel, some people
who once hated one another might
7. What is the Golden Rule, and what will hap-
pen when we follow it? have become good friends. As Chris-
8. Why should we love our enemies, and what tians, showing love for our enemies
may happen if we do? may change the way they feel about
12 SIMPLIFIED EDITION
be proud or boast about ourselves.
We show love for people The Bible tells us that Jehovah hates
those who have “haughty eyes and an
when we prepare well arrogant heart.”—Proverbs 21:4.
16Love “does not behave indecent-
for return visits and ly.” If we show love for our neighbor,
Bible studies we will not lie to him or steal from him
or do anything else that makes Jeho-
vah unhappy. Also, we will not be self-
It makes us so happy to see how Jeho- ish, because love “does not look for its
vah helps humble ones to make prog- own interests.” So we will always do
ress and become his friends. (Acts what is best for our neighbor.—Philip-
13:48) When they study the Bible, pians 2:4.
people who had no hope become hap- 17Love “does not become pro-
py. Their anxiety is replaced by confi- voked. It does not keep account of
dence in Jehovah. It is an honor to the injury.” If someone does some-
show love for our neighbor through thing unkind to us, we do not quickly
this special work. become angry. We should not keep a
PAUL’S DESCRIPTION OF LOVE
14If we love our neighbor in the
way that Paul described, we will We should not keep
please Jehovah, have fewer problems, a record of all the times
and be happy. What Paul wrote at
1 Corinthians 13:4-8 will teach us oth- that a person hurts us
er ways to love our neighbor as our-
selves.—Read.
15“Love is patient and kind.” Jeho- record of all the times that a person
vah is patient and kind toward all peo- hurts us. (1 Thessalonians 5:15) If
ple even though they are imperfect. we hold a grudge, our anger could
So we need to be patient and kind burn like a fire, hurting ourselves and
when others make mistakes, even if others. (Leviticus 19:18) Instead, we
they are unkind or rude to us. The Bi- should forgive and forget. Love “does
ble says that “love is not jealous.” not rejoice over unrighteousness.” If a
Some of our brothers may have privi- person who hates us is treated unfair-
leges in the congregation or other ly, we are not happy to see him suffer.
things that we do not have. But if we —Read Proverbs 24:17, 18.
truly love our brothers, we will not be 18Paul wrote that love “bears all
jealous of them. Also, we should not things.” When we love our neighbor,
14. How did Paul describe love at 1 Corinthi- 16, 17. What ways to show love for our neigh-
ans 13:4-8? bor are described at 1 Corinthians 13:5, 6?
15. (a) Why should we be patient and kind? 18. What do we learn about love from 1 Corin-
(b) Why should we not be jealous or proud? thians 13:7, 8?
19If we follow the Bible’s counsel, should love Jehovah with our whole
we will always love our neighbor as we heart, soul, and mind. We have also
love ourselves. (Matthew 22:39) Jeho- learned how we can show love for
vah and Jesus expect us to do this. We our neighbor. If we love Jehovah and
must love all people, no matter where our neighbor, we are obeying the two
they come from or what their culture greatest commandments. Best of all,
is. Whenever it is difficult to show we please our loving heavenly Father,
love for our neighbor, we can pray to Jehovah.
19, 20. What scriptures teach us that we must 21,22.Why should we love God and our
keep on showing love to our neighbor? neighbor?
14 SIMPLIFIED EDITION
Do You View Human Weakness
as Jehovah Does?
“The members of the body that seem to be
weaker are necessary.”—1 CORINTHIANS 12:22.
WE ALL feel weak at times. Some days when we are not WHAT IS YOUR ANSWER?
feeling well, we may have no energy and may find it dif- ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
ficult to do what we need to do. But now imagine feeling How does Jehovah view his
this way for a long time. How would we want others to servants who seem to be
treat us? Of course, we would want them to try to under- weak?
stand how we feel, that is, to show empathy toward us.
2 The apostle Paul sometimes felt weak because of pres-
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
sures from outside and from inside the congregation. What will help us to view
More than once, he felt that he could not go on. (2 Corin- our brothers the way
thians 1:8; 7:5) Because of his own experiences, Paul Jehovah does when they
could understand what it means to feel weak. He said: make mistakes?
“Who is weak, and I am not weak?” (2 Corinthians 11:29)
When he compared the members of the Christian congre- ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
gation to parts of the human body, he said that those who Who benefit when we help
“seem to be weaker are necessary.” (1 Corinthians 12:22) those who are weak, and
What did he mean? How does Jehovah feel about those how?
who seem to be weak? How can we learn to view our
1, 2. Why could Paul show empathy to the weak?
16 SIMPLIFIED EDITION
seem to be weaker. (Job 4:18, 19) This
means that we can feel good that we
are needed in our congregation and
Jehovah helps the weak,
among God’s people worldwide. For and it makes him happy
example, think of a time when you
helped an elderly person. He bene- when we do the same
fited, but did you also benefit? Yes.
When we help others, we are hap- this is not always easy for us to do.
py, we become more patient, we love Why? Maybe we think that our broth-
our brothers even more, and we be- er should take responsibility for his
come better Christians. (Ephesians 4: own problems. Or maybe we avoid
15, 16) Jehovah wants us to think of him because we do not know what to
our brothers and sisters as important, say. For example, consider what hap-
even those who seem to be weak. pened to a sister named Cynthia. (See
When we have this view, we will not footnote.) She needed help when her
expect too much of our brothers, and husband left her. She says: “If brothers
the congregation will be more loving. avoid you or do not act the way you
6It is true that Paul did use the would expect close friends to act, it
words “weak” and “weakness” when can hurt. When you are going through
he spoke about some in the congrega- trials, you need people around you.”
tion. This was because some unbeliev- King David too felt hurt when his
ers viewed Christians in that way. But friends avoided him.—Psalm 31:12.
Paul was not saying that some Chris- 8What will help us to be more
tians were better than others. Also, understanding toward our broth-
sometimes he described himself as ers who need help? Remember that
weak. (1 Corinthians 1:26, 27; 2:3) many of them are suffering because
And when he used the word “strong” of sickness or depression or because
to describe certain Christians, he was they live with family members who
not saying that they were better than are not in the truth. If we had the
others. (Romans 15:1) He was simply same problems, we would want oth-
saying that those with more experi- ers to show empathy to us. Think
ence should be patient with those about the Israelites. They had suffered
with less experience. a lot in Egypt, yet before entering
the Promised Land, Jehovah remind-
DO WE NEED TO CHANGE
ed them that they should not harden
THE WAY WE THINK?
their heart. Jehovah expected the Isra-
7Jehovah helps the weak, and it
elites to help their brothers who were
makes him happy when we do the poor and weak.—Leviticus 25:35-38;
same. (Psalm 41:1; Ephesians 5:1) But Deuteronomy 15:7, 11.
6. How did Paul use the words “weak” and Name has been changed.
“strong”?
7. Why may it not be easy for us to help those 8. What will help us to be understanding to-
in need? ward our brothers?
9We should not be quick to blame would immediately give medical help.
our brothers for their problems or It is the same with us. When our
think that we are better than they are. brother is weak, what he really needs
We want to help our brothers when is our spiritual help.—Read 1 Thessalo-
they are weak. (Job 33:6, 7; Matthew nians 5:14.
7:1) For example, imagine that some- 10Some brothers and sisters may
one is injured in a motorcycle accident seem to be weak. But if we stop to
think about their situation, we may
find that they are not weak at all. Imag-
When our brother is ine how difficult it must be for a sister
whose husband does not serve Jeho-
weak, what he really vah. What about a single mother who
needs is our help is working hard to raise her children
on her own and who still regularly
comes to meetings? Or think about
and is rushed to the hospital. When he teenagers in school who daily resist
arrives, would the doctors and nurs- pressure to leave the truth. They all
es waste time discussing who was have real love for Jehovah and are
to blame for the accident? No. They determined to remain loyal to him.
9. When our brother is weak, what does he 10. How are some “rich in faith” even though
really need? Give an example. they seem to be weak?
18 SIMPLIFIED EDITION
tened to the wrong people. But Aaron
was willing to admit that he made
We need to think those mistakes, and he accepted Jeho-
of our brothers the vah’s counsel. (Exodus 32:26; Num-
bers 12:11; 20:23-27) Aaron loved Je-
way Jehovah does hovah and was repentant. So Jehovah
forgave him. That is why many years
When we think about all that our later, Aaron and his family were still
brothers are doing to serve Jehovah, remembered as faithful servants of Je-
this will help us to view them as “rich hovah.—Psalm 115:10-12; 135:19, 20.
13Like Aaron, your brother may
in faith,” even if they seem to be weak.
—James 2:5. make mistakes. When this happens,
how do you view him? Do you need to
THINK THE WAY JEHOVAH DOES change your thinking? (1 Samuel 16:7)
11 We need to think of our brothers For example, think about a teenager
the way Jehovah does, even when who seems to have a bad attitude.
they make mistakes. Bible exam- Maybe he is not careful in his choice
ples will help us to learn how Jeho- of entertainment. Do not be quick to
vah views his servants. (Read Psalm think that he is a bad person. Instead,
130:3.) For example, imagine that you think about how you can help him.
were with Moses when he was lis- Take the time to teach him how to
tening to Aaron make many excuses make wise decisions. When you help
about why he made the golden calf. your brothers in this way, you will be
What would you have thought about more patient with them and your love
Aaron? (Exodus 32:21-24) How would for them will grow.
you have felt when Aaron listened to 14How does Jehovah feel about
Miriam and then criticized Moses for those who are depressed? Consider
marrying a foreign woman? (Numbers how he helped one of his servants who
12:1, 2) And what about when Aaron felt this way. Elijah was a prophet of
and Moses did not honor Jehovah af- Jehovah who had courageously chal-
ter He made water come out of a rock? lenged 450 prophets of Baal. But then
—Numbers 20:10-13. Elijah heard that Queen Jezebel want-
12Jehovah could have immediate- ed to kill him. He was so afraid that he
ly punished Aaron for making those ran 150 kilometers (95 miles) to Beer-
mistakes. But Jehovah knew that even sheba and then far away into the wil-
though Aaron was weak at certain derness. He was extremely exhausted
times, he was not a bad person. He and was so depressed that he wished
made mistakes because he was in dif- he were dead.—1 Kings 18:19; 19:1-4.
ficult situations and because he lis-
13. How can we change the way we think?
11, 12. (a) What will help us to think the way Give an example.
Jehovah does when our brothers make mis- 14, 15. (a) How did Jehovah feel about Elijah
takes? (b) Why did Jehovah forgive Aaron? when he was scared? (b) What can we learn
What do we learn from that? from the way Jehovah helped Elijah?
20 SIMPLIFIED EDITION
Help Others Reach
Their Full Potential
“I will give you advice with my eye upon you.”
—PSALM 32:8.
WHEN parents watch their little ones play, they are often HOW WOULD YOU
amazed by the abilities that their children have. You may ANSWER?
have seen this too. One child may be good at playing ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
sports, while another likes drawing or making things. What are some Bible exam-
Whatever those abilities are, parents enjoy helping their ples that show that Jehovah
children to reach their full potential, in other words, to do saw potential in his servants?
the very best they can.
2As a loving parent, Jehovah is interested in his ser-
vants. They are “precious” to him especially because they ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
are faithful and loyal to him. (Haggai 2:7) Yet, you may Why should we try to look for
have noticed that your brothers and sisters also have the good in others?
many different talents and abilities. For example, some
brothers are excellent speakers, and others are good orga-
nizers. Many sisters are good at learning foreign lan- ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
guages and use them in the ministry. Others are good at How can we help young or
caring for the needs of the sick or giving encouragement newly baptized brothers to
use their abilities in the best
to those who need it. (Romans 16:1, 12) We are deeply
way?
grateful to be in the congregation with all such brothers
and sisters.
1, 2. How does Jehovah feel about each of his servants?
3 Some Christians, especially young saw what Gideon was capable of and
or newly baptized brothers, may feel knew that He could use Gideon to
that they have not yet found their save Israel.—Read Judges 6:11-16.
place in the congregation. How can 5Jehovah had full confidence in
we help them reach their full poten- Gideon because He knew his po-
tial? Why should we try to imitate Je- tential. For example, Jehovah saw
hovah and look for the good qualities that when Gideon beat and pre-
in our brothers? pared wheat, he worked with all
his strength. Also, farmers usually
worked outside, but Gideon was pre-
Jehovah sees the paring the wheat inside a winepress
so that the Midianites would not see
good qualities and the his crop and steal it. Jehovah saw that
potential of his servants Gideon was more than a hard worker.
He was a clever man who was able to
understand a situation and make wise
JEHOVAH SEES THE GOOD IN US decisions to avoid danger. Yes, Jeho-
4The Bible shows that Jehovah not vah saw Gideon’s abilities and trained
only sees the good qualities of his ser- him.
vants but also sees their potential. For 6Similarly, Jehovah saw potential
example, Jehovah chose Gideon to in the prophet Amos. To many, he
free the Israelites from their enemies may have seemed to be a quiet, un-
the Midianites. Gideon felt unimpor- important man. He was doing very
tant, so he must have been shocked simple work as a shepherd and a field
when an angel told him: “Jehovah is worker. But Jehovah assigned Amos to
with you, you mighty warrior.” Gide- correct the ten tribes of Israel who had
on did not feel “mighty” at all, and stopped worshipping Him. Some Isra-
he felt unable to save God’s people. elites might have thought that Amos
But Jehovah saw things differently. He was a poor choice. Why?—Read Amos
7:14, 15.
3. What questions will we discuss in this arti-
cle? 6, 7. (a) How was Jehovah’s view of Amos dif-
4, 5. What did Jehovah see in Gideon? What ferent from that of some Israelites? (b) How do
do we learn from Jehovah’s example? we know that Amos was not a poor choice?
22 SIMPLIFIED EDITION
7Amos came from an isolated vil- use our brothers and sisters to help us
lage. But he knew a lot about the to do that. In what ways?
customs and the rulers surrounding
LOOK FOR THE GOOD IN OTHERS
him, perhaps from men who traveled
9Paul encouraged all Christians to
through his village on business. For
example, Amos knew much about the “look out” for the interests of their
nations nearby and the bad condi- brothers and sisters. (Read Philippi-
tions in Israel. (Amos 1:6, 9, 11, 13; ans 2:3, 4.) What was included in this
2:8; 6:4-6) Also, Amos was a good counsel? That we should notice the
writer. He was able to use simple but abilities of our brothers and mention
powerful words. He was not afraid to them. How do you feel when someone
condemn the corrupt priest Amazi- notices a good quality in you? You feel
ah. Truly, Jehovah had chosen the like making more progress. The same
right person to deliver his message. is true with our brothers. If we take
He saw abilities in Amos that others the time to notice the efforts that our
may not have seen.—Amos 7:12, 13, brothers make, they will be encour-
16, 17. aged to make progress and succeed in
their service to Jehovah.
10At times, we all need attention
Jehovah wants to help from others. But young or newly bap-
tized brothers especially need to feel
each of us to reach involved in the congregation. This will
our full potential help them to understand that they
are a useful part of Jehovah’s people.
The Bible encourages these brothers
8 Jehovah notices the abilities of all to qualify for more responsibilities.
of his servants, and he wants to help (1 Timothy 3:1) But if they do not feel
each of us to do the very best we can. appreciated for the work that they do,
For example, Jehovah promised that this may discourage them from doing
he would guide David and give him more in Jehovah’s service.
the advice he needed. (Read Psalm 11An elder named Ludovic says
32:8.) Why is this encouraging to us? that when sincere interest is shown in
Even though we may not be confident a brother, he makes progress more
in ourselves, Jehovah can help us to do quickly. One such brother was Julien.
more than we ever imagined. Just as a Ludovic noticed that Julien was shy,
good teacher might guide an inexperi- and when he tried to do more in the
enced student every step of the way, congregation, Julien was unsure of
Jehovah guides us so that we can
9. How can we “look out” for the interests of
reach our full potential. And he may our brothers and sisters?
8. (a) What did Jehovah promise to do for Da- 10. Who especially need our attention?
vid? (b) Why is Psalm 32:8 encouraging to 11. (a) How did one elder help a young broth-
those who might not be confident about their er to make progress? (b) What do you learn
abilities? from Julien’s experience?
24 SIMPLIFIED EDITION
Frédéric (left) encouraged Rico to
stay determined to serve Jehovah
(See paragraph 16)
26 SIMPLIFIED EDITION
ger care about them or do not understand their
feelings. They may think that others are judging
or avoiding them. But later, as divorced ones ad-
just to their circumstances, they may realize that
others actually showed them much love and un-
derstanding.
FEELINGS OF LONELINESS
AND REJECTION
Even though we may try our best to help a di-
vorced brother or sister, he or she may still feel
lonely and rejected at times. One sister says that
even eight years after her divorce, she sometimes
still feels unloved and sad. At such times, she just
wants to be alone to cry.
It is important that those who are divorced do
not make a habit of isolating themselves. (Prov-
erbs 18:1) At the same time, they need to be care-
ful not to make a habit of seeking comfort from
someone of the opposite sex. Doing this could
lead to improper romantic feelings.
When our divorced brothers and sisters feel
lonely, rejected, and anxious about the future, we
WHEN the Israelites left Babylon in the year 537 MAKE GOOD DECISIONS
before Christ, Jehovah was very interested in The Bible says: “The glory of young men is
their trip back to Jerusalem. He told them: “Clear their strength.” (Proverbs 20:29) Most young
the way for the people. Build up, build up the people are healthy, energetic, intelligent, and ea-
highway. Rid it of stones.” (Isaiah 62:10) What ger to succeed in life. Adults often see the abili-
might they have done to obey this command? ties and talents of young people and hope that
Maybe a group of Israelites went ahead of their they will reach their full potential. Young people
brothers and filled in ditches or smoothed rough will be truly happy if they use their talents and
parts of the road. Certainly this effort would have abilities in Jehovah’s service.
made the trip back home much easier. Some people in the world also appreciate the
In a similar way, we follow a path as we care abilities and talents of our young ones. For exam-
for different assignments in Jehovah’s service. ple, many Witnesses do well in school, so teach-
And Jehovah wants us to care for these with as ers and other students may try to persuade them
few obstacles as possible. To succeed in that ef- to pursue higher education. Or young ones who
fort, we all can benefit from the following advice are good at playing sports may be encouraged by
found in the Bible: “Smooth out the course of others to make this a career. Perhaps you or
your feet, and all your ways will be sure.”—Prov- someone you know is facing this situation. What
erbs 4:26. will help a Christian to make wise decisions?
30 SIMPLIFIED EDITION
er, you may be able to serve in a congregation Let us think again about the scene described
that needs more elders or ministerial servants. at Isaiah 62:10. The Jews needed to reach Jerusa-
You can speak to your circuit overseer to find lem, so some of them may have worked very
out which congregations in your area need as- hard to prepare the road. Today, you too need to
sistance. If you would like to serve farther continue making efforts to reach your goals. Nev-
from home, you can ask for more information er give up. With Jehovah’s help you can reach
about distant congregations that need help. those goals. Ask him for wisdom when you try
—See footnote. to remove any obstacles. Eventually, you will see
how God can help you “smooth out the course of
See Organized to Do Jehovah’s Will, pages 111-112. your feet.”—Proverbs 4:26.
Gaining Benefits
Unattainable at
the University
WHEN Flavia was a young girl, her grand- preaching the good news because she was
mother, who was one of Jehovah’s Witnesses, studying at the university. One day she lis-
spoke to her about the Bible. But because the tened as the circuit overseer discussed James
girl’s father was a teacher, he encouraged her 4:17: “If someone knows how to do what
to learn more about nature and get a higher is right and yet does not do it, it is a sin for
education. Other people told her, “Your gener- him.” That encouraged Flavia to think about
ation can save the planet from ruin.” With her own situation. She says: “While wanting
her father’s support, Flavia went to a famous Jehovah’s blessing, I also wanted satisfaction
university. There, she researched ways to pro- from my career in science. I had to choose.”
duce fuel that does not pollute the air. Flavia decided to end her studies at the uni-
Flavia soon realized that many students did versity. Did she later regret her decision? She
not really care about the planet. Also, some says:
programs at the university needed business- “In Jehovah’s service, I have gained bene-
es to pay for their research. So the research- fits unattainable at the university. Jehovah
ers were tempted to be partial and do things has been good to me. He has taught me to be
that would benefit those businesses. This kind, to show love, to help others spiritually. I
bothered Flavia. When Jehovah’s Witnesses have a wonderful marriage and a future far
came to her door, she again became interest- better than the one offered by science. Only
ed in what the Bible says about God and the Jehovah can save the planet. I will not turn my
future. back on him.” Flavia and her husband serve
Flavia loved the truth from the Bible and at the world headquarters of Jehovah’s Wit-
was baptized. But she spent very little time nesses in New York.
ws14 06/15-E
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