The Watchtower — August 15, 1961

Does Sympathetic Understanding Mark Your Giving?

THERE is true happiness in giving; in fact, more so than there is in receiving. As Jesus once said: “There is more happiness in giving than there is in receiving.” But that follows only if our giving is unselfish and governed by wisdom.—Acts 20:35; 1 Cor. 13:3.

Yes, if we would do the most good with our giving we must be both unselfish and practical. That requires of us empathy. Empathy means to be able to imagine ourselves in the place of others and to think and feel the way they do. Christian empathy goes a step farther. It gives the other party credit for wanting what is best for him. It not only seeks to please its neighbor but seeks to please him “in what is good for his upbuilding.”—Rom. 15:2.

God’s Word, the Bible, shows that God is the Giver of every good gift and of every perfect present. He is the very personification of love; all his giving is marked by empathy. For example, he gave the sons of Israel one day’s rest in seven. That showed empathy, for while he himself never tires, he could well imagine how much imperfect man would appreciate a sabbath. At the same time he was most practical with it. Man does not need to rest every second, third or fourth day. Nor did God give man only one day in a fortnight or in a lunar month.—Jas. 1:17; 1 John 4:8; Isa. 40:28.

That God’s giving is marked by empathy is also seen in that he made the most common those things that man needs most: sunshine, fresh air, food and water. More than that, our loving Creator placed in man a variety of hungers and thirsts and made provision for satisfying these; yet wisely not without His requiring man to put forth some effort so that man might appreciate his blessings, and also not without wise regulations governing man’s enjoyment of things.—Gen. 2:15.

When the first man showed ingratitude God did not at once wash his hands of his earthly creatures but made provision for redeeming them, and that by a provision that showed the greatest empathy. In fact, no greater expression of empathy was ever given, nor could be given, than that of God in sending his Son to die for our sins, that believing and obedient ones of mankind might be restored to God’s favor and enjoy everlasting life.—1 John 4:9, 10.

Second only to that gift is God’s Word, the Bible. What help it gives to imperfect humankind, throwing light on the past, present and future, acquainting man with his greatest Friend and guiding man in the way that is best for him!—2 Tim. 3:16, 17.

If our giving is marked by empathy, then it will not merely be governed by our viewpoint of things, but we will try to see things from the viewpoint of the one to whom we wish to give something; it will be marked by empathy. Otherwise, we may fall into such errors or pitfalls as giving merely that which we can most conveniently give, or that which we ourselves like best, or that which has the most show connected with it, actually deceiving ourselves.—Jer. 17:9.

Parents, unless careful, may easily come short. If their giving is marked by Christian empathy, which seeks to please in what is good for the other person, they will not pamper their children. They will not be content with giving their children spending money but will be interested in how they spend it. They will not merely provide a television set for their children, or money to go to a movie, but they will make certain that what the children view is wholesome, constructive and educational.

The same applies to husbands and wives. A wife who has empathy, Christian empathy, will not humor her husband in his follies; such as encouraging him to eat more when she knows that overeating is one of his weaknesses. Conversely, the husband will not flatter his wife on the hat she bought when he knows, deep down in his heart, that it makes her look ridiculous.

Friendships should also be marked with empathy. A man who can afford fine neckties may give a needy friend a fancy five-dollar tie. But if his needy friend does not have a decent shirt to go with it, empathy would indicate a more modest tie and giving a shirt also. We may not altogether ignore the basic needs of others in our spontaneous expressions of generosity. The luxury may be the more flattering to give, but the more practical may do the more good.

It goes without saying that empathy does not limit itself to fine words when there are material need and the means to supply that need. Fine words are fine in their place, “as apples of gold in silver carvings,” but fine words are vain and useless if they are made to substitute for fine deeds.—Prov. 25:11; 1 John 3:18.

If empathy marks our giving, we will also consider the manner of our giving. How do we give? In a condescending manner, or in a way that shows we expect to be repaid with flattery? Empathy has no such price tags attached to it.

Empathy wisely keeps a balance. It appreciates the importance of sentiment in giving and yet at the same time it will avoid the extreme of becoming overly sentimental, mawkish, gushy. Jehovah God lets sentiment enter into his giving. How so? In that he made everything beautiful and well arranged in its time, including his Word the Bible. Sentiment shows in little things, the way we give a gift, how it is packaged, the personal touches we add, yes, the very nature of our gift can show that we understand. All this indicates empathy.—Eccl. 3:11.

Good timing in giving is another mark of empathy. There is a time for every purpose under the sun. In times of stress, in particular, does a little mean a lot, in either spiritual or material aid. Empathy chooses the right time for an encouraging compliment and for the word of rebuke.—Eccl. 3:1-8.

And perhaps most obvious of all, if empathy marks our giving we will not only give with liberality, according to the occasion and our means, but we will also give cheerfully.—Rom. 12:8; 2 Cor. 9:7.

So let us imitate the great Giver by letting empathy mark our giving.—Jas. 1:17.

The Request for a Good Conscience

What is conscience? How does it work? Is it a sure guide?

MOST of us are acquainted with safety devices. There is a buzzer in some automobiles that warns by buzzing when one exceeds the speed limit; the smell of gas warns of danger when gas from the kitchen range is escaping; a fever in the human body warns of infection, and there is also conscience.

Conscience, too, is a safety device. It is that faculty of the mind that tells us whether we are doing right or wrong. It either accuses or excuses us. It judges. It decides as to the moral quality of our thoughts and acts. It demonstrates to us the hidden motives. Besides expressing judgment, conscience does something else: it imparts pleasure or inflicts pain for one’s own good or bad conduct. So conscience is a moral safety device.

The term conscience is not found in the inspired Hebrew Scriptures or among the words of Jesus Christ. It was introduced into the Christian writings by the apostle Paul. The word also appears in the book of Acts and in the first epistle of Peter. Paul shows the function of conscience in these words: “For whenever people of the nations that do not have law do by nature the things of the law, these people although not having law are a law to themselves. They are the very ones who demonstrate the matter of the law to be written in their hearts, while their conscience is bearing witness with them and, between their own thoughts, they are being accused or even excused.”—Rom. 2:14, 15.

Other aspects regarding conscience are brought out by the following worldly authorities. Dr. Mackenzie in his Manual of Ethics says: “I should prefer to say simply that conscience is a feeling of pain accompanying and resulting from our nonconformity to principle.” Shaftesbury, according to The Catholic Encyclopedia, regards conscience as the consciousness of wrongdoing, not of rightdoing. Carlyle in his Essay on Characteristics asserts that people would not know they had a conscience if they never sinned or offended anyone. He teaches that its use is negative, to provide a safeguard against wrongdoing. However, Theophilus Parsons in his Deus Homo: God-Man states: “By conscience is meant not merely the knowledge that there is a difference between right and wrong, but a preference of right over wrong, and something of happiness in choosing, doing and being right, and something of pain in choosing, doing or being wrong.”

WHAT CONSCIENCE CANNOT DO

What conscience can not and does not do is provide us with a standard for right or wrong. It does not infallibly instruct us as to what right is or what we ought to do in every case. It does not prevent us from doing wrong. Since the judgment of right and wrong varies in different places and is subject to change and conflict, conscience cannot be considered an infallible guide in every case. So unless it is enlightened and trained by a sure standard of righteousness, that conscience is merely one’s own judgment of his actions. An unenlightened or a misguided conscience can lead to disaster. That is why it is not always wise to “let your conscience be your guide.” God’s Word declares: “There exists a way that is upright before a man, but the ways of death are the end of it afterward.”—Prov. 14:12.

No one should assume that he is doing right simply because his conscience does not accuse him of wrongdoing. His conscience, if untrained, may very well deceive him. It may excuse him for doing something corrupt. The apostle Paul stated: “All things are clean to clean persons. But to persons defiled and faithless nothing is clean, but both their minds and their consciences are defiled.” (Titus 1:15) For example, there are worldly persons who would never think of stealing from a friend or the corner store, because they believe it is wrong and their conscience would disturb them if they were to steal. But these same persons think nothing of stealing from their employers or the insurance company, or cheating on their income tax forms. Such consciences untrained in righteous principles cannot be depended on as reliable guides, because they are not.

Another example is Adolf Eichmann, the man accused of killing six million Jews. His conscience was not disturbed by his dastardly acts. He excused himself from these crimes by saying he was merely taking orders from his superiors. However, all men must have consciences, even soldiers.

When Israel’s officers and men of the Border Police killed forty-three Arab villagers while enforcing a curfew, the accused pleaded that the orders to shoot curfew breakers had come from higher echelons and that they had not acted according to their own wishes. But Justice Moshe Landau, who upheld the conviction of eight officers and men, said: “A soldier, too, must have a conscience.” Justice Landau explained that the obviously merciless order should have aroused the conscience of every man, down to the last private, even under special circumstances such as existed at that time. Their consciences should have prevented them from killing innocent people. They were unable to shift the blame.

A man without a conscience is like a beast. He makes his own rules. He generally avows that the end justifies the means. He shows no regret or sorrow for his actions. Therefore, a man without a conscience is a dangerous man.

HOW THE CONSCIENCE WORKS

How does the conscience work? It has been likened to a fever. When the temperature soars, it is a sign that something is wrong with the person physically. When a conscience acts up, it is a good indication that there may be something wrong with one’s moral conduct. The conscience may also be likened to a warning buzzer in an automobile or the reaction of the olfactory organ to the smell of gas. The buzzer warns the driver that he has exceeded the speed limit, but it does not stop him from speeding. This the driver must do himself. He can go right on speeding, ignoring the buzzer or even turning off its annoying sound. At the first sniff of gas the smell organs warn the body of danger. But if action is not taken immediately, the organ becomes dull and fails to sound the warning. The conscience functions very much in the same way. One can listen to the warning signals of his conscience or he can ignore them or even turn them off. If he refuses to listen, he injures his conscience. It becomes dull and seared.

A seared conscience has issued so many unheeded warnings that it has become weary in well-doing. It no longer sounds the warning, or if it does, it is a very faint or feeble one. It simply became tired of not being listened to. To ignore warning signals is to harden the heart toward right, as Pharaoh did. It is to put light for darkness and darkness for light, as the ancient Israelites did—a course much too easily achieved today.

TRAINING NECESSARY FOR RELIABILITY

The conscience is not automatic; it is not infallible. The conscience must be trained. Much depends upon the kind of information that we take into our minds as to the value of our conscience. For example, a conscience trained in an environment of crime, polygamy or polyandry accepts these practices without a twinge. Another reared in surroundings of moral laxity, where common-law marriage, adultery and fornication are the general practices, takes such wrongs for granted. Still another conscience brought up in an atmosphere of sly business methods, among lying, cheating and grafting, silently condones such wrongs on the ground that everyone is doing it, that these are the accepted ways. A misled conscience, in fact, may excuse the wrongdoer of wrongdoing; yet this fact does not excuse the man before God. Paul said: “I am not conscious of anything against me. Yet by this I do not stand vindicated, but he that examines me is Jehovah.”—1 Cor. 4:4.

A conscience is reliable only when it has been trained in the will of God. It is the divinely educated conscience with its prickings and proddings that helps in safely guiding Christians in the way of life. It helps them apply righteous principles to their daily living, making unnecessary detailed and written laws of conduct.

Accurate knowledge of God’s Word, the Bible, is needed to train the conscience in the righteousness of God. For the Word of God is alive and is “able to discern the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” God’s Word has the power to discipline the conscience in righteousness. A weak conscience is due to lack of accurate knowledge. Study of God’s Word and faith in that Word will build up the conscience. Obedience to God’s commands will help Christians to carry out the injunction: “Hold a good conscience.”—Heb. 4:12; 1 Pet. 3:16; 1 Cor. 8:7.

MAINTAIN A GOOD CONSCIENCE

To maintain a good conscience one must continually take in knowledge of God. Then one must make decisions and conduct oneself in harmony with the principles of God’s Word. One must be able to say as Paul said: “I am exercising myself continually to have a consciousness of committing no offense against God and men.”—Acts 24:16.

It is very easy to defile the conscience. If we relax our vigilance and adopt worldly standards of morality instead of Scriptural standards, our conscience will stop working for us. We must be alert to errors and learn from our blunders. When wrongs are committed we should seek the forgiveness of Jehovah and our brothers. Faith in the blood of Jesus Christ makes it possible for us to make the request to God for a clean conscience. (1 Pet. 3:21; Heb. 9:14; 10:22) So do not nurse wrongs or plague yourself with continual self-condemnation, but accept the forgiveness that God gives, and erect barriers through prayer and study to further transgressions.

A good conscience is not the certainty of reconciliation but the mirror of our moral condition. Hence its chief characteristic is its sincerity. Hypocrisy accuses the conscience. For the conscience to remain the practical thing that it is, we must make correct use of it and take proper care to heed its warnings and cultivate its powers.—Rom. 9:1; 2 Cor. 1:12.

The diligent servant will continually examine and correct his own conscience. Properly looked after, the conscience has power to lead the servant of God to reach a greater responsiveness to the call of duty and higher virtue. Whereas the negligent servant, and still more the perverse, may become dead to the workings of his conscience.

It is fear-inspiring to contemplate the execution of God’s judgment against all wrongdoers. (Mal. 3:5) Yet not just for motives of fear should we avoid wrongdoing and do good. The motivating force should be a conscientious love of righteousness. Hence Paul says: “There is therefore compelling reason for you to be in subjection, not only on account of that wrath but also on account of your conscience.” For conscience’ sake, therefore, we should want to subject ourselves to God and do right.—Rom. 13:5.

CONSCIENCES OF OTHERS

Christians must show regard not only for their own consciences, but also for the consciences of others. To disregard one’s own conscience will force it to callous and scar over for its own healing and protection. To disregard the consciences of others is to offend them and stumble them on the way to life. Paul was well aware of this fact. He said that he preferred to forego his freedom, if by using it he would trouble his brother’s weaker conscience.—1 Cor. 8:7-13; 10:27-29.

On the other hand, Paul would not compromise his conscience just to satisfy the miseducated consciences of false religionists. It was up to them to re-educate their consciences. While regard must be shown for weaker consciences, under no circumstance should the defiled and faithless consciences of worldlings be a Christian’s guide.

If all the world had a true Christian conscience, men would feel an obligation toward one another, as brother to brother. They would be moved to love, not only themselves, but their neighbors and enemies. Where there is a Christian conscience there is no desire to kill, no desire to destroy savings and the fruits of toil, no desire to threaten the unity of millions of homes throughout the world. There is only a desire to live and to let live in peace, according to God’s principles. Therefore, all men should seek a good conscience. Request God for such a conscience and act in harmony with your request.—Matt. 5:43-48.

A Closed Corporation

“A church which has ceased to be the agency of his creative love, which knows no barriers, and has settled down to be a closed corporation of nice, respectable, middle-class people, a bourgeois ghetto, as someone has called it, has ceased to be Christian.” So stated Taito A. Kantonen in his work A Theology of Evangelism.

Be Attentive to “the Wonderful Works of God”

“Do give ear to this. . . ; stand still and show yourself attentive to the wonderful works of God.”—Job 37:14.

1. Why should all praise Jehovah for his creations?

ALL nations of mankind should praise Jehovah, the great God, for his wonderful works of creation. All should extol him as the Creator of the majestic universe and for the multitude and harmony of his productions on this earth. (Ps. 104:24; 150:1-6) Is not the creation breathtaking in its scope and beauty? From the mighty island universes of the heavens to the most delicate flower and tiniest organism known to man, yes, right down to the intricate structure of the atom itself, all of Jehovah’s works reflect intelligence and order on an astounding scale. What rich variety! What unity and balance! Truly Jehovah has made everything “well-arranged in its time.”—Eccl. 3:11.

2. What was the psalmist’s expression concerning Jehovah and his works?

² In all ages, lovers of God and righteousness have praised Jehovah for his incomparable works. Listen, for example, to the psalmist’s exulting song: “Blessed be Jehovah God, Israel’s God, who alone is doing wonderful works. And blessed be his glorious name to time indefinite, and let his glory fill the whole earth.” (Ps. 72:18, 19) Similarly, Psalm 136 extols Jehovah as “the God of the gods” and “the Lord of the lords,” “the Doer of wonderful, great things by himself,” “the Maker of the heavens with understanding” and “the One spreading out the earth above the waters.” All his works are done in loving-kindness, and “his loving-kindness is to time indefinite.” (Ps. 136:1-5) Loving-kindness, together with wisdom and discernment, is to be seen in all his creations.—Prov. 3:19.

3. How have men of science been compelled to acknowledge God’s handiwork?

³ Though they may not praise him, renowned men of science have often been compelled to acknowledge Jehovah’s handiwork. Thus it was Sir Isaac Newton, propounder of the law of gravity, who said of our solar system: “This most beautiful system of the sun, planets and comets could only proceed from the counsel and dominion of an intelligent and powerful Being.” Albert Einstein attributed “the marvelous structure of the universe” to a supreme “intelligence.” As recently as February 11, 1961, British scientists using the world’s largest radio-telescope announced their “conclusion that the universe had a beginning as the Bible said it did.”

4. What works of God are incomparably superior to those of space-age scientists?

⁴ The Soviets boasted loudly of their achievement in sending aloft the first cosmonaut, and declared him “immortal”—a god. However, which of the space-age scientists could ever build or send into orbit a space ship the size of our earth, create the miracle of life on the space ship itself, and clothe it with beauteous plant, bird, fish and animal life, each kind perpetuating itself through millenniums of time? Which of them could begin to design anything so wonderful as perfect man? (Ps. 100:3; 139:14) Superlative indeed are the wonderful works of our Creator God, who ‘hung the earth upon nothing’ and who purposes to fill it with billions of perfect humans, living in a happy environment of perpetual joy.—Job 26:7; Isa. 45:18.

5, 6. (a) To what extent have men of science been able to probe the works of God? (b) What should lovers of righteousness heed today?

⁵ Godless men of science may temporarily bury their nuclear hatchets and unite in probes such as the recent geophysical year, but at most they can uncover only a minute part of the secrets of the universe. None of them has the know-how to ‘wrap up water in clouds’ and to cause “the cloud mass” to carry and deposit refreshing rains over the surface of the earth. None of them can fathom Jehovah’s power by which “he has stirred up the sea,” or produce the tempestuous wind by which “he has polished up heaven itself.” They probe at the fringe of his creation, while ignoring the Creator himself. It is just as integrity-keeping Job exclaimed: “Look! these are the fringes of his ways, and what a whisper of a matter has been heard of him!”—Job 26:8, 12-14.

⁶ Though scarcely a whisper concerning God is to be heard among space-age intellectuals, he is not without witnesses to his power and glory, even in this materialistic twentieth century. Job himself was a prophetic type of these modern-day witnesses of Jehovah. All of these, and indeed all lovers of righteousness throughout the earth, do well to heed Job’s example in keeping integrity in fear of Jehovah.—Job 28:28.

“DO GIVE EAR TO THIS”

7. What challenge did Satan make concerning man, and whom did Job picture in first meeting the challenge? How?

⁷ It was Satan, the proud and boastful challenger of Jehovah’s supremacy, who defied God to put a man on this earth who would hold fast his integrity under the test. In meeting the trials recorded in Job chapter one, this faithful servant of God typifies the Son of God who became the “man Christ Jesus,” and who did God’s will on this earth despite every trial and affliction that Satan could heap upon him.—Heb. 5:7-9.

8, 9. (a) How did Job meet further testing, and what is pictured thereby? (b) In what did Job fail, and what did this foreshadow?

⁸ As Jehovah permitted further testing of Job (chapter 2), so he has also permitted Satan to heap reproach and suffering on the footstep followers of Christ. (1 Pet. 2:19-23) In the face of bitter trials and persecutions, and despite much opposition from false shepherds and “comforters” of Christendom, these Christian witnesses of Jehovah are able to declare as did Job: “Until I expire I shall not take away my integrity from myself!”—Job 27:5.

⁹ Job held fast his integrity, trusting confidently in Jehovah. However, not having full knowledge of the issue at stake, he fell to justifying self rather than giving all the honor due to Jehovah’s name. In this Job pictured the modern-day witnesses of Jehovah, who in a time of testing A.D. 1918 hesitated for a brief season to witness boldly and uncompromisingly in vindication of Jehovah’s great name. In each case Jehovah gave correction.

10. (a) Who was Jehovah’s channel for correcting Job, and why was he urgent in doing so? (b) What is the prophetic fulfillment?

¹⁰ God’s channel of correction for Job was the young man Elihu. Just as his name means “God is he,” so he was urgent in speaking for God’s vindication. “Look, please! I have to open my mouth; my tongue with my palate has to speak. My sayings are the uprightness of my heart, and knowledge is what my lips do utter sincerely.” (Job 32:6; 33:2, 3) In prophetic fulfillment, Elihu pictures the governing body in Jehovah’s New World society on earth today. Through this zealous spokesman, Jehovah has brought correction and admonition to his witnesses on earth, building them up in right doctrine, cleansing them from sanctimonious religious practices and making clear their responsibility to proclaim his glorious kingdom by Christ.—Job 36:1-6, 11, 12; Ps. 145:10-13.

11. What urgent counsel is now given to lovers of life?

¹¹ In this day of his established kingdom, all who love life should be attentive to Jehovah’s requirements for survival. As space-age problems and the threat of nuclear annihilation press in on humankind, God’s spokesman gives urgent counsel concerning Jehovah’s will for this time: “Remember that you should magnify his activity of which men have sung. Behold! God is more exalted than we can know.” (Job 36:24, 26) It is the time to witness as never before in magnifying Jehovah’s name and works. From times of old, men of God have sung prophetically of Jehovah’s great day of vindication. That day is now here! Pay heed, then, to Elihu’s words to Job: “Do give ear to this. . . ; stand still and show yourself attentive to the wonderful works of God.”—Job 37:14.

12. What wonderful work of God is at hand, and what should we therefore be doing?

¹² These wonderful works now include much more than God’s works of creation in the material universe. They include, outstandingly, Jehovah’s “unusual work” of vindication, his extermination of the wicked at Armageddon, which has been decided upon for this generation. (Isa. 28:21, 22; Rev. 16:14-16) This is no time to act independently of God’s New World society, or to seek self-honor or self-justification. It is the time to contemplate Jehovah’s awesome works, and to be “working hard and exerting ourselves, because we have rested our hope on a living God, who is a Savior of all kinds of men, especially of faithful ones.”—1 Tim. 4:10.

13. Why should men fear God, and with what result?

¹³ Behold the magnificence of Jehovah’s glory as he comes forth to perform his work of vindication! “Out of the north golden splendor comes. Upon God dignity is fear-inspiring. As for the Almighty, we have not found him out; he is exalted in power, and justice and abundance of righteousness he will not belittle. Therefore let men fear him. He does not regard any who are wise in [their own] heart.” (Job 37:22-24) Those who fear God and who honor his name will survive to enjoy his favor throughout the eternity to come.—Ps. 84:11, 12.

OTHER WORKS OF GOD

14. Through what creation will Jehovah administer the universe, and what did Paul say in contemplation thereof?

¹⁴ Jehovah purposes to establish balance and order throughout his vast universe, visible and invisible. With his name vindicated, this will be an everlasting harmony that will never be ruffled by satanic challenge. To this end, Jehovah has brought forth a “new creation” in union with Christ Jesus, and this he forms into a heavenly government to administer the universe in righteousness. Wonderful it is that 144,000 of humankind, “those called and chosen and faithful,” should be purchased from the earth to share in that administration with the Lamb, Christ Jesus! (Eph. 2:10; Rev. 17:14; 14:1, 3) Wonderful that Christ already rules as King in this government since A.D. 1914! In attentive contemplation of this heavenly creation, Paul was compelled to exclaim: “Oh the depth of God’s riches and wisdom and knowledge! How unsearchable his judgments are and past tracing out his ways are!”—Rom. 11:33.

15. What further wonderful work is proceeding today and with what result?

¹⁵ The remnant of this integrity-keeping spiritual class is now few upon the earth, but through them Jehovah has been performing a further wonderful work in vindication of his name. It is a world-shaking work of witnessing, of causing men of all nations to be attentive to the wonderful works of God. “‘And I will rock all the nations, and the desirable things of all the nations must come in; and I will fill this house with glory,’ Jehovah of armies has said.” (Hag. 2:7) Hearing the message of God’s kingdom, the meek ones of earth are shaken free from Satan’s doomed world, joyfully to enter the harmony of Jehovah’s house of worship. Serving God day and night in his temple, they are destined to become the earthly subjects of the heavenly Kingdom, dwelling in everlasting unity and peace.—Isa. 2:2-4; Rev. 7:15-17.

16, 17. (a) What beauty do the “nations” bring into Jehovah’s house? (b) Of what must they be careful to rid themselves? (c) How do they show themselves attentive?

¹⁶ These ones desirable in Jehovah’s eyes now stand with the Job class in an organizational array that is balanced and harmonious, like every other part of Jehovah’s universal creation. There is beauteous variety in their many national backgrounds, and this beauty they bring with them into the New World society. However, they are also careful to clean themselves up, ridding themselves of the harmful customs that they knew among the nations. Like the anointed Christians, they appreciate that “the time that has passed by is sufficient for you to have worked out the will of the nations when you proceeded in deeds of loose conduct, lusts, excesses with wine, revelries, drinking matches, and idolatries that are without legal restraint.”—1 Pet. 4:3.

¹⁷ Jehovah’s desirable ones out of the nations shun idolatry in every form, whether it be in family or community worship, the idolizing of human dictators, superpatriotism or exalting a “peace” makeshift such as the U.N. They shed the greedy, quarrelsome spirit of Satan’s world, cultivating the fruitage of God’s spirit, which is “love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faith, mildness, self-control.” (Gal. 5:22, 23) Rejoicing in the knowledge of Jehovah, they seek to be filled more and more with his enlightening, energizing spirit, the same spirit that supplies and sustains the marvelous harmony and unity to be seen in all his creations. They show themselves attentive to the privilege of coming to the great Unifier, Jehovah, in dedication.—Acts 10:34, 35.

BE ATTENTIVE IN GODLY DEDICATION

18, 19. (a) How should dedication be viewed? (b) What is marvelous in the way Jehovah rules the universe? (c) In what way is man most privileged among all the material creation?

¹⁸ Dedication—what a privilege! It is a step to be taken voluntarily, and from a heart filled with love and appreciation of Jehovah and all his goodness. (Ps. 34:8) Consider how Jehovah rules the universe in which we live. The vast heavens move in perfect order and harmony, according to the laws that Jehovah planted in them at the time of their creation. Likewise, divine laws govern the seasons and cycles of life on this earth. Further, in the realm of animaldom we perceive God-given powers of instinct, whereby unreasoning beasts are able to make remarkable provision for living out their life span.—Ps. 145:16; 147:9.

¹⁹ However, in man we find a creation unique in all the material universe. Man alone is made in God’s image and likeness. (Gen. 1:26) Man alone has reasoning power and is able to gain accurate knowledge concerning Jehovah and his wonderful works. Man alone may dedicate to Jehovah through Christ, thus entering into the balance, harmony and unity of Jehovah’s organization. By maintaining that balance, he may walk in the path of everlasting life and joy.—Prov. 20:7; 28:26.

20. (a) How will the wise view dedication? (b) How does Jehovah reward those dedicating to him? (c) In what should we follow Jesus’ steps closely?

²⁰ This dedication and keeping one’s place in Jehovah’s New World society is of life-and-death importance to every human on the face of this earth today. They are wise who show themselves attentive to the inspired counsel: “Choose life in order that you may keep alive, you and your offspring, by loving Jehovah your God, by listening to his voice and by sticking to him, for he is your life and the length of your days.” (Deut. 30:19, 20) If we show love for Jehovah by dedicating to him and obeying him, he in his turn will show his great love toward us. In love he will guide us, in the same way that he rules his vast universe by love. God’s own Son, Jesus, delighted to dedicate himself to Jehovah, and to do His divine will faithfully. He is our “model,” that we may “follow his steps closely.”—Ps. 40:7-9; 1 Pet. 2:21.

HEED GOD’S INSTRUCTION

21. (a) What should be our attitude toward discipline? (b) How may the Christian avoid pitfalls and maintain spiritual strength?

²¹ In the same way that a God-fearing father disciplines his sons, so the heavenly Father, Jehovah, disciplines and molds those who serve him in dedication. (Heb. 12:5-11) Accept his discipline gratefully. “Listen, O sons, to the discipline of a father and pay attention, so as to know understanding. For good instruction is what I certainly shall give to you. My law do not leave.” (Prov. 4:1, 2) This good instruction includes the right principles of Jehovah’s Word. By heeding this instruction, Christians today may avoid the pitfalls of this world of unbalance, safeguarding moral integrity for life in God’s new world. “How will a young man cleanse his path? By keeping on guard according to your word.” (Ps. 119:9) Study of Bible principles, constant review and making declaration in the congregational meetings are essential to maintaining spiritual strength.—Heb. 2:1-4; 10:23-25.

22, 23. (a) What painstaking effort is necessary, and why? (b) How should we regard prophecy, and what can be said concerning its accuracy?

²² Peter tells us that there is need for “painstaking effort” in developing godly attributes, so that we may be fruitful “regarding the accurate knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (2 Pet. 1:5-8) “For this reason,” he adds, “I shall be disposed always to remind you of these things, although you know them and are firmly set in the truth which is present in you.” (2 Pet. 1:12) This accurate knowledge includes not only right principles and right doctrine, but also knowledge of the powerful word of prophecy. At the time of the transfiguration in the mountain, Peter received a striking forevision of the magnificence of the Lord Jesus Christ in the day of his presence and power in the kingdom of God. (Matt. 17:1-9) Hence he could state with deep conviction: “We have the prophetic word made more firm, and you are doing well in paying attention to it as to a lamp shining in a dark place.”—2 Pet. 1:19.

²³ Just as the extensive visible creation of God is a thing of order and beauty, so the unfolding of Jehovah’s prophetic Word is orderly, harmonious and upbuilding to the student of that Word. “For everything there is an appointed time, even a time for every affair under the heavens.” (Eccl. 3:1) Fulfillment of Bible prophecy gives convincing evidence of this. Long centuries in advance, and with pinpoint accuracy, Daniel’s prophecy foretold Messiah Christ’s first advent for the year (A.D.) 29, and his second advent in heavenly glory for (A.D.) 1914, as well as giving many other time features surrounding these important events.—Daniel, chapters 4, 9, 11 and 12.

24, 25. (a) What powerful prophecy did Jesus give, and how should its fulfillment affect us? (b) In view of the times, to what else should we be attentive?

²⁴ Outstanding is Christ’s own prophecy concerning the “sign” that would mark his presence in Kingdom power and the end of the world. What a powerful fulfillment these Bible chapters of Matthew 24 and Mt 25, Mark 13 and Luke 21 have had in our own twentieth century! In this smart space age, the “anguish of nations” intensifies, “while men become faint out of fear and expectation of the things coming upon the inhabited earth.” However, those who understand the prophecy lift their heads in confident hope of deliverance. (Luke 21:25-28) Jehovah’s wonderful work of vindication and salvation is at hand!

²⁵ In showing ourselves attentive to the prophetic Word, we must also continually examine our own course, so as to hold fast integrity to Jehovah. After describing numerous features of the “sign” that marks the end of this satanic world, Jesus adds a warning: “But pay attention to yourselves that your hearts never become weighed down with overeating and heavy drinking and anxieties of life, and suddenly that day be instantly upon you as a snare. For it will come in upon all those dwelling upon the face of all the earth. Keep awake, then, all the time making supplication that you may succeed in escaping all these things that are destined to occur, and to hold your position before the Son of man.” (Luke 21:34-36) This is the time of all times to keep awake!

26. How may we heed the example of Jehovah’s watchman in being attentive?

²⁶ Hold your position in the New World society as the day of God’s battle—Armageddon—draws close! Be attentive to all opportunities of study, service to God and association with His people. Be steadfast. Attentively follow the lead of the faithful watchman class of Jehovah’s witnesses on earth today, as it boldly proclaims what it sees in fulfillment of Jehovah’s Word of prophecy: “And he paid strict attention, with much attentiveness. And he proceeded to call out like a lion: ‘Upon the watchtower, O Jehovah, I am standing constantly by day, and at my guardpost I am stationed all the nights.’” Jehovah rewards his alert watchman with a preview of the battle and its effect on Satan’s Babylonish world: “And he began to speak up and say: ‘She has fallen! Babylon has fallen, and all the graven images of her gods he has broken to the earth!’”—Isa. 21:7-9.

27. What awesome work is approaching, and how should integrity-keepers act?

²⁷ Make no mistake! The most wonderful, the most awesome of all of Jehovah’s works is rushing in upon this generation of mankind. Now, before he unleashes the whirlwind of destruction, Jehovah addresses himself to integrity-keepers in his New World society: “Gird up your loins, please, like an able-bodied man.” Keep witnessing fearlessly, to the honor of Jehovah’s name! As Armageddon breaks, God himself will thunder “with his voice in a wonderful way, doing great things that we cannot know.” His armament of heaven will roar into action, striking more accurately than any missiles known to man. Who knows what cosmic or other forces Jehovah will call into play in destroying the wicked? “Have you entered into the storehouses of the snow, or do you see even the storehouses of the hail, which I have kept back for the time of distress, for the day of fight and war?” (Job 37:5; 38:1, 3, 22, 23) Oh, may we all maintain our dedicated stand within Jehovah’s New World society down to Armageddon, and right through that wondrous time of battle!—1 Cor. 16:13; Ps. 46:1, 2.

28. (a) What is pictured by God’s rewarding Job? (b) What do attentive praisers of Jehovah now sing?

²⁸ As Job was richly rewarded for being attentive to God’s wonderful works, and particularly Elihu’s message concerning Jehovah’s vindication, so the spiritual remnant of Jehovah’s witnesses today have entered into a marvelous prosperity. They have been blessed with a multitude of “children,” who expect to live forever on this earth and who are beautiful indeed in their world-wide service to God. (Job 42:12-15) All praise Jehovah in one harmonious unity, rejoicing together in the prospect of survival into his new world. Happily they sing: “Jehovah is great and very much to be praised, and his greatness is unsearchable. Generation after generation will commend your works, and about your mighty acts they will tell. The glorious splendor of your dignity and the matters of your wonderful works I will make my concern.” (Ps. 145:3-5) All together they hold integrity in attentiveness to the wonderful works of God.

Honoring Jehovah

“Now to the King of eternity, incorruptible, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever.”—1 Tim. 1:17.

1. How only may the creature gain a right perspective on personal honor?

OF WHAT value is personal honor, if Jehovah’s name is not honored? What merit is there to worldly honor that ignores Jehovah’s right principles? Only by honoring Jehovah, the King of eternity, and the Source of all true honor and glory, may the creature gain a right perspective on personal honor. In honoring Jehovah, he will not seek to make a name for himself. Rather, he will be like-minded with the loyal Son of God, Christ Jesus, who declared: “I honor my Father . . . I am not seeking glory for myself . . . If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. It is my Father that glorifies me.” (John 8:49-54) Self-honor and worldly glory are empty and vain. True honor is to be found in humbly witnessing to the name and kingdom of the great God, Jehovah. “Those honoring me I shall honor.”—1 Sam. 2:30.

2, 3. What does history show concerning human regard for personal honor?

² Throughout history, earthling man has striven for an undying name and glory. Deeds of heroism have become part of the folklore of most nations. In many parts of the earth, vindicating personal honor has been held in great store. There was el valor Español in classic Spain and die Ehre in medieval Germany. In some places, a person’s name was cleared of insult by dueling with sword or pistol, and in the case of those unskilled in the use of lethal weapons, this used to amount to virtual suicide. But it meant saving face. Webster’s New International Dictionary says “save face” means “to preserve one’s dignity or standing before others.”—Page 2223, column 2.

³ In the Orient suicide has long been regarded as a means of clearing one’s name, the classic example being that of the forty-seven ronin (lordless knights) in Tokyo of the early 1700’s. These paid an account of honor by secretly slaying the high court official who had caused their master’s death. However, this brought them into disfavor with the ruler of Japan. They could redeem their honor only by carrying out seppuku (stomach-cutting), and this they did, all forty-seven disemboweling themselves at the one time. Thus they gained for themselves a name that has been honored by song, dance and pilgrimage down to this day.

4. How extensive is regard for name and honor in modern times?

⁴ The sensitive regard for name and honor is to be found also in this twentieth century. The Oriental businessman still suicides rather than face the dishonor of failing to pay his debts at the year’s end. Throughout the earth there are those who wear professional pride, distinction of caste or of social standing, and who are slaves to etiquette. With many, their way of life is governed by the thought: How will I look before the local community? In Western lands this sensitiveness often results in living beyond one’s means, in order to be in fashion with the latest model car and the latest home contraptions. Honesty is often sacrificed in order to “keep up with the Joneses.”

5. What does pride in personal honor actually amount to, and what does it result in?

⁵ What does all this amount to? It amounts to an unjustifiable pride in one’s personal honor. It means that one must make an outward show of respectability, of “being someone,” regardless of the facts. It is an emotional regard for a proud name, even at the cost of sacrificing all principle. It is a matter of putting on face, keeping face and saving face. The unbalanced craving of a good reputation, without regard to honoring Jehovah, has led to speaking and living a lie. It has led to crime and much unhappiness. When practiced in the Christian congregation, face-saving endangers the creature’s relationship to his Creator, and may result in the loss of eternal life. As the Bible record shows, face-saving has no place with God’s true people.

FACE-SAVING IN BIBLE TIMES

6. Where did pride and face-saving honor first appear, and how was it manifested?

⁶ Almost 6,000 years ago, that wily serpent, the Devil, introduced a false appraisal of honor into the paradise of Eden. The woman Eve was “thoroughly deceived” into thinking that she could make for herself a name, comparable to that of God. Her husband, Adam, became a transgressor with her. (Gen. 3:4-6; 1 Tim. 2:14) Sensing the shame of sin, the guilty couple now attempted to save face. They went to making clothes for themselves, and they hid from Jehovah, in between the trees of the garden. When called to account before Jehovah, the man tried to save face by blaming the woman, and the woman in her turn by blaming the serpent. However, the attempt to salvage personal honor could not bypass divine principle. Justly, Jehovah pronounced sentence in harmony with his previously stated law. Face-saving excuses could not save the pair from disgraceful banishment from Eden, nor from eternal death in the dust of the ground.—Gen. 2:17; 3:7-19.

7. How did Satan try to save face, and what is the proof that he failed?

⁷ However, what of that wily serpent, Satan the Devil? The Scripture record shows that God will have him crushed out of existence by the ‘seed of his woman,’ Christ Jesus. (Gen. 3:15) In the meantime Satan has tried to save face with the proud boast that, having caused Eve, and then Adam, to deflect from serving Jehovah, he could now turn all mankind away from God. Jehovah has convincingly answered the challenge through olden-time witnesses such as Job, through his perfect Son, Christ Jesus, and through his faithful Christian witnesses. (Job 1:6-12; 2:1-10; Heb. 11:1-12:2) Satan, for his part, has produced a proud “seed” of rebellious men, who have gloried in fame and self-honor, without regard to Jehovah’s name.

8. What has been fostered by desire for honor, and what was an early example?

⁸ From earliest times this desire for personal honor has fostered violence and dishonesty. Adam’s first-born, Cain, finding his sacrifice unacceptable to Jehovah, sought to save face by destroying his brother Abel. When Jehovah asked Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” he contemptuously lied in reply: “I do not know. Am I my brother’s guardian?” His face-saving pride brought only Jehovah’s curse, and ultimately eternal death.—Gen. 4:3-16.

9, 10. How was the seeking of name and fame confounded (a) in Noah’s day, and (b) following the Flood?

⁹ Within sixteen hundred years of the Edenic rebellion, the earth was overrun by a proud, God-dishonoring race of men, together with the hybrid offspring of wicked spirits and human females, “the mighty ones who were of that world, the men of fame.” “So God saw the earth and, look! it was ruined, because all flesh had ruined its way on the earth. After that God said to Noah: ‘The end of all flesh has come before me, because the earth is full of violence as a result of them, and here I am bringing them to ruin together with the earth.’” That proud world community maintained a smug face for a time, mocking Noah, his preaching and his boatbuilding, but it perished in dishonor as a world of the ungodly.—Gen. 6:4, 12, 13; 2 Pet. 3:5-7.

¹⁰ Following the Flood, Satan again put it into the hearts of imperfect men to seek a personal name and glory, rather than honor Jehovah. The great-grandson of Noah, Nimrod, “made the start in becoming a mighty one in the earth. He displayed himself a mighty hunter in opposition to Jehovah.” Men traveled east, to a valley plain in Shinar. “They now said: ‘Come on! Let us build ourselves a city and also a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a celebrated name for ourselves, for fear we may be scattered over all the surface of the earth.’” What did their “celebrated name” gain for them? In vindication of his own name, Jehovah confused their language and scattered them abroad upon the face of the earth.—Gen. 10:8, 9; 11:1-9.

11, 12. In the case of Egypt’s Pharaoh, how did Jehovah demonstrate the futility of pride in name and glory?

¹¹ More than eight hundred years after the Flood, Jehovah sent Moses to Egypt to deliver His people, Israel. When Moses stated his mission before Pharaoh, that proud ruler of Egypt declared: “Who is Jehovah, so that I should obey his voice?” Jehovah humbled Pharaoh by bringing a series of devastating plagues on Egypt. During the course of these plagues, Jehovah told Pharaoh: “But, in fact, for this cause I have kept you in existence, for the sake of showing you my power and in order to have my name declared in all the earth.” It is for this same reason that Jehovah has permitted the god of this wicked world, Satan the Devil, to continue in existence down to the present day.—Ex. 5:2; 9:16.

¹² Jehovah showed Pharaoh his power by slaying the first-born of Egypt and leading His own people out safe through the divided waters of the Red Sea. In a last, face-saving attempt to redeem national honor and pride, Pharaoh took his mighty army in pursuit, charging in between the walls of water. Jehovah had prophesied the result: “As for me, here I am letting the hearts of the Egyptians become obstinate, that they may go in after them and that I may get glory for myself by means of Pharaoh and all his military forces, his war chariots and his cavalrymen. And the Egyptians will certainly know that I am Jehovah when I get glory for myself by means of Pharaoh, his war chariots and his cavalrymen.” (Ex. 14:17, 18) The walls of water collapsed, ending Egypt’s glory as a world power. How insignificant are men and nations who magnify self-glory against the glory of the Creator, Jehovah God!

13. Can nations, rulers or clergy save face before Jehovah? What does the Bible record show?

¹³ From Egypt’s day until now, world powers have arisen in their glory, only to fade with the march of time. The Bible record describes the short-lived glory of some, and Bible prophecy has accurately portrayed the rise and fall of the remainder. (Daniel, chapters 7, 8 and 11) None of the mighty, missile-brandishing nations of this nuclear age will be able to save face, glory or honor when Jehovah executes judgment on them at Armageddon. The proud clergy of Christendom’s sects, together with the “majestic ones” of their flock, will likewise perish in dishonor.—Jer. 25:32-36.

MAINTAINING HONOR BEFORE JEHOVAH

14, 15. (a) Against what must lovers of righteousness guard? (b) What warning should we take from the records concerning Job and Moses?

¹⁴ Lovers of true righteousness must stand on constant guard, that they do not become contaminated by the proud spirit of this world. Even faithful servants of God have faltered in this, only to recover themselves when corrected. As we have seen, Job tried to justify self during the days of his testing. This was the reason for Elihu’s righteous anger: “Against Job his anger blazed over his justifying his own soul more than God.” Only by showing himself attentive to God’s wonderful works and by acknowledging correction could Job maintain an honorable position before Jehovah.—Job 32:2; 36:3, 22-26.

¹⁵ God’s servant, Moses, tried to save face before Israel. This occurred when he miraculously brought water out from the crag at Meribah, but doing so in anger, and without giving due honor to Jehovah. Though he repented and retained his honored position as prophet with God’s people, this misstep lost for him the privilege of leading Israel into the land of promise.—Num. 20:9-13.

16. For what course did Peter twice receive correction?

¹⁶ On two occasions, Peter fell into the same trap of face-saving. When Jesus had been arrested, and Peter followed to the courtyard of the high priest’s house, he three times tried to cover up, in denying that he was Jesus’ disciple. (Luke 22:54 62) Some years later, Paul was called upon to reprimand Peter for ‘putting on a pretense’ before the Jewish Christians that came down to Antioch from James. For the sake of appearances, he withdrew him self from associating with the non-Jews. (Gal. 2:11-14) In both cases Peter suffered correction. He had to learn “the hard way.”

17. What good name should Christians be careful to maintain?

¹⁷ While avoiding self-glory and face-saving pride, Christians must at the same time be careful to maintain a reputation that honors God. Overseers should have “a favorable testimony from people on the outside.” (1 Tim. 3:7) All other Kingdom ministers, too, should maintain a good name for honesty, right conduct and care of the family, providing “the right things in the sight of all men.” (Rom. 12:17) This is not a matter of giving themselves an exterior whitewashing, like the Pharisees of Jesus’ day, in order to ‘appear outwardly righteous to men.’ (Matt. 23:27, 28) It is in order that they may honorably represent Jehovah, by conforming every activity of daily living to His holy will. “In no way are we giving any cause for stumbling, that our ministry might not be found fault with; but in every way we recommend ourselves as God’s ministers.”—2 Cor. 6:3, 4.

18. What attitude should the Christian show within the congregation?

¹⁸ Within the congregation, the Christian minister must likewise honor Jehovah by being sincerely appreciative of every kind provision made, that he “may grow to salvation.” (1 Pet. 2:1-3) He must not permit personal pride or face-saving to “put out the fire of the spirit.” He should be attentive to Paul’s admonition: “Make sure of all things; hold fast to what is right. Keep yourselves free from every form of wickedness.”—1 Thess. 5:19, 21, 22.

19. What old-world attitudes are sometimes brought into the congregation, and with what result?

¹⁹ Some have tried to bring old-world attitudes into the congregation. For example, they feel shame at being counseled or corrected, ignoring God’s principle that this is necessary for all in growing to spiritual maturity. (Prov. 4:13) They absent themselves during the circuit servant’s visit, or fail to take talks or written reviews in the Theocratic Ministry School. Some immature ones have even gone so far as to falsify their written reviews, their field service reports and otherwise put on a face-saving pretense before the servants of Jehovah’s organization. These cannot deceive Jehovah or his organization, and in due course they find themselves in the same condition as Ananias and Sapphira, because they “have played false, not to men, but to God.”—Acts 5:1-11.

20. What do some men find hard, and what sound advice does the Bible give to such?

²⁰ In some lands, where women do all the menial work, it is damaging to a man’s pride to go from house to house with the Bible. Others find it hard as appointed servants in the congregation to serve the sisters. These should try to cultivate humility in association with God’s people, rather than save face by dropping out of the organization that they know to be the custodian of Jehovah’s Word of truth. “He has told you, O earthling man, what is good. And what is Jehovah asking back from you but to exercise justice and to love kindness and to be humble in walking with your God?”—Mic. 6:8.

21. Give examples showing where the Christian may not compromise divine principles for face-saving pride or fear.

²¹ There are times when Christian principles conflict with demands of Caesar or customs of the local community. May the Christian save face before the world by bowing to Caesar’s demands that he violate his Christian neutrality? May he keep face before the community by performing an act of pagan religion at a funeral, by decorating his house with pagan symbols on a feast day, or by otherwise conforming himself to worldly custom? May he indulge in dishonest practices, so as to be able to put on a lavish wedding, and so keep face with the world? May he enter upon consensual marriage or immoral living, because he cannot afford the face-saving expense of an extravagant wedding feast? To all these questions, the Bible answers a resounding No!—Acts 4:18-20; 5:29; 15:29.

HONOR AND THE NEW PERSONALITY

22. (a) For what is there no place in the Christian congregation? (b) Why should we be open and honest with one another, and how?

²² There is no place in the Christian congregation for self-honor, saving face, or covering up by lying. These things may be the custom in the loveless, unhappy nations from which we have come out. However, the apostle tells us: “This, therefore, I say and bear witness to in the Lord, that you no longer go on walking just as the nations also walk in the unprofitableness of their minds, while they are in darkness mentally, and alienated from the life that belongs to God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the insensibility of their hearts.” Our deep love for and appreciation of Jehovah and all his goodness, together with love for our fellow Christians, will cause us to be open and honest with one another, and without fear of man. (Eph. 4:17, 18; 1 John 4:17, 18; 2 Tim. 1:7, 8) As the apostle also says: “Wherefore, now that you have put away falsehood, speak truth each one of you with his neighbor, because we are members belonging to one another.”—Eph. 4:25.

23. (a) What do Christians renounce? (b) How do shame and face-saving go hand in hand? (c) If a Christian commits a sin, what should he not then do? What should he do?

²³ There is no place in Jehovah’s New World society for the improper attitudes of the old world. “That is why, since we have this ministry according to the mercy that was shown us, we do not behave improperly, but we have renounced the underhanded things of which to be ashamed, not walking in craftiness neither adulterating the word of God, but by making the truth manifest recommending ourselves to every human conscience in the sight of God.” (2 Cor. 4:1, 2) Those who walk with God renounce the underhanded ways and craftiness of this world, and stand openly in favor of truth. They do not live in a condition of shame, requiring continual face-saving. This face-saving is based on emotions of pride and fear, and not on Bible principle. It is allied to shame and is a pretense for removing shame, no matter what the cost in principle, just so the individual may look right. Even if a Christian commits a sin, should he save face by hibernating in a condition of shame? No, but he should confess his sin before Jehovah, and again make straight paths for his feet. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous so as to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”—1 John 1:9; 2:1, 2; Ps. 32:1, 5.

24. How may we be completely freed from the crafty ways of the face-saving world?

²⁴ Humility, Christian love and heartfelt appreciation of our relationship to Jehovah will keep us walking in paths of righteousness. This is what the apostle entreats, to “walk worthily of the calling with which you were called, with complete lowliness of mind and mildness, with long-suffering, putting up with one another in love.” Through the congregation Christ has made “gifts in men” to teach and train all who share in Jehovah’s undeserved kindness through his Son. Let us accept this training joyfully, advancing with Jehovah’s organization to full Christian maturity, so that we will “no longer be babes, tossed about as by waves and carried hither and thither by every wind of teaching by means of the trickery of men, by means of craftiness in contriving error. But speaking the truth, let us by love grow up in all things into him who is the head, Christ.” (Eph. 4:1, 2, 8, 11-16) Any who have been contaminated by the crafty ways of the old world must make their minds over completely, becoming filled with the accurate knowledge of God’s will, “in order to walk worthily of Jehovah.”—Rom. 12:1, 2; Col. 1:9-12.

25. How may we put on the new personality, and with what result?

²⁵ This means putting on the Christian personality, the new personality, which is so different from the old-world personality with its warped way of thinking. Therefore the apostle admonishes “that you should put away the old personality which conforms to your former course of conduct and which is being corrupted according to his deceptive desires; but that you should be made new in the force actuating your mind, and should put on the new personality which was created according to God’s will in true righteousness and loving-kindness.” (Eph. 4:22-24) If we have put on the new personality through diligent study of and obedience to God’s Word, then our minds will be activated by God’s spirit. Thus we will seek always to be an honor to Jehovah’s great name, as his witnesses, and never strive for self-glory, a name among men, or to maintain face-saving pride.—Matt. 5:16; Luke 16:15.

26. What face-saving exploits has Satan schemed, but with what final result?

²⁶ The face-saving pride of “lofty eyes” is detestable to Jehovah. (Prov. 6:16-19) It originates with Satan the Devil, who tried to make for himself a proud name, greater than Jehovah’s, and to lift up his throne “above the stars of God.” He became dazzled by his own “beaming splendor.” (Isa. 14:12-14; Ezek. 28:17) Now that his splendor faces extinction at Armageddon, he pursues a vicious policy of “rule or ruin.” He blindly plots a further face-saving exploit, in trying to lead all humankind over the brink into a nuclear abyss. He spurs world leaders on to prepare racial suicide on a colossal scale. In this he shall fail! Despite the wrath of worldly nations, Jehovah will fight for and deliver his own people, and “bring to ruin those ruining the earth.” (Joel 2:32; Rev. 11:18) Satan will be thrown away in dishonor “like a detested sprout, . . . like a carcass trodden down. . . , because you brought your own land to ruin.”—Isa. 14:19, 20.

27. (a) What responsibility supersedes all others? (b) Who may be pronounced happy? (c) What glorious day is now at hand?

²⁷ The survivors of this universal battle will be the ones who, like faithful Job, Christ Jesus and the remnant, refuse to break integrity, even in the face of Satan’s final, vicious assault on the New World society of Jehovah’s witnesses. (Ezek. 38:14-16) They will be the ones who appreciate that, whatever is involved in honor, there is a responsibility that supersedes all earthly duties and obligations, a responsibility to honor the great Giver of life, the One who set our earth spinning through space and created man upon it. (Acts 17:24-28; Ps. 36:9) As the Supreme Sovereign of the universe, he requires exclusive devotion of his intelligent creatures, and this we should gladly give. (Deut. 5:9, 10) Happy are we if we seek Jehovah’s glory above all else, exulting in his grand purpose that now, in our day, and by wonderful works of which only He is capable, his grand name is to be forever vindicated. Speed the day when that peerless name will “be exalted above the heavens” and the entire earth will be “filled with the knowing of the glory of Jehovah”!—Ps. 57:5; Hab. 2:14.

Communism and Christendom

“Now comes Marxist Communism, burning and butchering just like Protestantism and Catholicism in the past. But not in Christ’s name. This much is new.”—Harper’s Magazine of August, 1960.

A Vacation Devoted to the Ministry

The following is a letter from a member of the Brooklyn Bethel family now in his eighty-third year:

Dear Brothers:

I would like to share with you a very encouraging experience that I recently enjoyed. It came about at a time when I had suffered from one illness after another. From time to time I received encouraging visits from the Society’s president, Brother Knorr. On one of his visits I mentioned to him that what grieved me most was my inability to be active in the ministry. “Well, why not write letters?” Brother Knorr suggested. ‘What letters could I write?” was my thought.

Thinking over Brother Knorr’s suggestion, I said to myself: “Well, I have had contacts with many businessmen and executives, in connection with my more than forty years of work in the Society’s purchasing department.” This led me to contemplate writing them, to give these former business associates a witness concerning the Kingdom and to offer them subscriptions during the recent magazine campaign.

So I took two weeks of my vacation, using the time to write these letters with my portable typewriter. I wrote about a hundred letters to former business associates, telling them of the Society’s subscription campaign for The Watchtower and that my friends came to mind as my responsibility to inform them of this. I enclosed a copy of both The Watchtower and Awake! special issues and stated that their friends and employees might also be interested in receiving these outstanding magazines. Many businessmen responded favorably. Following are some excerpts from a few of their letters.

The manager of one company wrote: “Enclosed please find a check for $2.00 to cover my personal subscription to The Watchtower as well as Awake! It will indeed be a pleasure to receive these remarkable and enlightening magazines through the mail. This convenience will now make it unnecessary to purchase them from one of your most dedicated people.”

Another businessman wrote: “Am enclosing my check for an annual subscription to The Watchtower and Awake! Was very pleased to note from your letter the tremendous circulation you now have, and also that you are operating in 179 lands. My heartiest congratulations.”

Another wrote: “I am pleased to learn of your campaign for a wider circulation of your two splendid magazines. Enclosed is my check to cover five subscriptions of friends of mine who will be delighted to receive the message.”

The vice-president of a paper company wrote: “Enclosed is my check for $6 and I would appreciate it if you would put Mr. L—— and me on the list to receive these two booklets.”

An executive of a lumber company wrote: “We are pleased to enclose our check for $6.00 for three subscriptions of your magazines, Watchtower and Awake! We have read the sample magazines and find them very enlightening and instructive.”

The treasurer of a machinery company wrote: “We want to go along with your special subscription campaign and are pleased to enclose check in amount of $10.00, covering five subscriptions each of the Watchtower and Awake! issues.”

Another letter: “Thank you for your letter regarding the campaign for new subscriptions to Watchtower and Awake! We have pleasure in enclosing check for $10.00 to cover the following new subscribers.”

The president of one company wrote: “I have rounded up ten people that would be interested in receiving your magazines and enclosed herewith $10 for the ten subscriptions.” Among the names listed were those of the president and his son.

The vice-president of a chemical corporation responded, writing: “I am enclosing a check for $12.00 for six one-year subscriptions to each of the publications you enclosed. I have spoken to several of my colleagues here.”

To these many favorable responses I wrote another letter in reply, telling them I was pleased with their response and giving them a further witness.

From the letters I wrote during those two weeks, I have received a response of a hundred subscriptions. How thankful I am for the encouragement given me by the Society’s president, when I was roomfast! It has been a blessing to vacation pioneer by writing letters.

Your fellow witness of Jehovah, H. H. Riemer

“From House to House”

ACTS 20:20, according to the New World Translation, reads: “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.” Some persons contend that the foregoing rendering is a poor one by reason of containing the expression “from house to house,” and that it was used merely to support the house-to-house activity of Jehovah’s witnesses. What are the facts?

In the Greek text the word “houses” (oikous) follows the Greek preposition katá and is in the accusative case, plural. On the use of this preposition katá with the accusative case the book A Greek Grammar for Schools and Colleges, by Hadley and Allen, says on page 256, under katá: “with accusative . . . in distributive expressions: katá phyla by clans, each clan by itself, katà dyo by twos, two by two, kath’ hemeran day by day.”

Says the book A Manual Grammar of the Greek New Testament, by Dana and Mantey, D.D., on page 107, under the heading Katá: “(3) With the accusative case: Along, at, according to. Luke 10:4, . . . ‘Salute no one along the road.’ Also in the distributive sense: Acts 2:46 kat’ oikon, from house to house: Luke 2:41 kat’ etos, from year to year; 1 Cor. 14:27, katà dyo, by twos. See also Luke 8:1; 13:32.”

Quoting from still another Greek authority, that of Handbook to the Grammar of the Greek Testament, by Samuel G. Green, D.D. (Revision of 1912 edition), on pages 248, 249, under katá, it says: “β. With the Accusative. . . . 4. Of place or time, distributively, from one to another. Mark xiii.8: seismoì katà tópous, earthquakes in diverse places. Luke viii.1: diódeue katà pólin, he was journeying from city to city. So kat’ étos year by year, Luke ii.41; kat’ oíkon, at different houses, Acts ii.46, v. Ac 2:42; katà pan sábbaton, every Sabbath, Acts xv.21;” and so forth.

To quote just one more authority, there is also the book A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, translated, revised and enlarged, by Joseph Henry Thayer, D.D.; on page 327, under the heading Katá, it says: “II. With the accusative: . . . 3. it denotes reference, relation, proportion, of various sorts: a. Distributively, indicating a succession of things following one another, α. in reference to place katà polin, in every city, (city by city, from city to city), Luke 8:1, 4; Acts 15:21; 20:23; Titus 1:5,” and followed by a number of other references. Other grammars could doubtless be referred to to substantiate the distributive use of the Greek preposition katá with the accusative case as found in Acts 20:20.

Not only does the New World Translation render the phrase in question “from house to house,” but so also do the following translations: King James Version, American Standard Version, English Revised Version, Revised Standard Version of 1952, Holy Bible from the Peshitta, by George M. Lamsa, the New Testament in an Improved Version based on Archbishop Newcomb’s new translation, the New Testament, by Charles Williams, the Holy Bible, by Monsignor Ronald A. Knox, the New Testament, by F. A. Spencer, edited by Callan-McHugh, the Spanish Moderna Version. Also the Englishmen’s Greek New Testament with an interlinear literal translation, which, unlike the Emphatic Diaglott, has under the expression kat’ oikous in Acts 20:20 the interlinear reading “from house to house,” also A New Translation of the Bible, by James Moffatt, D.D., the Catholic Confraternity Translation of the New Testament, the New Testament in the Westminster Version, by Cuthbert Latty, Jesuit, also the Riverside New Testament, by William G. Ballantine.

Of interest here is the reference to Paul’s ministry by A. E. Bailey, in Daily Life in Bible Times: “Paul’s general practice was to work at his trade from sunrise to 11 a.m., . . . then from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. to preach in the hall, . . . and then lastly to make a house to house evangelistic canvass that lasted from 4 p.m. to far in the night.”

Will anyone endeavor to argue that all these Greek grammarians, these Bible translators and this historian were one and all biased because they themselves were doing evangelistic work from house to house? Hardly! Then neither can anyone rightly claim that the way the New World Translation reads at Acts 20:20 is due to the fact that the witnesses of Jehovah engage in house-to-house ministerial work. However, if any still want to take exception to the expression, then they are entitled to the secondary reading that is given in the footnote of Acts 20:20, which reads, “or, ‘and in the private houses.’”

Beware of Greediness!

GREEDINESS—the very word has an unpleasant sound. Yet because of its being such a common vice most persons fail to take it seriously. God’s Word, however, speaks out against it in the strongest of terms:

“What! Do you not know that unrighteous persons will not inherit God’s kingdom? Do not be misled. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men kept for unnatural purposes, nor men who lie with men, . . . nor greedy persons, . . . will inherit God’s kingdom.” “Let fornication and uncleanness of every kind or greediness not even be mentioned among you, just as it befits holy people.” “No fornicator or unclean person or greedy person—which means being an idolater—has any inheritance in the kingdom of the Christ and of God.”—1 Cor. 6:9, 10; Eph. 5:3-5.

Why do the Scriptures associate greediness with such gross sins as adultery, fornication and idolatry? Because of its seriousness. It is an extreme form of selfishness. It is an intense, passionate desire or craving either to gain far more than what is reasonable or needed or to gain that which rightfully belongs to another. It is idolatry, for what one greedily desires he worships.

Contrary to the opinion of many, greediness is not limited to the love of money. Greediness also manifests itself in extreme fondness of food and drink, honor and fame, power and sex.

LOVE OF MONEY

Perhaps the most common form of greediness is love of money or the desire for much material, selfish gain. It causes men to oppress others, as does the loan shark who charges exorbitant rates of interest; it causes men to cheat, to steal and even to kill at times. The eyes of the greedy person are not satisfied with riches. (Eccl. 4:8) Many persons have permitted greediness to kill the seeds of truth planted in them: “But the anxieties of this system of things and the deceptive power of wealth and the desires for the rest of the things make inroads and choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.”—Mark 4:19.

Fittingly the psalmist commands: “Do not put your trust in defrauding, nor become vain in sheer robbery. In case the means of maintenance should thrive, do not set your heart on them.” Apropos also are Paul’s words of warning: “Those who are determined to be rich fall into temptation and a snare and many senseless and hurtful desires which plunge men into destruction and ruin. For the love of money is a root of all sorts of injurious things, and by reaching out for this love some have been led astray from the faith and have stabbed themselves all over with many pains. On the other hand, you, O man of God, flee from these things.” Yes, remember that such “valuable things will be of no benefit on the day of fury,” Jehovah’s Armageddon fury.—Ps. 62:10; 1 Tim. 6:9-11; Prov. 11:4.

Among the warning examples that the Scriptures contain of the bad end of those greedy for money are Achan, Gehazi and Judas. Achan betrayed his greed by taking spoil from Jericho in violation of Jehovah’s express command, for which he was stoned to death. Gehazi, the servant of Elisha, tried to profit personally from his master’s having cured the Syrian general Naaman, for which God smote Gehazi with leprosy. And Judas, after selling his Master for thirty pieces of silver, hanged himself.—Josh. 7:1-26; 2 Ki. 5:20-27; Matt. 27:5.

FOOD AND DRINK

Then there is the greediness that manifests itself in an inordinate craving for food and drink. He who has this tendency is lacking in love of both himself and his neighbor and may well become a glutton and a drunkard. Wisely we are counseled: “Do not come to be among heavy drinkers of wine, among those who are gluttonous eaters of flesh. For a drunkard and a glutton will come to poverty, and drowsiness will clothe one with mere rags.” “Also do not be getting drunk with wine, in which there is debauchery, but keep getting filled with spirit.”—Prov. 23:20, 21; Eph. 5:18.

In particular are those in responsible positions warned against this kind of greediness, as it interferes with their properly discharging their duties: “It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine or for high officials to say: ‘Where is intoxicating liquor?’ that one may not drink and forget what is decreed and pervert the cause of any of the sons of affliction.” “Happy are you, O land, when your king is the son of noble ones and your own princes eat at the proper time for mightiness, not for mere drinking” in self-indulgence.—Prov. 31:4, 5; Eccl. 10:17.

Greediness along this line tends to make one gross, careless regarding one’s conduct and privileges of serving God. Esau was such a greedy person. When he came home from the hunt hungry, he was so greedy for a bowl of lentils his brother had prepared that he readily sold his birthright for it. “There may be no fornicator nor anyone not appreciating sacred things, like Esau, who in exchange for one meal gave away his rights as firstborn.”—Heb. 12:16.

HONOR AND FAME

As with material riches, food and drink, there is nothing wrong in desiring honor and a good name. Where the greediness comes in is in desiring these excessively or at the expense of another. Throughout the book of Proverbs the course of wisdom is recommended as leading to glory or honor. The proud, however, can never get enough honor. They are ready to rob others and even God so that they can get honor. “The eating of too much honey is not good; and for people to search out their own glory, is it glory?” “May a stranger, and not your own mouth, praise you; may a foreigner, and not your own lips, do so.” On one occasion it was necessary for Jesus to rebuke two of his apostles for wanting the chief seats in his kingdom. Such a request showed a tendency toward greediness for honor.—Prov. 25:27; 27:2; Mark 10:40-45.

Greediness for honor causes one to brag and results in jealousy, strife and confusion. Instead of seeking our own honor, we should “in showing honor to one another take the lead.” Yes, we are to be “doing nothing out of contentiousness or out of egotism, but with lowliness of mind considering that the others are superior to you, keeping an eye, not in personal interest upon just your own matters, but also in personal interest upon those of the others.” So, “let us not become egotistical, stirring up competition with one another, envying one another.”—Rom. 12:10; Phil. 2:3, 4; Gal. 5:26.

Haman was one who was greedy for honor, insisting that all bow down to him. What a bad end he came to! The religious leaders of Jesus’ days, as well as some of their followers, were also greedy for honor. For this mental attitude they reaped Jehovah’s disapproval and eventual destruction.—Esther 6:6; 7:10; Luke 16:15.

POWER

Pride causes some to crave honor and fame; others it causes to become greedy for power. Big business men like to build large organizations because of the sense of power it gives them. Others like to amass money and other forms of wealth because of the feeling of power they derive from it. Many politicians, and particularly dictators, are greedy for power. They like to have others tremble before them. The psalmist prayed for God to take action regarding such, “that mortal man who is of the earth may no more cause trembling.” In Jehovah God’s due time such power-greedy ones will disappear: “I have seen the wicked a tyrant and spreading himself as a luxuriant tree in native soil. And yet he proceeded to pass away and there he was not, and I kept seeking him and he was not found.”—Ps. 10:18; 37:35, 36.

Sometimes in a Christian congregation there is one who seeks advancement, not for the honor of Jehovah God and the benefit of his brothers, but because of the sense of power it gives him. In the family circle this greed for power may show itself in the wife’s wanting to dominate. King Uzziah, the military genius, became greedy for power. Not content with his royal prerogatives, he also presumed to take unto himself those limited to the priestly tribe. For his presumption he was smitten with leprosy. And the most glaring example of greed for power is none other than that of Satan himself. Rule or ruin is his motto, and Jehovah will see to it that Satan meets up with ruin.—2 Chron. 26:16-21; Rev. 20:1-3, 10.

UNCLEANNESS, LOOSE CONDUCT

And, lastly, there is the greediness associated with sexual appetite. Here again, a good thing, the joy of connubial love, is debased, either by excesses or by indulging in this privilege unlawfully. It is among the most prevalent kinds of greediness and the most difficult to control. Greediness along this line causes some husbands to overlook the commandment to love their wives as themselves. Among other manifestations of this kind of greediness is interest in pornographic pictures and literature and greedy looking: “I say to you that everyone that keeps on looking at a woman so as to have a passion for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” That is why the young minister Timothy was counseled: “Flee from the desires incidental to youth.”—Matt. 5:28; 2 Tim. 2:22.

Doubtless having in mind this type of greediness, James wrote: “From what source are there wars and from what source are there fights among you? Are they not from this source, namely, from your cravings for sensual pleasure which carry on a conflict in your members? You desire, and yet you do not have. You go on murdering and coveting [and are jealous, ftn.], and yet you are not able to obtain. You go on fighting and waging war. You do not have because of your not asking. You do ask, and yet you do not receive, because you are asking for a wrong purpose, that you may expend it upon your cravings for sensual pleasure.”—Jas. 4:1-3.

THE REMEDY

Wherein lies the remedy? First of all, in honestly facing our weaknesses; not bragging about them, not treating them lightly, not continually making excuses for them. Work to overcome any tendency to greed you have inherited or adopted from your environment. Remember, little things can lead to big things, and if we do not put up a good fight, someday the inclination and the temptation will coincide and we will come to grief.

Thus there was the professional man, fond of money, who engaged in “sharp” practices at every opportunity. Clever he was, but one day his selfishness, his greediness, caused him to make a crude slip, resulting in his being excommunicated from the Christian congregation with which he was associated. Then again there was the debonair, apparently mature minister whose weakness was uncleanness. One way in which he betrayed this was by the kind of pictures he had hanging in his home. One day he also was excommunicated, for repeated adultery.

So let us watch the beginnings, the little things, and take to heart Jesus’ warning: “If ever your hand makes you stumble, cut it off; it is finer for you to enter into life maimed than with two hands to go off into Gehenna, into the fire that cannot be put out.”—Mark 9:43.

Our heavenly Father has provided abundant help in our struggle with greediness in our members. Private study of his Word is of great help and so is praying for his holy spirit. Take advantage of the assistance that God’s visible organization proffers by faithfully attending congregational meetings and taking part in them. Cultivate the fear of Jehovah, for it will help you to hate what is bad. By taking in knowledge and acting upon it you will strengthen your faith. Strong faith will help you to overcome the love of money, for it will cause you to put your trust in Jehovah God rather than in uncertain riches.—Prov. 8:13; 1 Tim. 6:17-19.

In particular do all need to cultivate the fruitage of the spirit, self-control. Stay awake, keep alert to opportunities to exercise self-control in little things, in your speech, in eating and in drinking, and you will find that exercising self-control in more difficult areas of human behavior will come easier. This is what Paul did: “I browbeat my body and lead it as a slave.”—1 Cor. 9:27.

There are other helps, but in particular two of such merit special attention: hope and love. By keeping bright your hope of the triumph of righteousness and the blessings of God’s new world, you will be able to evaluate properly the things of this world that seem so desirable to one’s selfish nature. (1 John 2:15-17) And, above all, love, loving God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength, and your neighbor as yourself, will help you to exercise the self-control needed to overcome any tendency to greediness.—Mark 12:30, 31.

So be wise. Beware of greediness if you would live.

The generous soul will itself be made fat, and the one freely watering others will himself also be freely watered.—Prov. 11:25.

Pursuing My Purpose in Life

As told by Maxine Miller García

THE life of a Christian is well marked by milestones—markers of progress to maturity and occasions of special joy—all of which give assurance of Jehovah’s approval. One of these milestones in my life was a special meeting of Gilead graduates arranged by the president of the Watch Tower Society, our dear Brother Knorr, at the unforgettable international assembly in New York city in the summer of 1958. I was one of the more than thirty graduates present from the first class of Gilead. How did I come to be among them? Listen to my story.

My parents were dedicated Christians when I was born. Being conscious of their God-given responsibilities, they set themselves to train the four of us children to be praisers of Almighty God, whose name is Jehovah. They did a thorough job, and one by one, as we understood what it meant, we dedicated our lives to Jehovah. Having shared in publishing the good news since I was six years old, I was baptized at the age of fourteen, and at once the goal toward which I began to look was full-time Kingdom preaching. All through my high school years my sister and I planned for pioneer service.

GETTING THE RIGHT VIEW OF PIONEERING

We wondered how we could make enough money to get into the pioneer work, since we both had the view that a car and a trailer were necessary in order to pioneer. In 1938 it was impressed on us that the way to become pioneers is not by earning money. That year the zone servant and his wife visited our congregation, and, learning of our desire to pioneer, they took us on a visit to Albany, Oregon, with them and helped us to make arrangements to pioneer with a sister who had just started to pioneer and wanted someone with whom to work. She and her husband had their trailer parked on the farm of an elderly sister, and there was room for us there. Seeing the way open, we immediately sent in our pioneer applications. As soon as the reply came from the Society we were on our way to Albany to start work.

Could we make a go of it? Yes, by putting our ministry first. We never lacked the food we needed. We traded literature for more than enough home-canned fruit and vegetables. We also traded for eggs and milk bottles, which we exchanged with the grocer. We were very grateful to Jehovah that he had shown us we could serve him as pioneers without first saving up a lot of money to rely on; instead, we have learned to rely on Him.

We had a wonderful time working Albany, Corvallis and the rurals up in the mountains. Late into the evenings we played the series of recorded Bible speeches and conducted Bible studies with the aid of the Model Study booklet in the homes of many persons of good will. It is a great joy to know that some of those people are now faithful publishers and others are full-time preachers.

STRENGTHENED BY TRIALS OF FAITH

Joyful experiences, coupled with trials and tests, stimulated our determination to continue. The summer of 1939, my mother, brother, sister and I spent pioneering in Idaho just west of Yellowstone Park. We found several isolated persons who were happy to come in contact with Jehovah’s witnesses again. The following winter—a severe once—we were in Logan, Utah, where my mother had been a colporteur twenty years before. It was not difficult to place Bible literature with the Mormon people and to start studies, but they were more interested in converting us than in ‘letting God be true’ by listening to His Word. Few had the courage to take their stand for the truth. One elderly German brother was a great encouragement to us though. He had learned the truth alone by studying the Society’s publications, and although his family and his neighbors turned against him, he left the Mormon church after forty years of membership. Every Sunday evening we walked up the steep snow-covered hill to have supper with him, share with him our field experiences, and have the Watchtower study—just the five of us.

The next two years I served in Arizona, along with the same sister with whom I had started pioneering. Some days, when we did not have enough money for gasoline, we walked over the hot hills and down the dry canyons around Globe, Arizona, carrying our recorded Bible talks, phonographs and books. Results from our work were evident among the Mexican people. With the Spanish records and a few memorized phrases in Spanish, we managed to present the message to them. Then we conducted studies by using the books in both Spanish and English together. Soon some joined us in the house-to-house service and helped us in speaking their language.

We were still in Globe when the persecution became severe. The newspaper and radio announced that one man and two women, Jehovah’s witnesses, had been arrested in Texas on the (false) charge of being Nazi spies. That very day we were picked up by the police for questioning, but were soon set free when they saw that we were doing nothing wrong. From then on we were constantly chased by mobs. We could work only a few houses in a section and then had to drive several miles to another section in order to stay ahead of the mobsters, yet the idea of being caught by a mob did not frighten us. We were concerned only with being faithful to Jehovah no matter what happened. That summer thirty of us pioneers worked all the “trouble” towns in Arizona for six weeks, moving every day or two, sleeping with our trailers hitched to the cars so we could move out if there was any trouble during the night. In places where there had been mobbings or other severe opposition we quietly made midnight visits to the homes to leave packages of booklets on the doorsteps for the people to read.

Late in 1941 our family was reunited in Roseburg, Oregon, for a short time; then my sister and I were assigned, along with five other sisters, as special pioneers in San Leandro, California. Living with a group this size provided good experience for us in learning to get along together. More experience was to come later.

PREPARATION FOR FOREIGN MISSIONARY WORK

At an assembly in Cleveland, Ohio, in the fall of 1942 an announcement that new fields would be opened up by missionaries in the near future turned our attention to foreign lands. Only a few weeks later invitations arrived for my sister and me and one of our companions to be in the very first missionary class at Gilead School, to commence on February 1, 1943. We did not ask anyone’s advice about whether we should go or not. Had we not made a dedication to serve Jehovah and to do his will? Yes. And would we agree to go anywhere in the world to share in the preaching work? Of course! We wanted to serve Jehovah where he directed through his organization. Our health? Five years of constant outdoor activity had kept us in good condition physically. We were anxious to go.

At the beginning of the school term Brother Knorr told us that our five months at Gilead would be happy, always-to-be-remembered ones with plenty of hard work. He was right on both counts. They were happy, very much so. And they were busy. Sometimes it seemed impossible to grasp and retain all the information we received, but we realized that it was Jehovah’s provision and we benefited greatly from it.

At graduation in June we received our assignments, which were first to Cuba and later changed to Mexico. We were thrilled at the prospect. While waiting to leave for our assignments we were sent to Brooklyn, and I am so glad that we were. It was there in Brooklyn that I made a back-call on a woman who had earlier taken three of our books. She was not interested in the books, but her twelve-year-old daughter was. She had read the books and asked very intelligent questions. Reactions came fast. When, after a few studies, she and her young brother became active publishers of the Kingdom message, their mother turned on them and drove them out of the house. The rest of their childhood was spent in orphanages and the homes of other people, but never did they lose sight of their service to Jehovah. Both of them are still in Jehovah’s service, and the girl is now in South America with her husband and four children, serving Jehovah where the need for Kingdom witnesses is particularly great.

After the Minneapolis, Minnesota, convention in July we were sent to San Antonio, Texas, to work among the Spanish-speaking people until we could go on to Mexico. The Mexican people there in Texas were very kind and patient with us as we tried to learn their language. At times we had as many as twenty-five studies a week. Many of them began preaching with us while we were still there and others started out after we had left. It gives us a special thrill to see them still faithful when we visit them or when they visit Mexico for an assembly.

ON TO MEXICO!

At last, in June, 1946, visas in hand, we moved on to our assignment in Mexico, traveling by car. The last of the journey was through many miles of flat country, then up over a hill, and there before us was Mexico City, a very modern-looking metropolis. In a few minutes we were at the Watch Tower Society’s Mexican branch, met members of the Bethel family and greeted those of our Gilead classmates who had arrived a year before us. Well, here we were, and when could we go to work? First it was necessary to take care of the required registration with the government, and that took about two weeks.

In the meantime the others there initiated us into the Mexican way of life. Everything seemed strange at first, but soon it became natural and now this is home.

When we arrived here there were only four congregations in the city; now, with Jehovah’s blessing on the work of all his servants here, that has grown to seventy congregations in Mexico City. Preaching to these people is a pleasure; they are friendly and courteous and it is easy to start home Bible studies. Some, we found, were interested only in having North American friends, but many others are now members of the New World society.

Not all the joys have come from experiences in helping new ones to enter the New World society. Many joys are found in working along with those already in the organization. What mutual upbuilding there has been as we have worked along with the weak ones in the service centers and watched them grow strong! What a pleasure to see those we have helped, start out in vacation pioneer service and then make a career of the regular pioneer ministry! All these things have made me appreciate my assignment as a very precious trust from Jehovah, one that I want to hold onto always.

On June 15, 1949, when I married Samuel García, a Mexican native and the legal representative of the Society here, I got a life partner who shares that desire. Both Sammy and I want to continue serving Jehovah full time, and we now enjoy doing it as members of the Mexican Bethel family, working in the office.

Do I make it sound as if life as a full-time preacher is all joys and nothing else? No, that is not true. There are trying moments and difficult experiences too, but the joys far outweigh the sorrows and it is these joys that stand out when I look back on the way that I have gone in the pursuit of my purpose in life as a servant of Jehovah God. Oh, I recall how hard it was not to be at the 1946 convention in Cleveland, because it was held right after I had arrived in Mexico; I even cried over it at the time. But in a few days we began to receive letters and news clippings from many who remembered us, and our tears were turned to joy. It was also hard on me when my father died and I was not there, and when my sister, who was then in the States, died of cancer. It would have been easier to give up and go back to the States to be with mother, but she is doing well and is very happy that I am staying with my assignment, and it is here that I have found the richest blessings.

How full is the life of one who had made the service of Jehovah his purpose in life! The turning point is dedication, and all the milestones that follow are joys that result from living up to that vow to God. In my life, conventions have been outstanding among those joys, particularly the one in 1958 when so many of us who had graduated from Gilead were able to be together. Added privileges of service, new assignments, newly interested ones I have helped and other faithful Witnesses with whom I have served have all contributed to the happiness I have enjoyed. Oh, the blessings that are the portion of those who make their purpose in life the doing of Jehovah’s will!

Questions From Readers

● Ripley’s “Believe It or Not” states that, because of an error that a monk made, the year 1961 should be 1967. What effect does this have upon 1914 as the end of the appointed times of the nations?—G. B., United States.

In reply to an inquiry, the King Features Syndicate, which publishes “Believe It or Not,” had the following to say:

“Dionysius Exiguus, a scholarly Roman abbot of the 6th century, and an accomplished mathematician, is responsible for the fact that this is only 1961 and not 1967. He is the author of the calendar based on the Christian era. . . . According to the Bible, Christ was born during the reign of King Herod who died 4 B.C. The king ordered the Massacre of the Babes two years earlier, and that is why the Birth of Christ must be assigned to December 25, 7 B.C.”

The foregoing observation has absolutely no effect on the Bible prophecy regarding the end of the appointed times of the nations. How so? In that the number of years from the overthrow of King Zedekiah to the beginning of the fulfillment of the events listed in Jesus’ great prophecy, as recorded at Matthew chapter 24, is 2,520 years, regardless of where the change is made of counting B.C. and A.D. Daniel’s prophecy foretold the seven times, or 2,520 years, and that many years did indeed elapse from the ruin that came upon the kingdom of Judah making the land desolate and the time when the kingdom of God was established in the heavens.

To illustrate, let a long line represent the 2,520 years. ———————————— Now somewhere along that line the dates change from B.C. to A.D. But regardless of where that change would be made the total would still be 2,520 years. So, if as this popular article said, 1961 should be 1967, then 1914 should also have been called 1920. That also means that 607 B.C. would be called 601. And 601 B.C. to A.D. 1920 is a total of 2,520 years.

The year 4 B.C. is given by many as the year of Herod’s death because they count the beginning of his reign from the time the Roman Senate appointed him instead of when he actually began to reign, which was more than three years later, when he conquered Jerusalem. Counting his reign from the latter date allows for his still living 1 B.C. or A.D. 1, at which time the massacre of the infants took place.—Matt. 2:16.

This method of counting harmonizes with the time indicated in the Scriptures for the Messiah to come, as foretold in the prophecy of seventy weeks of Daniel 9:24-27, and with Luke’s account at Luke 3:1-3, 23, regarding the time when John the Baptist began his ministry, namely, the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, which lasted from August A.D. 28 to August A.D. 29. Jesus’ baptism took place six months after John began his ministry, and so reasonably still A.D. 29. Jesus having reached thirty years of age by this time, he must have been born during the year 2 B.C. Other scriptures pinpoint this at about October 1, since he died in the ‘middle of the week’ of years (A.D. 29 to A.D. 36) referred to by Daniel, or April 1, A.D. 33.

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.

ANNUAL MEETING OF MEMBERS OF WATCH TOWER BIBLE AND TRACT SOCIETY OF PENNSYLVANIA

In Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the annual meeting of members of Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania will be held at ten o’clock in the forenoon of Sunday, October 1, 1961, at the Society’s office located at 4100 Bigelow Boulevard. The regular letters of notice will be sent to all the members, and in order to insure delivery of the letters all members should be certain that the secretary’s office has their present addresses.

The proxies, which will accompany the notices of meeting, should be returned by the members promptly, in order to reach the office of the secretary of the Society not later than September 15. Each member should return his proxy whether he is going to be at the meeting personally or not.

LEADING ALL OTHERS

More copies of this magazine, The Watchtower, are distributed world-wide than any other religious periodical, the number being 3,800,000 copies in 60 languages. What is the reason? It is because this magazine is the one that is announcing Jehovah’s kingdom, the only real hope for peace and security that is certain for our day. Do you receive The Watchtower regularly? You can. You should! A year’s subscription is only $1. Send today.

“WATCHTOWER” STUDIES FOR THE WEEKS

September 17: Be Attentive to “the Wonderful Works of God.” Page 489.

September 24: Honoring Jehovah. Page 495.