The Watchtower — August 1, 1961

Do Your Ears Hear with Annoyance?

A YOUNG man, deep in thought, was pounding away on his typewriter in an office overlooking New York city’s East River. Suddenly he heard a series of loud and strident blasts that nearly lifted him out of his seat. A freighter, preparing to leave its berth, was serving notice on all river traffic: “Watch out! Here I come!” No question about the ears of that young man hearing those blasts with annoyance. They had reason to!

Daily, almost, there are things that our ears hear with annoyance. The squeal of subway wheels as they round curves, the blowing of horns by impatient motorists, the pounding of the steampipes in the morning as the heat goes on, the pneumatic drills that rip up the paving or demolish old buildings. And all such is understandable.

Other things annoy by reason of their interruption. Having the phone ring so annoys many people in New York city that they are willing to pay six dollars annually to keep their names out of the telephone book. Having the doorbell ring so annoys others that they choose to live in exclusive apartments protected by liveried doormen. To them the price they pay for not being annoyed in these matters is worth it.

The ears of many people are annoyed each morning by their alarm clocks going off. But, although we hear that noise with annoyance, we heed its call and keep setting it each night. Why? Because we know that that annoyance is in our interests. We must get to work on time to keep our jobs and we must keep our jobs to keep on living!

But, unfortunately, not all persons are so realistic when it comes to hearing some new truth or truths that may at first annoy them. Then some are so thoughtless as to wholly ignore the “alarm clock,” while others go to the extreme of smashing it, as it were, rather than to heed its call. For example, the ears of the religious powers of Galileo’s day heard with such annoyance the truth that the earth was round that they not only refused to investigate it to see if it was true, but they arrested Galileo and even tortured his daughter to force him to recant; while his fellow astronomers refused to look into his telescope to prove for themselves that the moon was not as smooth as a billiard ball!

The Word of God gives us many instances of truth bearers who suffered persecution because their message was heard with annoyance. The sons of Israel had their burdens greatly increased because Pharaoh heard with annoyance the message that Moses brought to him from Jehovah. (Ex. 5:1-14) Jeremiah had his life threatened and was thrown into a miry dungeon because the rulers of his day heard with annoyance the message he brought them from their God. Yes, in times of old there were many who “received their trial by mockings and scourgings, indeed, more than that, by bonds and prisons. They . . . were in want, in tribulation, under ill-treatment,” all because the ears of those to whom they were sent heard with annoyance.—Heb. 11:36, 37.

How the scribes and Pharisees of Jesus’ day heard with annoyance the message of the good news of God’s kingdom! So much so that they had no peace until they had impaled Jesus. But even then they had no peace, for Jesus’ followers took up his message. Thus we read regarding Stephen’s preaching: “At hearing these things they felt cut to their hearts and began to gnash their teeth at him.” And after hearing some more “they cried out at the top of the voice and put their hands over their ears and rushed upon him with one accord. And after throwing him outside the city they . . . went on casting stones at Stephen” until he fell “asleep in death.” No question about their ears hearing with annoyance the truth that Stephen brought them!—Acts 7:54-60.

Jehovah’s prophet Isaiah long ago foretold this tendency, and Jesus quoted his words: “For the heart of this people has grown thick, and with their ears they have heard with annoyance, and they have shut their eyes; that they might never see with their eyes and hear with their ears and get the sense of it with their hearts and turn back, and I heal them.”—Matt. 13:15.

Today in every field of human relations the truth is heard with annoyance. The ears of children, and especially the ears of teen-agers, hear with annoyance the wise counsel of their parents and schoolteachers. Segregationists hear with annoyance that God “made out of one man every nation of men.” (Acts 17:26) Smokers hear with annoyance the relationship between cigarette smoking and cancer. What folly to pursue courses such as these!

In particular do the ears of many persons foolishly hear with annoyance the message of God’s kingdom as brought to them by the witnesses of Jehovah. Its strangeness and its implications are unpleasant. It jolts them out of their sleep like their morning alarm clock; but rather than act wisely and heed the call, they ignore it. And so they pay the price. What price? Of failing to get the sense of it!

How can one “get the sense of it” if his ears hear with annoyance? He is unable to weigh the evidence properly because his emotions becloud his judgment. He may even be highly educated. So were many of the religious leaders in times past. Yet they were unable to get the sense of what they heard, because their ears heard with annoyance the messages that God’s prophets brought them. In other words, they allowed prejudice to make them deaf.

When anyone hears something with annoyance he is, in effect, “replying to a matter before he hears it,” and “that is foolishness on his part and a humiliation.” Do not let the strangeness of the message this magazine contains, or its implications, or the manner in which it was brought to you, or the time it takes to consider its pages, cause you to hear its message with annoyance, nor let what others say decide its merits for you. Prove for yourself, by reason and God’s Word, whether what you hear is the truth or not. Then make your decision.—Prov. 18:13.

Satan—the Genius of Deception

How is his existence evident? What are his methods of deception?

A PRETENSE of nonexistence is the favorite cover of criminals. Behind its deceptive front organized crime is able to prey upon a community with little interference. Since criminals find this deceptive device so useful in their depredations, can we not suspect that Satan, the master criminal, would likewise use it? Pretending not to exist has been one of his most successful deceptions. Behind its screen he freely exerts his influence upon human affairs. But the modern world goes blindly on, contending; that he is nothing more than a carry-over from the superstitious past. In its imagined wisdom it relegates him to mankind’s cluttered closet of myths and legends.

Among the most ardent proclaimers of his nonexistence have been many clergy men who have argued that he is nothing more than the evil within man. The well-known German theologian, Friedrich Schleiermacher, claimed: “The problem remains to seek evil rather in self than in Satan.” H. L. Martensen, theologian, declared: “The evil principle has in itself no personality.” The theology of Albrecht Ritschl completely discards belief in the Devil. Recently, clergyman Gene E. Clark of the Church of Religious Science ridiculed Satan’s existence, claiming that “the only adversary there actually is can be found within ourselves.” Expressing this popular view, The Encyclopædia Britannica, 11th Edition, states: “It may be confidently affirmed that belief in Satan is not now generally regarded as an essential article of the Christian faith, nor is it found to be an indispensable element of Christian experience.”

This attitude may seem reasonable and sound to this sophisticated world, but it is a dangerous one. It disarms and creates a false sense of security. It lays the public wide open for assault and manipulation by that prince of wickedness. It makes them easy prey to his deceptions. Note what the book Satan, published by Sheed and Ward, says about this: “The devil’s triumph lies in eluding the direct grasp of man. He is ambiguity incarnate; we never know which mask it is that hides him. . . . It is dangerous not to believe enough in the devil; for to imagine that he does not exist is to do his own work for him. . . . It is no part of wisdom to underestimate an enemy. It is stupidity to cultivate an ignorance of the enemy to the point of blindness to his existence, for in such blindness it is impossible to face an enemy, let alone hold him at bay or conquer him.”

A REAL PERSONALITY

Despite Satan’s efforts to camouflage his existence, he is clearly exposed in the written Word of God. The fact that it speaks about some angels going bad and about “wicked spirit forces in the heavenly places” gives substantial reason for concluding that Satan has personality and is not an abstraction called evil. (Eph. 6:12) Peter identifies these wicked spirit forces as “angels that sinned.” (2 Pet. 2:4) Their activities are evident in the strange doings of spiritism.

When Jesus spoke about Satan, he did not use words that suggested that he was talking about the principle of evil, but his words reveal that he was referring to an evil personality who is “the ruler of the demons.” (Matt. 12:24) He said: “That one was a manslayer when he began, and he did not stand fast in the truth, because truth is not in him. When he speaks the lie, he speaks according to his own disposition, because he is a liar and the father of the lie.” (John 8:44) Jesus is clearly speaking here of a personality who had once served God, standing fast in the truth. That cannot be said of the abstract principle of evil. When did it ever “stand fast in the truth”?

Like a hungry lion on the loose that lurks out of sight in tall jungle grass waiting to devour someone, Satan prowls about seeking to bring the unwary under his domination and to swallow him in his vast organization. “Keep your senses, be watchful. Your adversary, the Devil, walks about like a roaring lion, seeking to devour someone.” (1 Pet. 5:8) Those who foolishly persuade themselves that no such enemy exists are easily led into a position of opposition to Jehovah, the Supreme Sovereign.

METHODS OF OPERATION

Being a superhuman intelligence, Satan is a formidable enemy who can, with ease, outmaneuver the cleverest human mind. His deceptive devices show no lack of imagination. They are many and greatly varied. Some are so subtle that a person’s thinking can be cleverly twisted to justify as right things he ordinarily knows are wrong. Without realizing it he can be led into serving Satan.

The torturing and killing of devout people who differ with popular religious opinions is obviously wrong, but a great many people, from the time of the first century Roman persecution to the Nazi and Communist inquisitions of our day, have justified it as right. Devilish reasoning has warped their thinking.

It has been Satan’s purpose from the time of his rebellion to turn men away from the loving Creator and to oppose and slander him. Since his wicked interests are served by the persecuting and killing of God’s servants, he would be the cause for men’s thinking to be warped into justifying crimes against them. Jesus foretold this when he said: “The hour is coming when everyone that kills you will imagine he has rendered a sacred service to God.”—John 16:2.

The pages of history have been drenched with innocent blood shed by religious zealots whose thinking had been warped by Satan through false religious systems. Their hearts were hardened to the screams of the men, women and children they tore apart in their fiendish torture chambers or roasted to death on stakes. All this and more they did in the name of God. What monstrous crimes to associate with God! What reproach their actions brought to his name! Who else but Satan would originate the idea that this does service to God? They unknowingly served Satan’s interests well.

By clever deceptions Satan has succeeded in using as his ministers men who thought themselves servants of God and who outwardly appeared to be men of righteousness. “For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for Satan himself keeps transforming himself into an angel of light. It is therefore nothing great if his ministers also keep transforming themselves into ministers of righteousness.”—2 Cor. 11:13-15.

As a false angel of enlightenment, Satan has encouraged the cultivation of philosophies and theories that champion his efforts to slander the Supreme Sovereign. Permeating them is the thought that there is no God. So often has this atheistic lie been repeated and insinuated that the thinking of a large percentage of mankind has been swayed by it. It is evident in the thinking that claims man to be the evolutionary result of an accident. Because this idea has been artfully surrounded with an aura of respectability through association with science, it is commonly referred to as if it were a proved fact rather than an unproved theory. Its obvious intent is to eliminate from human thinking the need for the Creator. This fits in well with Satan’s purpose of turning men away from God.

With good reason the Bible warns: “Look out: perhaps there may be some man that will carry you off as his prey through the philosophy and empty deception according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary things of the world and not according to Christ.” (Col. 2:8) Worldly wisdom is not trustworthy. It must be sifted with care and with alertness for Satan’s cunning deceptions.

FREEDOM

Man’s love for freedom has not escaped from becoming a tool in the hands of Satan. He has used it to persuade humans to violate divine laws and to rebel against Jehovah. When the great deceiver spoke to Eve through a serpent, he deluded her into imagining that she would have greater freedom by violating a law of God. “You are bound to be like God, knowing good and bad,” he told her. (Gen. 3:5) She was deceived. Instead of independence from God, she found enslavement and death.

Satan uses the same device today. By subtle means he influences worldly thinking to make independence from divine laws appear as a desirable thing. God’s laws are slyly ridiculed as being restrictive to freedom, burdensome and outdated. Worldly thinking minimizes and frequently justifies the wrongness of immoral acts that are forbidden by God. Drugs are even marketed to help remove guilt feelings from such acts. Through worldly thinking Satan stimulates the rebellious idea of breaking free from God’s standards of morality and judging for oneself what is good and bad. It is the same old lie told Eve but presented in a less conspicuous manner. This devilish quest to be free from God’s laws so as to think and act as one pleases has not brought to man a better world.

Even the field of entertainment is colored with this idea of breaking free from the restraints of God’s moral laws. Dramatic themes are predominantly on what is immoral, criminal and violent. The effect they have on one’s thinking should not be discounted. Recently a research team from the Stanford University Institute for Communication Research remarked about TV entertainment: “Hour after hour this parade of violence passed, as it must pass before our children week after week, and the amount and intensity of it gives one pause.” It should give one pause to think about the deleterious effect it can have on children as well as on adults. Care should be exercised in the selection of entertainment so that insidious ideas that are destructive to respect for divine laws cannot have opportunity to be pounded by repetition into sensitive minds. Be alert to recognize entertainment that reflects the influence of Satan’s twisted thinking.

NATIONAL THINKING

How Satan’s evil thinking can permeate human reasoning on a national scale is seen in man’s willingness to justify the incinerating of whole cities in the name of war. After remarking that the human race is “predominantly insane,” Dr. Hugh Keenleyside, former Canadian diplomat, said: “We can accept without a qualm the idea of incinerating hundreds of thousands or millions of women and children whom under normal conditions we should be glad to cherish, and in whom we should find gentleness and delight. . . . Being insane, we have devised political and economic and religious reasons to justify burning them to death.” Similar devilish reasoning twisted the thinking of the Nazis to justify their infamous extermination camps.

The sinister power that is twisting the thinking of the nations to devise an atomic holocaust for one another is not interested in the welfare of mankind. “We have listened to the wisdom of the serpent,” says the New York Times. “We have brought Promethean fire down from heaven. But the fire consumes us rather than warms us.” Satan is determined to continue ruling or else to ruin mankind, and he uses nationalism to suit his nefarious ends. The Scriptures truthfully state: “The whole world is lying in the power of the wicked one.”—1 John 5:19.

SAFEGUARDS

Since Satan’s deceptions are so clever and convincing that they almost mislead “the chosen ones” of God, you cannot afford to be careless or indifferent to them. (Matt. 24:24) You need safeguards. Two of the best safeguards are recognition of Satan’s existence and knowledge of God’s ways and principles. Recognition of Satan’s existence is essential to successful resistance to his bad influence on your thinking, and knowledge of God’s ways and principles is vital to detecting that influence. Whatever has Satan’s thinking in back of it will be out of harmony with God’s ways and principles.

Love for righteousness, faith in God’s Word and trust in him for salvation can serve as protective armor against the clever wiles of Satan. “Put on the complete suit of armor from God that you may be able to stand firm against the machinations of the Devil.” (Eph. 6:11) Be wary of worldly thinking and its trend to justify what is wrong in the eyes of God. Do not underestimate Satan’s power and ability. Be alert! Be watchful! Resist Satan’s efforts to mold your thinking and to seduce you with his craftiness.—2 Cor. 11:3.

Mixed-up Moral Standard

“While the church pays lip service to the absolute moral demands of Jesus, the actual operative moral standard in the average Protestant church, the standard by which church members judge each other, is a curious and unholy mixture of pagan morality, primitive folk ways, and bourgeois middle-class respectability, seasoned by a few maxims drawn from the Bible.”—Quoted in The Theology of Evangelism by Taito Kantonen from The Apostolic Preaching.

Right View of the Work Ahead

“This is what I continue praying, . . . that you may make sure of the more important things.”—Phil. 1:9, 10.

1. (a) What view do world leaders have of the future, so in what work are they engaged? (b) What is the confident expectation of Jehovah’s people as regards the future, and why?

WHAT does the future hold for mankind? World leaders, hoping for peace, are fearful that they may instead face global war, and they are bankrupting their nations in a mad race to stockpile nuclear weapons. Their hearts fail in fear at the things that they envision coming upon the earth. But not so with the people whose God is Jehovah. They confidently face the future, fortified with hope based on a knowledge of the Word of God. Their God is “the One telling from the beginning the finale, and from long ago the things that have not been done.” (Isa. 46:10) He knows what the future holds. Already he has brought into existence a new heavenly government, his kingdom, and he has laid the foundation of a new earth in the New World society of his witnesses. (Isa. 51:16; 65:17) The wicked world is in its time of the end. God declares that “he must personally put himself in judgment with all flesh. As regards the wicked ones, he must give them to the sword.” No more will wickedness flourish. “The upright are the ones that will reside in the earth, and the blameless are the ones that will be left over in it.” (Jer. 25:31; Prov. 2:21) These upright ones who are left over, this faithful remnant of mankind, will enjoy their God-given inheritance, not merely for a few years or even for thousands of years, but forever, for “he that does the will of God remains forever.” (1 John 2:17) None of the political nations of earth can by any negotiations or show of military might avert the time of divine judgment that lies ahead for them, nor will they be able to thwart the purpose of God Almighty to transform this globe into an earth-wide paradise under his Kingdom rule.

THE TRULY IMPORTANT WORK

2. Why is it important, when choosing activities in which we will engage, to keep in mind what lies ahead for the old world?

² By providing us with such vital information Jehovah God enables us to make a wise choice of the activities to which we will devote ourselves. He protects us from the calamity of having squandered our efforts, yes, our very lives, in pursuits that may seem good in the eyes of men but that will end in destruction at the universal war of Armageddon. (Prov. 14:12) In view of the clearly stated purpose of God, how foolish it would be to dedicate our lives to the perpetuation of this old world! If we are part of the old world we are not serving the interests of God’s new world, of which Christ is King. (John 15:19; 17:16) If we are friends of the world, of which Satan is the invisible god, we have renounced allegiance to the universe’s sovereign Ruler, Jehovah God, and have joined the ranks of those who are His enemies. (Jas. 4:4; 2 Cor. 4:4; 1 John 5:19) How much wiser we are if we seek peace with God and serve the interests of his new world!

3. (a) What is the main objective of the work of the majority of mankind? (b) Is it practical?

³ There are so many endeavors to which we might devote our efforts. The majority of mankind have as the principal object of their toil the gaining of economic security, but this is not the most important thing in life. The right view of one’s future is not a materialistic view, one in which achievements are measured in terms of material possessions acquired. Jesus Christ emphasized this by an illustration. He told of a man who had grand success as a farmer and who envisioned the expansion of his facilities to store up for the future. He wanted to be able to retire with an abundance that would last him for many years. He looked forward to the time when he could say: “Soul, you have many good things laid up for many years; take your ease, eat, drink, enjoy yourself.” But such a life may completely miss even the materialistic mark toward which it is directed. For, as Jesus related, God said to him: “Unreasonable one, this night they are demanding your soul from you. Who, then, is to have the things you stored up?” “So it goes with the man that lays up treasure for himself but is not rich toward God.” (Luke 12:16-21) Those who follow in the footsteps of Jesus Christ do not thus foolishly throw away their lives. They are under obligation to provide for those who are their own, and they are encouraged to use practical wisdom in doing so. But they know that when they are rich toward God, seeking first his kingdom, they have no cause for anxious concern about what they will eat or what they will drink or what they will put on, because “all these other things will be added” to them.—Matt. 6:25-34.

4. To what commendable work may others devote themselves, but how might they fail in discerning an even more important obligation?

⁴ Others may devote themselves to what are often termed “humanitarian” activities, to alleviating the distress and suffering of their fellow man from a physical standpoint. Such a desire to help others is commendable. Jesus himself in a parable implied commendation to the Samaritan who extended physical help to another who was in great physical distress. (Luke 10:30-37) Luke, a traveling companion of the apostle Paul, as a physician was in position to relieve the physical suffering of others. (Col. 4:14) But if one goes through life devoted to the service of his fellow man, yet failing to give prior devotion to the service of God, he has not kept in focus the really important thing. “This is what I continue praying,” said Paul in his letter to the Philippians, “that your love may abound yet more and more with accurate knowledge and full discernment, that you may make sure of the more important things, so that you may be flawless and not be stumbling others up to the day of Christ, and may be filled with righteous fruit which is through Jesus Christ, to God’s glory and praise.”—Phil. 1:9-11.

5. What is the most important work in which one can engage, and why?

⁵ Without doubt, the most important work we can engage in is that given to us by God; to do that means to fulfill the very purpose of our existence. “‘You are my witnesses,’ is the utterance of Jehovah.” (Isa. 43:10) That places upon us the obligation to talk about God and his purposes, to see to it that others know who the true God is and what his purposes are, to make sure that they hear the good news that God’s kingdom now rules and that by means of it eternal blessings will be showered upon obedient mankind. Whether the message is gratefully received or not, it is God’s will that it be delivered. It is his purpose that his “name may be published throughout all the earth,” and it is our happy privilege to have a share in that work. (Rom. 9:17) Happy are those who respond to this preaching in faith and join in praising God, for “anyone that calls upon the name of Jehovah will be saved.”—Acts 2:21.

6. How did the apostle Paul show discernment in selecting from the opportunities open to him?

⁶ Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, showed keen discernment in selecting from the opportunities open to him, when he said: “What things were gains to me, these I have considered loss on account of the Christ. Why, for that matter, I do indeed also consider all things to be loss on account of the excelling value of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord.” He was not going to let himself be weighted down by consideration for his former social status, occupational opportunities or his prominence in the religious world. The ‘things that were gains’ to him from a worldly standpoint he was willing to write off as losses in order to build his life around the ministry entrusted to him by the Lord. His heart was in the ministry, and he said: “I am grateful to Christ Jesus our Lord, who delegated power to me, because he considered me trustworthy by assigning me to a ministry.”—Phil. 3:7, 8; 1 Tim. 1:12.

THOROUGH PERFORMANCE OF THE WORK

7, 8. (a) What viewpoint did Paul have of the way in which the ministry is to be performed? (b) How did he demonstrate that in his ministry at Ephesus?

⁷ Paul proved his devotion by performing his ministry in an exemplary way. When reviewing with the overseers of the Ephesus congregation the course that he had followed, he made mention of the opposition that he had encountered, but he showed that this had not caused him to hold back. He had performed the ministry in a thorough manner. “You well know how from the first day that I stepped into the district of Asia I was with you the whole time, acting as a slave of the Lord with the greatest lowliness of mind and tears and trials that befell me by the plots of the Jews; while I did not hold back from telling you any of the things that were profitable nor from teaching you publicly and from house to house. But I thoroughly bore witness both to Jews and to Greeks about repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus.” He did not have the attitude that it was enough that he had been in their midst, and that if they had wanted the good news they could have come to him to hear it. He went from house to house to get in touch with them. He was confident that they had actually heard the message and, whether they believed it or not, they knew what it was about. In his own mind the question was not, Have I had some share in the ministry? but, Have I performed it thoroughly? Paul recognized the importance of doing so, and he emphasized it, saying: “I do not make my soul of any account as dear to me, if only I may finish my course and the ministry which I received of the Lord Jesus, to bear thorough witness to the good news of the undeserved kindness of God.”—Acts 20:18-24.

⁸ In caring for his assignment in Ephesus, at the outset he put on a series of public Bible meetings in the synagogue, and this ran for about three months. He was plain-spoken and forceful in his presentation, and at the same time he took into consideration the thinking of those in his audience, wording the message in terms that they could most easily grasp. (1 Cor. 9:20-23) There was no mistaking what he taught as being the same as the doctrine of the ear-tickling clergy of Ephesus, and soon the division between those who were hardhearted and those who wanted to learn became evident; so Paul took those who wanted to learn, the disciples, to another meeting place, and there in the school auditorium of Tyrannus he had meetings with them every day for two years. (Acts 19:8-10) At the same time he participated in and trained them in the house-to-house ministry. Having a loving concern for them, he not only imparted to them the good news but he freely expended himself on their behalf. He thoroughly performed his ministry.

9. (a) What attitude toward the ministry did Paul recommend to Timothy, and why? (b) How can one ‘save those who listen’ to him?

⁹ That same recognition of the importance of thoroughness in the ministry is what Paul recommended to his fellow worker Timothy and to those today who have faith like that of Timothy: “Keep your balance in all things, suffer evil, do the work of an evangelist, thoroughly accomplish your ministry.” (2 Tim. 4:5, margin) He did not encourage Timothy merely to have some share in the ministry, to be sure that he could tell the governing body each month that he had been preaching the good news during that month. His counsel was much stronger than that: “Thoroughly accomplish your ministry.” Why? Because lives were involved. Timothy was well aware of this, because not long before this Paul had written, admonishing him: “Pay constant attention to yourself and to your teaching. Stay by these things, for by doing this you will save both yourself and those who listen to you.” (1 Tim. 4:16) His concern was to be for more than his own salvation. He was not to participate in the ministry merely with the thought that this is the way he would gain salvation. Diligence on his part, thoroughness in the ministry, would mean salvation for others who, while they might have heard the good news, would not otherwise have received the personal attention that would help them to appreciate its importance and act on it.

10. What view of the work between now and Armageddon should we have?

¹⁰ How appropriate the counsel given to Timothy is for us today! It puts the work that lies ahead of us between now and Armageddon in the right focus. It helps us to avoid feeling that we have “done our part” simply because we have turned in a report of field service for the month. How we would be missing the purpose of God’s undeserved kindness if we were simply marking time in the ministry, turning in reports merely to keep a record of regularity, with a view to our own salvation! We must “consider the patience of our Lord as salvation,” not only for ourselves, but for others. (2 Cor. 6:1; 2 Pet. 3:15) Now, during this time of “great tribulation” that ends in the battle of Armageddon, is the time that Jehovah God has set aside for calling “out of all nations and tribes and peoples and tongues” a great crowd that no man can number, persons who will join in publicly ascribing salvation to God and to the Lamb.—Rev. 7:9, 14.

11. How will the fixing of our attention upon Jehovah God affect our service in the days ahead?

¹¹ With a mature view of the work God has given us to do, we will put our heart into it. Love for God and a desire to direct others to his worship will infuse us with zeal. When we encounter opposition, our participation in the ministry, making known the name of Jehovah, will not be governed by the response we encounter at the doors as we engage in the service. We are not going to become discouraged and slow down because the vast majority reject the good news. Rather, our service will be motivated by our devotion to Jehovah God; it will be stimulated by the depth of our feeling of indignation over the abuse heaped upon his name by the Devil and his ungodly world; we will persevere because of our love of righteousness, and we will continue to search out those who are grateful for God’s means of salvation. Rather than be content with a token performance, we will be alert to all the opportunities before us and seek to take full advantage of these privileges of service.

12. (a) What examination might we individually make to determine how thorough we are in the house-to-house ministry? (b) How can we instruct with mildness even those not yet favorably disposed, and with what possible result?

¹² Can you say of your ministry in your territory assignment as Paul did of his: ‘I have thoroughly borne witness about the good news’? Have you kept careful records and called back until you have been able to contact persons in every home? Have you called often enough that, over a period of time, you have come in touch with the various members of each household? More than that, have you borne thorough witness to them about God’s kingdom? Sometimes it takes much patience and many visits on your part before a person will actually stop what he is doing long enough to listen. In the meantime, by careful preparation and tactfulness you may be able to present on each call even one point from your prepared sermon by using a few well-worded sentences. Whether the householder recognizes the urgency of the situation or not, you as a minister do. For that reason you endeavor to instruct with mildness “those not favorably disposed, as perhaps God may give them repentance leading to an accurate knowledge of truth.” (2 Tim. 2:25) It may be that the seed of truth thus sown will not really grow until many months or even years later. Perhaps something may happen in that person’s life, in the community or in his church that makes him begin to ‘sigh and groan’ over the detestable things that he sees done. (Ezek. 9:4) This may make him more receptive to the Kingdom message, and now when you call he is ready to listen. Keen interest in those in the community will make us persevere in our teaching, realizing that circumstances in one’s life may change his attitude, making it possible for us to aid him on the way to salvation. It makes us alert to the many opportunities there are for return calls to stimulate further appreciation for the Bible truths.

CONCERN FOR THOSE TO WHOM ONE MINISTERS

13. How can one show concern for those to whom he ministers?

¹³ Ministers who have such a keen interest in those to whom they preach do not take an impersonal view of the ministry. They are not thinking merely of spending two or three hours in the service when they go out, and when they return they do not speak merely of the pieces of literature placed. They are interested in people, and they are searching for persons of good will toward God. They realize that they are engaged in a lifesaving work. Where they detect sincerity on the part of the householder, even if the Devil has thrown up barriers of fear, they effectively use the sword of the spirit to cut away the obstacles and “call out liberty to those taken captive and the wide opening of the eyes even to the prisoners.” (Isa. 61:1) While they do not waste time arguing with those who show no regard for godly things, they do not assume that everyone who raises an objection is opposed. But through tactfulness, employing the teaching methods of the Lord Jesus, keeping themselves restrained under evil circumstances, they find many opportunities to instruct with mildness even those who are not at first so favorably disposed. In time these persons may come to their senses and gain an accurate knowledge of the truth.—John 1:46-49; Acts 9:1-22.

14. What attitude toward those to whom they preached did Jesus and Paul manifest?

¹⁴ Jesus was outstanding in the loving concern he showed for those to whom he ministered. He did not brush aside children as too young to hear, or the rich as too proud to be worth his time, nor did he turn away the poor and blind and crippled. His heart went out to the people; he “felt tender affection for them, because they were skinned and knocked about like sheep without a shepherd.” (Matt. 9:36) Even when he was tired and needed to rest up a bit, he did not turn away those who sought him out. Paul, too, felt “tender affection” for those to whom he preached. (1 Thess. 2:8) We must have the same viewpoint.

15. What experience illustrates a mature Christian view of the ministry?

¹⁵ That feeling was well demonstrated by a pioneer sister who shared in the field ministry while visiting a friend in another congregation. During the morning’s service she met a young woman who showed some interest and accepted the Bible literature offered. The sister had no opportunity to call back, since she was there for only a very brief visit, but her heart went out to that person of good will and when she got home she began to write to her to encourage her to study. A Bible study was conducted by mail, and interest developed so rapidly that the sister soon arranged to make a special trip back to see the young woman again and to get her acquainted with the local congregation. She is now having a share in the service herself! Surely that pioneer sister was not out in the service just so she could report time spent preaching. Her desire was to honor Jehovah by finding and feeding those of sheeplike disposition toward him. That is how every mature minister views the service.

RIGHT VIEW OF DEDICATION

16. Although one may be a regular participant in the field ministry, what further step does God require, and why?

¹⁶ Once we have located these sheeplike individuals and helped them to become publishers of the Kingdom good news our job is not done. No one should feel that being associated with the New World society is in itself assurance of divine approval, or that participation in preaching the Kingdom message is all that God requires for one to survive Armageddon. Not at all! As long as anyone does not say to God, ‘Serving you is my purpose in life. I delight to do your will, and my life is dedicated to your service, no matter what it may be,’ his service is not whole-souled. Perhaps he does not want to take the responsibility that goes with dedication to God, but by evading it he is not going to be in a more favored position. If anyone who could do so does not follow the example of Jesus Christ, making a dedication to serve God and symbolizing it by water immersion, he is not yet on the narrow way that leads to life. In a way, he has held onto the thinking that is characteristic of the members of the religious organizations of Christendom. They, too, accept some of the Bible principles as a guide in life. But they reserve to themselves the right to draw the line; they sit as judges of God, making their own decisions as to the things in his Word that they want to accept. If one knows what Jehovah requires but determines in his own mind that not all of it is important enough to comply with, then he has not really accepted Jehovah as his God; so how can he expect God to accept him for life in the new world? Concerning those who fail to perform what they know God requires, James, the brother of the Lord, says: “If one knows how to do what is right and yet does not do it, it is a sin for him.” (Jas. 4:17) Such persons need the help of mature ones to get a right view of their service to God. They need to acquire, not only a knowledge of God’s Word, but an appreciation of his requirements.

17. (a) Are dedication and baptism guarantees of survival into the new world? (b) What does God look for in those who serve him?

¹⁷ Of course, dedication and baptism are not in themselves guarantees of life in the new world, Having made a dedication, one must use his life as he has promised to God. No one can expect to get into the new world “under the wire,” so to speak. Those who endeavor to get by with as little service as possible have already violated the very greatest commandment. Having been questioned on the matter, Jesus said that, to gain everlasting life, “‘you must love Jehovah your God with your whole heart and with your whole soul and with your whole strength and with your whole mind,’ and, ‘your neighbor as yourself.’” (Luke 10:25-27) Jehovah God, who is our Judge, sees more than what men see. “All hearts Jehovah is searching and every inclination of the thoughts he is discerning.” (1 Chron. 28:9) He knows not only what we do, but our motive. He knows whether we really do exert ourselves wholeheartedly in his service and whether our love for our neighbor, our desire to see him gain salvation, is as great as for ourselves. Now, before God passes final judgment, is the time for us to examine our own hearts, to review our own ministry, to see if we have the right view of the vital work that God has given us to do.

Enlarging Your Privileges of Service

1. (a) What did Jesus forcefully illustrate in the parable of the minas, and how? (b) Who is the one that has received kindly power, and what interests has he entrusted to his servants?

THE need for us to be productive in the service of our Master was forcefully illustrated by Jesus in a parable. He told of a certain man of noble birth who was about to travel abroad to secure kingly power and who called his servants to him and, entrusting each one with a mina, he told them to do business with it. “Eventually when he arrived home after having secured the kingly power, he commanded to be called to him these slaves to whom he had given the silver money, in order to ascertain what they had gained by business activity. Then the first one presented himself, saying: ‘Lord, your mina, by trading, went up to ten minas.’ So he said to him: ‘Well done, good slave! Because in a very small matter you have proved yourself faithful, accept authority over ten cities.’ Now the second came, saying: ‘Your mina, Lord, made five minas.’ He said to this one also: ‘You, too, be in charge of five cities.’” Another slave, although he had not lost his mina, showed no increase, and for this he was judged unfaithful and what he had was taken from him. (Luke 19:12-26) Christ Jesus is the One to whom Jehovah has given kingly power and he has entrusted the privilege of participating in the ministry as Kingdom witnesses to all his followers, saying: “Go therefore and make disciples of people of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the holy spirit, teaching them to observe all the things I have commanded you.”—Matt. 28:19, 20.

2. Why is it important for each one to show an increase?

² By this parable he shows that approval is obtained, not by merely retaining what has been entrusted to us, but by working with it in such a way that we show an increase. Why so? Because this indicates a right and good heart condition. As Jesus explained in his parable of the sower: “As for the one sown upon the right kind of soil, this is the one hearing the word and getting the sense of it, who really does bear fruit and produces, this one a hundredfold, that one sixty, the other thirty.” (Matt. 13:23) One whose heart proves to be the right kind of soil is receptive to God’s Word and responsive to the direction of his organization, and, as a result, God blesses the work of his hands with increase.

3. What is necessary on our part if we are going to show an increase?

³ To show an increase we must apply ourselves, seeking to acquire more knowledge and increased skills; we should be progressive and willing to take on more responsibility in the service of God. Each one needs to continue to grow in a knowledge of the Bible truth, be productive of the fruitage of Christian qualities in his life, and disseminate the good news by making public declaration of his faith. (1 Tim. 2:3, 4; John 15:8; Rom. 10:10) At no point should we become complacent, settling down with an attitude of having done all that is necessary. Rather, we need to exert ourselves. “Stay awake, stand firm in the faith, carry on as men, grow mighty. Let all your affairs take place with love.” “Exert yourselves vigorously to get in through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will seek to get in but will not be strong enough.”—1 Cor. 16:13, 14; Luke 13:24.

ADVANCEMENT IN FIELD MINISTRY

4. What privilege is open to those who have gained some knowledge of God’s Word and accepted it, and how should they view this opportunity?

⁴ Perhaps you are one who has been studying the Bible for a period of some months now with the assistance of one of Jehovah’s witnesses. Your efforts have no doubt been richly rewarded; you have found satisfying Bible answers to questions that perplexed you for many years and the solution to many personal problems; you have found a dependable hope in God’s new world that has filled you with joy. Having compared the events of our generation with Jesus’ great prophecy on the time of the end of the old world, you now know that we are living in that time and have been since 1914. You also learned from that prophecy that there is service in which you can have a share, for Jesus said: “This good news of the kingdom will be preached in all the inhabited earth for the purpose of a witness to all the nations, and then the accomplished end will come.” (Matt. 24:14) Having in mind that God’s Word encourages each one to progress to Christian maturity, now is the time to make definite arrangements to enlarge your service to God by participating in that grand work. (Heb. 5:12–6:1) There are millions of persons who do not yet know the things that you have learned. As Jesus said: “The harvest is great, but the workers are few.” (Matt. 9:37) Will you have a share in the joyous harvest work along with the one who has orally instructed you? Will you enlarge your privileges of service, showing that the truth that God has given you has entered the ‘right soil’ of a good heart, that you got the sense of it and are productive in his service?—Gal. 6:6.

5. (a) As regards the ministry, what should everyone associated with the New World society have in mind? (b) What are some of the activities into which everyone can branch out so as to show increase?

⁵ Everyone associated with the New World society of Jehovah’s witnesses, whether newly interested or an experienced minister, ought to have in mind enlarging his privileges of service. Each one, being progressive, should have a goal in the ministry toward which he is working—a goal that can be attained in a reasonable length of time and that will serve as a steppingstone to further advancement. There are many features of service in which we can engage, and we should progressively endeavor to include all of them in our regular program of activity. In congregations everywhere there is much room for improvement along these lines, and that means that there is need for personal improvement. Are you having a regular share in the house-to-house ministry, as did Jesus and his apostles? (Acts 20:20; 1 Cor. 11:1) Have you done so this week? This being the time for the news of God’s established kingdom to be proclaimed, are you having a regular share in distributing the magazine that is dedicated to proclaiming that kingdom, The Watchtower, along with the Awake!, its companion? Much good can be done by regular distribution of these journals, and it is the privilege of every publisher to have a share. Is that a privilege that you appreciate? Then there are the very important back-call and Bible study activities. No doubt it was through such service that you were enabled to come to a knowledge of the truth, and this should help you to appreciate the importance of having a regular, weekly share in these features of service to aid others onto the way to life. Enlarge your ministry to include all these activities. If you are already regularly participating in them, consider how you can improve your effectiveness so as to accomplish more in the time you do devote to the field ministry. As you enlarge your service find someone else in the congregation that needs help to do the same, and lovingly offer that help and encouragement. As you show increase in your own ministry, and assist others to do the same, the rewarding joy that goes with such a productive course will be yours.—Matt. 25:23.

6. (a) How does the theocratic ministry school aid one to make advancement? (b) How is the diligence of each student to advance a source of blessing to all who attend the school?

⁶ The counsel concerning the ministry that Paul gave to Timothy is appropriate for all of us today. He said: “Ponder over these things, be absorbed in them, that your advancement may be manifest to all persons. Pay constant attention to yourself and to your teaching.” (1 Tim. 4:15, 16) The theocratic ministry school in all congregations of Jehovah’s witnesses affords excellent opportunities to do just that, and all associated with the congregation do well to avail themselves of this provision. Prove yourself to be like Timothy and ‘let your advancement be manifest to all persons.’ Keep in mind the counsel you are given in the school and put forth earnest effort, not only at the time of your next assignment, but daily in your conversation and regularly in your field ministry to make advancement. Let each assignment be a marker of progress in your ministry, as you master the material you present and develop good qualities of speaking and teaching. The audience too will benefit as you make advancement. It is true that most of them have a general knowledge of the material you are presenting, but extra effort on your part to express the ideas with clarity enables them to get a firmer grasp on the points. Your presenting the material as you really would to a person of good will in the field ministry makes it possible for them to learn from your example how to reason on it and make it understandable to one who knows very little of the Bible truth. The warmth and enthusiasm in your delivery deepens heart appreciation for the truth on the part of all who hear you. Why, your well-prepared, earnest presentation may be the very thing that stimulates the appreciation of a newcomer sufficiently that he will return to future meetings and continue to drink of the life-giving waters of truth. Thus your advancement is a source of blessing both to yourself and to all who observe you.

REACHING OUT FOR GREATER PRIVILEGES

7. In connection with field ministry, what opportunities for enlarged service in the congregation are open to mature ones, and how should all view this activity?

⁷ The need for mature ministers, those who have applied themselves and whose progress is manifest to all, individuals who are ready and willing to accept greater responsibility, is great. How many are there in your congregation who, due to immaturity, are devoting only a few hours to the service each month and showing little in the way of increase? They need the assistance of mature ones who are willing to sit down and study with them, help them prepare sermons, aid them to improve their handling of problems met in the house-to-house work, go along with them on back-calls and help them to establish home Bible studies. They need personal instruction and encouragement. “We, though, who are strong ought to bear the weaknesses of those not strong, and not to be pleasing ourselves. Let each of us please his neighbor in what is good for his upbuilding.” (Rom. 15:1, 2) Are you taking steps to enlarge your ministry to include this privilege of service?

8. What is the right view of service meeting assignments one may be given?

⁸ As you progress you may find that you are privileged to oversee a part of the congregation’s service meeting program. Many regularly are called on to do this. How should this be viewed? Paul answers: “He that presides, let him do it in real earnest.” (Rom. 12:8) When given this privilege, even if it should be every week, do not put off preparation for the last minute and then hastily gather some ideas just to fill the assigned time. You have been entrusted with serving to the congregation of God’s people spiritual food and counsel from His table; never treat it as something common. (Mal. 1:12) Carefully study your assignment well in advance. Give consideration to presenting the material in such a way that it will be directly applicable to the circumstances of those in the congregation. Your assignment is not merely to present information, but to put it across in such a way that all will appreciate its value, remember it and use it. Your effectiveness will be reflected in their effectiveness in the field ministry, and, in turn, in the lives of those to whom they minister.

9. What service opportunities have opened up as a result of the increase in the number of congregations?

⁹ Productive field ministry has resulted in an amazing increase in the number of congregations, and this too opens opportunities for enlarged service. Just think: During the last two years 3,130 new congregations of Jehovah’s people were formed world-wide! This means that during that time 3,130 new congregation overseers were needed, besides over 21,000 ministerial servants and more than 160 circuit and district servants to visit at regular intervals. Yet this is not all. In nearly every congregation there are openings for mature brothers to enlarge their privileges by taking on servant responsibilities, for many of those now assigned hold two and three positions.

10. (a) How does one reach out for the office of overseer? (b) Why is this the right course to pursue?

¹⁰ Paul commends those who are reaching out for such service, saying: “If any man is reaching out for an office of overseer, he is desirous of a right kind of work.” (1 Tim. 3:1) It is not honor that they seek; they are desirous of work, the right kind of work; they want to do more in Jehovah’s service and to be of greater service to their Christian brothers. As we have already seen in the parable of the minas, someone reaches out for the office of overseer, he shows himself worthy of being entrusted with greater responsibility, by proving himself faithful and showing increase in caring for what has already been put into his care. If he is diligent and acquires skill in the house-to-house ministry, makes back-calls, conducts progressive home Bible studies, is regular in all the features of the service, handles each assignment on the congregation meetings in an upbuilding manner, and manifests in all that he does the fruits of God’s spirit, he is showing by his faithful course that he qualifies to be used as an overseer. Overseers are such, not because they have gained the attention of some prominent brother, but because they have won the approval of God. Having proved themselves faithful in little things, they are blessed by God with greater responsibilities. (Ps. 75:5-7; Luke 16:10) Are you pursuing such a course of faithfulness in caring for the Kingdom interests entrusted to your care?

11. What is it that motivates one to take up pioneer service, and what arrangement makes it possible for many to share in this service?

¹¹ Thousands of forward-looking ministers in the New World society, knowing that nothing this old world has compares in value with God’s service, have organized their affairs to devote more time to the actual preaching and teaching work as full-time pioneer ministers. Tens of thousands more, although they have responsibilities that make it impossible to be regular pioneers, also have their eyes on enlarged service privileges. Through careful planning they are able to buy out the opportune time to the extent of two weeks or a month or more each year for vacation pioneer service. Their heart is in Jehovah’s service, and they are constantly on the watch for opportunities to share more fully in it. They keep testing whether they are pursuing the course of true faith, and they are moved to exert themselves to make opportunities thus to enlarge their service.—Eph. 5:15, 16; 2 Cor. 13:5.

12. Why are individuals and families moving out to serve where the need for Kingdom witnesses is great?

¹² Other stronghearted individuals and family groups have pulled up stakes and moved out to new localities and even to foreign countries where the need for Kingdom witnesses is great. Why? It is not that they had no family obligations or other responsibilities or had an abundance of money they did not know how else to use. Rather, they are keenly aware of the will of God for our day; they have faith in God that this work of Witnessing that is now being done is the most important for our day. Having heard the call for help in the ministry from these other places, they felt as did Paul and his companions when Paul had a vision of a Macedonian man who was beseeching him and saying: “Step over into Macedonia and help us.” “Now as soon as he had seen the vision,” the account continues, “we sought to go forth into Macedonia, drawing the conclusion that God had summoned us to declare the good news to them.” (Acts 16:9, 10) So, today, those who have responded to the call feel that it is God who has summoned them, that he is the one who has showed them this open door of service, and, like Isaiah, they respond: “Here I am! Send me.” (Isa. 6:8) Their faith is being richly rewarded as they aid those who hunger and thirst for righteousness to take hold of the service of the true God with them.

13. What view should we take of present opportunities to increase our service, and with what view of the future?

¹³ No matter where we are serving in Jehovah’s organization, there is opportunity for us to do as did the faithful slaves of Jesus’ parable, and show an increase in the mina, the Kingdom ministry, entrusted to us. Strong faith in God, love for those who manifest good will toward the Creator, “keeping close in mind” the impending day of Jehovah’s destruction of the wicked world, and eager anticipation of the blessings of the new world stimulate us to such a faithful course. (2 Pet. 3:11-13) We are not looking forward to a time when we are to be discharged from the Master’s service. We do not anticipate Armageddon as a time when our service to God will be finished. When an assignment has been faithfully performed, God does not discharge such a one from his service or retire him from active service. Our joy is in actively serving Jehovah, and those who prove faithful now will be blessed with enlarged opportunities to serve their Creator in the new world. As shown by Jesus in the parable of the talents, to the one who proves faithful in his trust the Master says: “Well done, good and faithful slave! you were faithful over a few things. I will appoint you over many things. Enter into the joy of your master.”—Matt. 25:23.

PURSUING THE GOAL OF NEW-WORLD SERVICE

14, 15. What enlarged service prospects are in store for those of Christ’s anointed body members who prove faithful now?

¹⁴ Just think of the grand work that lies ahead of those who prove their faith now! Those who have been anointed with God’s spirit and who make the calling and choosing of them sure will have service assignments in the heavenly kingdom with Christ. Glorious new fields of activity will open to them, for “they will be priests of God and of the Christ, and will rule as kings,” as members of the New Jerusalem, the capital organization of God’s entire universe. (Rev. 20:6) To these anointed ones who have served God with all their heart, who have pursued the course of peace with God and his Son and their Christian brothers, and who have stood firm even in the face of violent persecution, apply the promises: “Happy are the pure in heart, since they will see God. Happy are the peaceable, since they will be called ‘sons of God’. Happy are those who have been persecuted for righteousness’ sake, since the kingdom of the heavens belongs to them.”—Matt. 5:8-10.

¹⁵ By means of his inspired Word Jehovah has let them know what some of the delightful prospects are that await them, and of this mention is made by the apostle Paul, who said: “I continue mentioning you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the accurate knowledge of him, the eyes of your heart having been enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he called you, what the glorious riches are which he holds as an inheritance for the holy ones, and what the surpassing greatness of his power is toward us believers. It is according to the operation of the mightiness of his strength, with which he has operated in the case of the Christ when he raised him up from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above every government and authority and power and lordship and every name named, not only in this system of things, but also in that to come. He also subjected all things under his feet, and made him head over all things to the congregation, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills up all things in all.” (Eph. 1:16-23) Their hope of such marvelous heavenly service is an “anchor for the soul,” enabling them to hold faithfully to the service God has given them now and to lay hold of the hope set before them.—Heb. 6:19.

16, 17. What service privileges await those who are blessed with life in the earthly realm of the Kingdom?

¹⁶ Then there is a great crowd of others who are now serving side by side with the King’s anointed brothers and on whom God’s spirit of blessing also rests. To them Christ says: “Come, you who have my Father’s blessing, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the world’s foundation.” (Matt. 25:34) They look forward to service in the earthly realm of the Kingdom, and what delightful prospects they have!

¹⁷ Those who now prove themselves faithful overseers in the New World society will, no doubt, continue to enjoy positions of princely service after Armageddon. There will be much work to do, and it will be done in an orderly way. (Isa. 32:1, 2; 1 Cor. 14:33) After God’s execution of judgment upon the wicked in his war of Armageddon, the earthly subjects of the King will have before them a world-wide cleanup program that will eclipse anything this globe has ever seen. Countless numbers of human dead will have to be buried. (Ezek. 39:11-16) Homes will be built. Paradise conditions will be extended to the ends of the earth. That will be no time for irregular workers or for those who seek to do only what they feel necessary to get by. Those alive to share in that service will be those who love God with all their heart and all their strength and all their vital force; they are the ones who prove faithful in their assignments now, and who will be blessed with even more to do then. As children are born to the Armageddon survivors, and when those persons in the memory of God are raised from the dead, there will be a tremendous program of education. (Rev. 20:12) Teaching ability acquired now will continue to be put to good use then, aiding new arrivals to gain accurate knowledge and deep appreciation of the will of God. Under the administration of the kingdom of heaven, this earth will be brought to paradisaic loveliness and its obedient inhabitants to perfection. All such inhabitants will be wholehearted participants in the worship of Jehovah.

18. What proper view should we have toward present and future service given us by God?

¹⁸ This is the will of God, and it is for such that all Christians pray, saying: “Let your kingdom come. Let your will come to pass, as in heaven, also upon earth.” (Matt. 6:9, 10) With earnest longing for that time, they serve God now, that they may be blessed with participation in the satisfying service assignments that Jehovah will provide them then and throughout all eternity! To them, the service of God is no oppressive burden; they do not view the taking on of greater responsibilities as any unpleasant prospect. They find the greatest joy and satisfaction in doing the divine will, and it is with eager anticipation that they seek to enlarge their participation therein.

The Temple of Artemis

IT WAS in the ancient city of Ephesus that the preaching of the apostle Paul reduced the sales of the “silver shrines of Artemis.” These images “furnished the craftsmen no little gain,” and a silversmith named Demetrius fomented a riot against the apostle Paul, saying: “The danger exists not only that this occupation of ours will come into disrepute but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will be esteemed as nothing and even her magnificence which the whole province of Asia and the inhabited earth worships is about to be demolished.”—Acts 19:24, 27.

Discussing his visit to the ruins of Ephesus, Peter Baam writes in Early Sites of Christianity: “It is an extraordinary fact that a great city can vanish so completely from the face of the earth. . . . [Ephesus] vanished, blown away by the wind. Its ruins have only been brought to light by the archaeologists of our own day. Ephesus was one of the great cities of antiquity. In its heyday, at the time of the apostles, it had a quarter of a million inhabitants. . . . It contained . . . the Artemision, which was dedicated to the goddess Artemis and considered one of the Seven Wonders of the World. It was erected around 700 B.C. . . . The Artemision endured for nearly a thousand years. It was one of the great places of worship in the Greek world, until the Goths destroyed it in A.D. 262. . . .

“The admirable writer of the Acts of the Apostles, whom journalists might well take as the patron saint of their profession, is so accurate in a hundred details that can be checked that there can be not the slightest doubt about the accuracy of his reports. These things took place just as he reported them. . . .

“The shrine of the ancient world has vanished so completely that J. T. Wood, an English architect of the middle of the last century, took seven years to discover the site of the temple. In the end he found it with the help of a Roman inscription of the period of the Emperor Trajan, about fifty years after Paul was in Ephesus. The inscription gives instructions concerning the route by which the goddess was to be taken to the theater at the annual festival. By following these instructions Wood found the site of the temple. . . .

“The excavation site of the Artemision lies about 300 yards from the castle hill. It looks like a foundation trench, a rectangle measuring about 330 by 110 yards, and deep. The pit is half filled with ground water, and a few remains of columns lie in the morass. The Acts of the Apostles contains a description of the rising in Ephesus which the goldsmith unleashed during the sojourn there of the apostle Paul. At that time the goldsmiths of the city were doing a roaring trade with small silver temples of Artemis which were sold to pilgrims as souvenirs. They have been found in excavations as far away as Upper Egypt, Spain, and India.”

Buildings in Place of Morale

“Modern religion is sacrificing its former ‘ruggedness’ and strength of belief on the altar of ‘physical softness and delight,’ a New York rabbi said . . . Rev. Dr. William F. Rosenblum described ‘the supreme passion’ of church and synagogue as a desire to construct magnificent buildings while neglecting the development of ‘a majestic, spiritual people.’ ‘One of the incontrovertible lessons of history is that a nation which dissipated its energies and its wealth in imposing buildings while neglecting to pay equal attention to the morale of its people has always declined and often perished.’”—New York Times, October 2, 1960.

Maintaining Peace to Bear Fruit

ALL servants of Jehovah God have the obligation to bear two kinds of fruit: the fruitage of the spirit and the fruitage of the Kingdom ministry. The fruitage of the spirit is described by the apostle Paul as “love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faith, mildness, self-control.” This is also the fruitage that the disciple James, half brother of Jesus, had in mind when he wrote: “The fruit of righteousness has its seed sown under peaceful conditions for those who are making peace.”—Matt. 13:23; Gal. 5:22, 23; Jas. 3:18.a

Bearing fruit and engaging in strife do not go hand in hand, be that fruit literal farm crops or the fruitage of the spirit. In time of war farmlands used as battlefields do not produce any crops, do they? And how can farmers look after their lands when they are at the front fighting? So also we, as Christian witnesses of Jehovah, cannot produce the fruitage of the spirit nor the fruitage of the ministry when we engage in strife among ourselves. How can there be growth in love, joy, peace, mildness, kindness, goodness and suchlike when there is friction and confusion?

Since we should at all times and in all places be cultivating the fruitage of the spirit, we must at all times seek to preserve peace among ourselves. Yes, “a slave of the Lord does not need to fight, but needs to be tactful toward all, qualified to teach, keeping himself restrained under evil, instructing with mildness those not favorably disposed.” From these words of Paul we see a reciprocal principle at work: mildness and self-control make for peaceful conditions that are conducive to growing the fruitage of the spirit, which very fruitage includes mildness and self-control.—2 Tim. 2:24, 25.

Our obligation to maintain peace works two ways: On the one hand we must exercise care that we do not let what others say and do stir us up to manifest anger, causing strife. And, on the other hand, we must be careful that we ourselves do not say and do anything that will needlessly stir up strife. So, when another says something that offends us, when another becomes emotional and shouts, or loses his temper and wants to strike blows, then in particular is it the time for us, not merely to count to ten, but to be on guard and look to Jehovah for help that we might maintain the peace by not replying in kind. “An answer, when mild, turns away rage, but a word causing pain makes anger to come up.”—Prov. 15:1.

How many are our opportunities to maintain peace! First of all, in our very homes. Does husband or wife wake up feeling grouchy because of a poor night’s rest or otherwise indisposed? Then do not respond in the same manner but exercise self-control, be long-suffering, go out of your way to show mildness, kindness, understanding, and that even though you may think that you yourself feel worse! Or is one’s unbelieving mate continually making slighting or slurring remarks, subtly persecuting? Again, do not retaliate but remember the example Jesus set: “When he was being reviled, he did not go to reviling in return. When he was suffering, he did not go to threatening.”—1 Pet. 2:23.

In particular do we need to be on our guard to maintain peace within the Christian congregation, in our dealings with our brothers. We must work for peace in our relations with them so that we do not hinder their growth of Christian fruitage, nor our own either. In this regard the overseers and their ministerial assistants have a great responsibility to take the lead by showing how it should be done, by being patient, kind and considerate with those coming to them with problems as well as with the erring ones that need correction. Moses, the overseer of the nation of Israel, was the meekest man in all the earth in his day. Each overseer should be the meekest, mildest and kindest Christian in his congregation.—Num. 12:3.

And, of course, maintaining peace for the purpose of bearing fruit also applies to our relations with those on the outside. As much as he was opposed and persecuted, at no time did Jesus lose his temper. So, “if possible, as far as it depends upon you, be peaceable with all men.” “Pursue peace with all people.”—Rom. 12:18; Heb. 12:14.

So let us, one and all, do our utmost to maintain peace in our homes, in our association with our brothers, and with those on the outside, that we might go on bearing unhindered the fruitage of the spirit, so essential to our keeping integrity and to our bearing fruitage in the Kingdom ministry.

[Footnotes]

How to Read the Bible

READING should be thinking, and this is especially true in regard to the Bible. How many persons read and reread portions of the Bible without understanding them and sometimes without even trying to understand them! How can you get the most benefit out of reading the Bible?

There are certain requirements that are vital for successful reading of the Bible. One of them is to have the right frame of mind or mental attitude. This attitude should be like that of a trusting child toward its parent; for one is seeking instruction from his heavenly Father. One should be humble and teachable, divesting himself of preconceived notions so that he can be taught by God. Prayer to God, asking for wisdom and understanding, is important and shows that one recognizes the Holy Bible for what “it truthfully is, as the word of God.”—1 Thess. 2:13.

When reading the Bible, one must also consider his physical condition. It is difficult for the mind to be alert when one’s stomach is filled with food. If one is very tired it may be better to nap a few minutes or arrange for the reading period at a different time. There should be reasonable quietude, good lighting and some ventilation, especially in the summer.

Now as to the matter of when to read the Bible. Try to read the Bible every day. Set aside fifteen minutes or, better yet, a half hour. Some may find the time before breakfast; others may find a noontime rest period ideal; and still others may find reading the Bible shortly before bedtime the best arrangement.

Where should you begin reading? If you have never read the Bible through at least once, then it is good to do so, so as to get the over-all view. Indeed, one of the vital aspects in good reading is to get the overall picture, and this also applies to individual chapters of the Bible. Once you have read the Bible through consecutively, you may wish to read the Bible in a different way, that is, selecting certain books or chapters to read. Many Bible students try to read at least a chapter a day, selecting the chapter in which is located the day’s text as found in the current Yearbook of Jehovah’s Witnesses. This has proved an excellent arrangement and has made their meditation on the day’s text much more fruitful.

THINK TO UNDERSTAND

What is reading? “Reading,” says Professor William H. Armstrong in his book Study Is Hard Work, “is thinking. Don’t forget that important statement. . . . Reading consists of balancing, weighing, and comparing the ideas that you extract from the printed page. That is what thinking is.” Unfortunately, “reading, as practiced by most people,” comments Ernest Dimmit in The Art of Thinking, “is nothing but a method of not thinking.” Yes, many persons read so as NOT TO THINK! They immerse themselves in popular novels and magazine stories and get emotional thrills; but such reading is not thinking. Reading, for many persons, is a way of killing time under a dignified name.

When reading the Bible, guard against the passive state of mind. Apply the principles of good studying. “Far too often we ‘study’ our lessons with the mind out of focus,” says the volume This Is the Way to Study, “in the vain hope that looking at a printed page will somehow let its contents brush off on us without our having to think at all . . . Mere reading isn’t studying, anyway; discard the notion that you are studying when all you are doing is allowing a train of impressions to flow passively through your mind. No practice employed under the pretense of learning could be much more wasteful. . . . Plan to spend not more than one half of your study period in reading your lesson. Use the other half in doing something with what you learn. Think about what you have studied. . . . Stop after each paragraph, section and chapter and repeat the sense of what you have read. If the meaning is hazy or uncertain, clear up the matter in your mind before trying to go further.”

So, then, once you have the over-all view, mere coverage of material in the Bible is not your goal in Bible reading. Some persons like to tell others how many times they have read the Bible. Each time they start again they readily pass over material without understanding. Unless you give about half of your time period to reflection, the time you read may bring but little benefit. This means that one’s pace will be slow, since meditation and understanding are the objective, not mere coverage of pages. Because of its nature, the Bible does not reward the hasty glance with deep and abiding insight and discernment.

Stressing thinking, yes, pondering, the apostle Paul wrote to Timothy: “Ponder over these things.” And again: “Give constant thought to what I am saying; the Lord will really give you discernment in all things.” (1 Tim. 4:15; 2 Timothy 2:7) Timothy was to do more than merely read Paul’s letters; he was to ponder the principles contained therein. Such principles are rules of action, and this young overseer had to think on how and when he was going to apply these principles. He needed to have the principles well in mind so that when problems came up he could say: ‘This is the way we go, and this is the principle that applies.’ Thus by thinking and meditating Timothy would gain discernment. Divine discernment would come, not from a passive state of mind, but by ‘pondering over these things.’

PERSONAL APPLICATION AND QUESTIONS

What are some aids to productive reading of the Holy Bible? First, there is the matter of personal application. The reader of the Bible must be open to new insights into himself even though they are painful; and, above all, he has to be ready to revise or change his attitudes and actions in the direction of those insights. So as you read be on the lookout for any principles that apply to your life. Ask yourself: How does this affect my life? Does this call on me to make any adjustments to bring my attitude or actions into harmony with this expression of the divine will? For example, when reading Paul’s counsel, “Keep doing all things free from murmurings and arguments,” the true servant of God searches his heart to see if he is really conforming in this regard to the divine will.—Phil. 2:14.

So as the Christian reads the Bible he is continually alert to find and apply principles that are a guide to his daily living, and not only that: He also considers how texts in the material he is reading support Bible truths that he discusses in his Kingdom ministry. So that he can use these texts in the future he makes note of them. A minister may find that he often refers to Revelation 21:4 to show others that death inherited from Adam will be destroyed; so in reading the fifteenth chapter of First Corinthians, he will make a note of the text, “For he must rule as king until God has put all enemies under his feet. As the last enemy, death is to be destroyed.” Thus the minister of God plans to use this text in teaching others the divine purposes.—1 Cor. 15:25, 26.

Then there is the reading aid of asking questions, such as, ‘Why is this so?’ and, ‘Why did this happen?’ Such questions stir up thinking. Thus one may be reading Matthew 4:1, 2: “Then Jesus was led by the spirit up into the wilderness to be tempted by the Devil. After he had fasted forty days and forty nights, then he felt hungry.” One might ask himself, “Why were forty days and forty nights necessary?” One might reason that Jesus used that time well, by meditating on God’s Word. But still why that length of time? As you reflect on the matter, by association your mind may think on other similar periods, how both Moses and Elijah experienced them. (Ex. 24:18; 34:28; Deut. 9:25; 1 Ki. 19:8) Further thinking brings to mind the transfiguration scene, wherein Jesus was transfigured with Moses and Elijah, and such thinking has given you insight into the matter: That Jesus went into the wilderness for that specific length of time to conform to these types and that the transfiguration scene required this conformity. So by asking questions to yourself and then reflecting on the matter, your understanding may be greatly enhanced.

PROPHETIC IMPORT AND BACKGROUND INFORMATION

As you read, then, be on the lookout for prophetic fulfillment, both in a minor and major way. If you are reading Luke, chapter nine, about the transfiguration of Jesus, you may ask, being alert to prophetic import, “What does this mean?” If, after thinking about the matter, you do not arrive at a satisfactory answer, then do some research. Go to a Scripture index in one of the Watch Tower publications. Look under Luke 9:29, 30 (or the corresponding verses in Matthew and Mark) or in a subject index under the word “transfiguration.” By doing this you will be referred to publications that show the transfiguration scene represented Jesus’ presence in Kingdom power and that he would do a work like that of both Moses and Elijah. You will also learn that the transfiguration was to Peter the fulfillment of Jesus’ promise that some of his disciples would not taste death until they had first seen the Son of man in his kingly power.

Sometimes as you read you will find it desirable to dig out background material to enhance your understanding. Suppose you are reading the book of Esther and you notice that much of the action takes place at “Shushan the castle,” or “the city of Shushan.” (Esther 1:2; 3:15) You wonder, Where is this city? What was it like? Going to a Bible dictionary, you find that Shushan was really the Persian royal treasure city of Susa and that it was the royal winter residence. In one dictionary the reader will see a picture of an air view of the ruins of Susa, and you will see it was located on the Karkheh River, and that it is located in what is today southwest Iran. The name “Shushan” now means much more to you as you read this account in which the word so frequently occurs.

REMEMBERING WHAT YOU READ

Certain chapters in the Bible especially lend themselves to visualization, a great aid in remembering. For most of us words are the means by which we do most of our thinking, but these words are not so easy to recall to mind as are pictures. This may be why some persons say they can remember a person’s face but not the name. A large number of words that describe a situation may often be translated into pictures. In other words, imagine the scene that the words describe.

Suppose you are reading the twenty-first chapter of John, about the disciples fishing, how Jesus appears to them, how they haul up a netful of 153 big fish, how Peter plunges into the water and swims toward Jesus, how they breakfast on the shore of the lake and how Jesus instructs Peter as to the vital matter of teaching others. Well, then, imagine in your mind the scene: The disciples in a boat on the lake, having no success fishing. Picture Jesus telling them to put their net down on the other side; visualize the huge net full of fish, the big splash as Peter dives into the water and swims vigorously to meet Jesus, the charcoal fire and the eating of bread and fish. As Jesus instructs Peter to “feed my little sheep,” the reader may wish to visualize a group of little sheep and Jesus pointing to them. Having these pictures in mind, you will remember much about this chapter of John.

Another aid that works much like visualization is the condensing of large amounts of material into short notes, each of which brings to mind many related facts. It is surprising how much information can be remembered by making this brief outline. Let us take the twenty-first chapter of John as an example of reducing a chapter to a brief summary outline.

Jesus’ appearance beside the sea of Tiberias

A. The miraculous haul of fish

B. Peter to feed sheep

C. John to remain until Jesus’ coming

For complete mastery of material in a chapter there is need to sum up that chapter in your mind before you go on to another chapter. Making a brief outline is one way of summarizing the chapter. Look carefully at your notes. Put them away and try to remember how the words looked. Then see whether they remind you of many important facts related to them.

So there is much that can be done to make your reading of the Bible productive. Read to understand. Get the over-all view. When advisable dig out background material to enhance appreciation. Consider prophetic import. Isolate principles that are a guide to your daily living and scriptures that will aid you in your ministry. Ask questions as you read, and let association help you answer them. If you do not understand some material do not pass it over as if it were unimportant. God has not recorded material in the Bible that is dispensable. What is provided is for our instruction to guide us in making decisions and living according to the divine will. Do not show disrespect for God by passing over material you do not understand. Do research, going to an index in one of the Watch Tower publications. Take time to read the Bible with understanding.

Pursuing My Purpose in Life

As told by A. E. Wicke

“WHAT shall I repay to Jehovah for all his benefits to me?” (Ps. 116:12) Well might I ask myself that question as I sit at my desk in a comfortable missionary home in Penang, Malaya, going over the events of my life. It has been a very busy life, taking me into many different places with many undeserved privileges and blessings. How thankful I can be that when still young I made the full-time service of Jehovah my purpose in life! Let me tell you how I came to this far-reaching decision.

Back in 1930, when I was twenty, I had my first contact with Jehovah’s witnesses. My God-fearing parents had brought me up as a Lutheran and had instilled in me a love and respect for the Bible, but at that time I was not taking any particular interest in religion. However, a friend invited me to a transcription lecture by Judge Rutherford at a city theater in Sydney, Australia. While waiting for it to begin a zealous Bible Student put a copy of The Watch Tower into my hand, which at that time bore the subtitle “Herald of Christ’s Presence.” I must confess that this prejudiced me and consequently I did not particularly appreciate the lecture. How could anyone speak of Christ as being present? I was prevailed upon to keep an open mind and make an unbiased examination of the matter by reading the book Creation. It was not long before I became completely convinced that this was the truth. At once I began to associate with a study group and attended the regular congregational meetings, enlarging my understanding.

My revived interest in religion rather surprised my family. My father, believing me to be in error about what I was now learning, gave me pamphlet after pamphlet to read. But the more I examined these supposed “exposures” of our beliefs the more my faith in the truth was strengthened.

CHOICE OF A CAREER

However, I had another major interest: I was studying music, with ambitions to make a name as a composer and conductor. An opportunity came in 1931 to return to the land of my birth and further my studies in Munich, Germany. There I plunged deeply into musical activities, yet not forsaking the assembling with Jehovah’s witnesses both in meetings and field service, receiving valuable counsel and instruction from the energetic congregation servant, Johann Koelbl. More and more I found myself torn between two loves: love of music and love of the truth. An inspiring talk by a visiting servant finally opened my eyes. Clearly he showed two worlds in conflict, Satan’s old dying world versus Jehovah’s triumphant New World under Christ Jesus the King. Where would my worldly ambitions lead? “What benefit will it be to a man if he gains the whole world but forfeits his soul?” (Matt. 16:26) How really simple the choice. Then and there my dedication to Jehovah took place and determination to make the full-time ministry my purpose in life was born.

Having received an invitation to serve at the Strathfield branch office of the Watch Tower Society, I returned to Australia, thus, by Jehovah’s undeserved kindness, escaping the terrible persecutions our brothers in Germany suffered a few months later. And so, in November, 1932, my career as a full-time servant in Jehovah’s organization began. Four interesting years in various capacities at the office followed. Then, in 1937, I was sent to work at the Society’s depot in Singapore and to witness among the people of this city of many races and religions—a fascinating assignment. In the course of the work I was privileged to visit not only many places in Malaya but also India, Burma and Indonesia.

PIONEER SERVICE IN MALAYA

In 1939 I decided to marry. A brother was sent to take my place at the Society’s office, and so for the first time I entered the pioneer ranks. How would I fare? First I joined a German pioneer, Brother Kurt Gruber, in Penang, some five hundred miles to the north. After the comforts and conveniences of living at the Society’s home this meant roughing it a bit, living in a small Chinese hotel room lacking modern conveniences and amenities, eating Chinese food, putting up with unpleasant odors and noises, while perspiring profusely and continuously in the tropical heat. But none of these things mattered. Getting out into the field daily, finding many people of different races—Chinese, Indians, Malays, Eurasians, Europeans, and so forth—glad to hear the Kingdom message and willingly taking literature explaining it, frequently enjoying their hospitality; these joys far outweighed the discomforts. At the same time I felt a greater sense of freedom as well as responsibility, appreciating that a territory had been entrusted to me and I was responsible to see that the message was offered to all the people in it, rich and poor, high and low, regardless of race or religion. This realization helped me to recognize what a great privilege pioneering is.

Having found my feet, so to speak, as a pioneer, I arranged for my wife-to-be to join me. As she too had been in the full-time service for many years, I was confident she would enjoy pioneering in Malaya. She arrived in Singapore just a few days after the outbreak of World War II. Together we systematically combed our territory. We learned sufficient Malay to give a brief witness to those unable to speak English and thus distributed many thousands of pieces of literature.

WORK UNDER BAN

Time went by. Came January, 1941, and news that the work had been banned in Australia. Simultaneously most of our publications were banned in the colony of Singapore, and shortly thereafter in the Federated Malay States. We were located in a small country town. Arriving home late one evening, we found a police officer awaiting us to confiscate our Bible literature. For a short time we continued to work farther south, until the ban was extended over the entire country. Then there was nothing left to do but to return to Singapore.

We carried on for a while using only the Bible. But the government wanted us out of the country. Endeavors to transfer to India, Burma, Siam, Hong Kong, Java or the Philippines all failed, and so in July, 1941, we reluctantly sailed for Australia, little knowing that thus we would escape the Japanese drive south, which began less than five months later.

In 1943 a number of brothers in key positions were banished to various country towns where they were to remain incommunicado. I was restricted to Taree, N.S.W. Before long my wife joined me and we pioneered in this town, finding some fine interest and establishing a number of home Bible studies. To our joy several of these have become publishers, one family of three later joining the pioneer ranks. Then came the High Court victory and the lifting of the ban.

SERVICE IN AUSTRALIA

After a few months at the Society’s office to help with the reorganization we were assigned as special pioneers to Dubbo, N.S.W. Here we had to contend with scorching heat, dust storms and flies, alternating with cold and rain. We worked the town and a wide radius of farms and sheep stations on bicycles loaded with phonographs, records and books. It was strenuous, but Jehovah blessed us with many encouraging experiences and we had the privilege of establishing a small Kingdom Hall there, which, I believe, continues in use to this day. Our next assignment was Wagga, N.S.W., where we spent about eighteen months building up and strengthening the local congregation.

Then came a memorable assembly in Sydney in 1947 on the occasion of Brother Knorr’s first visit to Australia, during which we had the opportunity of making preliminary application for Gilead. Shortly after this we were appointed to circuit work in Victoria. How we appreciated our enlarged service privileges, though often conscious of our inadequacies! Nine months later came that thrilling day when we received our invitations to Gilead’s eleventh class.

BACK TO SINGAPORE

Would we be able to manage the course? Fittingly we received a communication from a relative encouraging us with Philippians 4:13: “For all things I have the strength by virtue of him who imparts power to me.” Not in our own strength would we succeed but by Jehovah’s help and undeserved kindness. Gilead proved an unforgettable experience. We loved every minute of it, keenly appreciating all the good training, counsel and instruction. How quickly graduation day came around! Where would we be assigned? Back to Singapore! We were delighted. After four months of circuit work in beautiful Colorado, we joined four fellow graduates from the eleventh class and embarked for Singapore, arriving there in March, 1949, after a long but very interesting journey. We were warmly welcomed by the two Canadian missionaries already stationed there.

Accommodation was quite a problem, but eventually a fine home was obtained by the Society and we settled down to life as a missionary family. Soon we had our hands full with home Bible studies, which were easy to arrange, especially with the younger educated Chinese and Indians, and the congregation began to grow as some came along to meetings and started field service. How different from the work of ten years before! Now it was a steady planting and watering. At first it seemed that growth would be rapid; but then we found that many “plants” required prolonged tender care before they could mature and bear fruit. Some seemed to progress fine for a time, even starting out in the service, but then fell back to the attractions of the old world, much to our disappointment. So we learned to be patient and persevering, and our combined efforts were rewarded with steady progress. What a joy it was to see one of the first ones with whom I studied, a young Chinese professing Buddhism, who knew nothing about the Bible, become a very diligent Bible student, making progress, taking part in meetings and field service and developing into a mature brother! Today he is the overseer of the Singapore congregation.

GROWTH IN PENANG

In 1955, not long after returning to Singapore from a visit to Australia, we were pleasantly surprised to receive a new assignment to beautiful Penang Island. A Macedonian call had come from two Chinese schoolgirls, brought up as Buddhists, who had come to an understanding of the truth almost unaided, simply from reading “The Truth Shall Make You Free.” They needed guidance and training, and it was our happy privilege to provide this. A congregation was organized and I was appointed overseer. Regular activities were started and meetings held in a little private school until, about a year later, we were able to move into a missionary home and set up a Kingdom Hall as a center for theocratic expansion.

In Penang we found the people very conservative and steeped in Buddhist and other traditions. Nevertheless, especially among the younger generation we found many willing to study the Bible. The greatest difficulty is to get the truth not just into their heads but into their hearts. Many apparently good prospects have turned out disappointments. However, a number have become active Witnesses and dedicated their lives to Jehovah, among them the two above-mentioned girls who, after completing their schooling, saw their privilege of pursuing their purpose in life as pioneers. To our great joy they were invited to Gilead’s thirty-first class. Not only that, but due to the generosity of the brothers, our joy was made complete when we ourselves were present to see them graduate at Yankee Stadium on July 27, 1958, on the occasion of the unforgettable Divine Will International Assembly in New York city. Incidentally, until then the largest assembly to which we had been had only a few over 7,000 in attendance. Now, here we found ourselves among a vast throng of over a quarter of a million. It is hard to describe our feelings and our deep sense of gratitude to Jehovah for all his goodness.

Our return journey to Malaya took us via Europe. Wherever we went we were welcomed by brothers of the New World society. What a wonderful family of which to be a member! In Munich we were entertained by none other than the still-energetic and active Brother Koelbl and his wife, under whose guidance I had begun to pursue my purpose in life—a delightful reunion after twenty-six years.

PRIVILEGES UNENDING

Privileges in Jehovah’s full-time service seem to be unending. Hardly had we returned to Penang when I received an appointment as district servant. So during the past eighteen months my regular missionary work has been interspersed with serving the various circuit assemblies in Malaya and Singapore, as well as a month’s visit to Borneo to serve the scattered brothers and persons of good will there, some of whom had had no contact with the organization for several years.

In Penang itself the congregation is growing gradually in maturity as well as in numbers. Especially happifying is the fact that during the four years of our work here seven others have copied our example of making the pioneer service their vocation.

Looking back now I can hardly believe that it is already twenty-eight years since I entered the full-time service. Being so crowded with theocratic activities, they have just sped by. True, it has involved much hard work and shouldering many responsibilities. There have been trials too when things did not run as smoothly as one would wish. But we can testify to the correctness of Philippians 4:13. We have learned to look to Jehovah and rely upon him. Never for an instant have I regretted setting aside all worldly ambitions. The joys and blessings experienced in the service of our New World King have surpassed immeasurably anything this old world could have offered. Having spent some fifteen years in Malaya, it has become home to us. We love the missionary work and we like our assignment. Our sincere desire is to continue to be used by Jehovah in expanding his happy, peaceful and united family in this part of the field.

Are you a young man or young woman dedicated to Jehovah but undecided about your choice of a career? Let me urge you to choose the pioneer service, making it your purpose in life to have a larger share in Jehovah’s vindication. As for me, “What shall I repay to Jehovah for all his benefits to me?” With the psalmist I want to answer: “To you I shall offer the sacrifice of thanksgiving, and on the name of Jehovah I shall call. My vows I shall pay to Jehovah, yes, in front of all his people.”—Ps. 116:12, 17, 18.

Questions From Readers

● Is there anything in the Bible against giving one’s eyes (after death) to be transplanted to some living person?—L. C., United States.

The question of placing one’s body or parts of one’s body at the disposal of men of science or doctors at one’s death for purposes of scientific experimentation or replacement in others is frowned upon by certain religious bodies. However, it does not seem that any Scriptural principle or law is involved. It therefore is something that each individual must decide for himself. If he is satisfied in his own mind and conscience that this is a proper thing to do, then he can make such provision, and no one else should criticize him for doing so. On the other hand, no one should be criticized for refusing to enter into any such agreement.

Announcements

FIELD MINISTRY

The peaceful, happy and fruitful work of preaching the good news of God’s kingdom increases world-wide day by day. Jehovah’s witnesses will continue to carry on this work in August by offering to people at their homes the book “Your Will Be Done on Earth,” with a booklet, for a 50c contribution.

FROM GENESIS TO REVELATION

“From Genesis to Revelation.” That could well describe the comprehensive Bible-study aid From Paradise Lost to Paradise Regained. That is because, as its title implies, it outlines man’s hope of everlasting life as it is found in the Bible from the first book to the last, from the garden of Eden to the millennial reign of Christ Jesus. With this book you will want the revealing study of Daniel’s prophecy as found in the book “Your Will Be Done on Earth” to learn how you can survive the world crisis just ahead and share in the blessings of God’s paradise restored. Both books are hard bound and total 640 pages. Send only $1.25.

“WATCHTOWER” STUDIES FOR THE WEEKS

September 3: Right View of the Work Ahead. Page 457.

September 10: Enlarging Your Privileges of Service. Page 463.