Awake!, March 22, 1966
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Practice Not Your Righteousness Before Men PAGE 5
What Employers Look For in Job Seekers PAGE
The Marvel of the Setting Sun
PAGE 13
The Fascinating Story of the Elements
PAGE 20
MARCH 22,1966
THE REASON FOR THIS MAGAZINE
News sources that are able to keep you awake to the vital issues of our times must be unfettered by censorship and selfish interests. "Awakel!" has no fetters. It recognizes facts, faces facts, is free to publish facts. It is not bound by political ties; it is unhampered by traditional creeds. This magazine keeps itself free, that it may speak freely to you. But it does not abuse its freedom. It maintains integrity to truth.
The viewpoint of "Awakel" is not narrow, but is international. "Awakel" has its own correspondents in scores of nations. Its articles are read in many lands, in many languages, by millions of persons.
In every issue "Awakel" presents vital topics on which you should be informed. It features penetrating articles on social conditions and offers sound counsel for meeting the problems of everyday life. Current news from every continent passes in quick review. Attention is focused on activities in the fields of government and commerce about which you should know. Straightforward discussions of religious issues alert you to matters of vital concern. Customs and people in many lands, the marvels of creation, practical sciences and points of human interest are all embraced in its coverage. "Awakel" provides wholesome, instructive reading for every member of the family.
"Awakel!" pledges itself to righteous principles, to exposing hidden foes and subtle dangers, to championing freedom for all, to comforting mourners and strengthening those disheartened by the failures of a delinquent world, reflecting sure hope for the establishment of God's righteous new order in this generation.
Get acquainted with "Awake!" Keep awake by reading "Awake!"
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CONTENTS
Should You Stoop to Conquer? 3
Practice Not Your Righteousness
Before Men 5
What Employers Look For in Job Seekers 9
Miles of Capillaries 12
The Marvel of the Setting Sun 13
Progress in Paraguay 16
It Rained in Rio 17
Design for a Bird's-Eye View 19
The Fascinating Story of the Elements 20
Where Prisoners Guard Themselves 25
"Your Word Is Truth"
Can Worldly Wisdom Bring Success?
Watching the World
Should You STOOP to Conquer?
SHOULD you stoop to conquer? That all depends upon what is being referred to as 'stooping to conquer.' The expression appears to have originated or at least been made popular due to its use in an English comedy of manners of about two centuries ago entitled "She Stoops to Conquer." The play dealt with a charming young lady of refinement who had been mistaken for a chambermaid by a well-t-do but very bashful young gentleman. Noting that he was not shy around chambermaids, she let him continue to think she was a maid, thereby giving him the confidence to court her. She won her man because she was willing to humble herself to play the role of a chambermaid, willing to stoop, as it were.
While there was nothing wrong with her stooping in this way to conquer her man, yet today, more often than not, "stooping" has an unfavorable connotation. Thus among the definitions given for "stoop" is "to lower oneself morally or in a degrading fashion."* Also, we are told that "Stoop, which literally means to bend one's head or back, as in going through a low-ceilinged passageway or low door, implies a descent not only in rank or dignity, but also, and more often, from
a relatively high moral plane to a lower one," such as when one "should stoop to lying."—Dictionary of Synonyms, Webster.
It is this sort of stooping that Dr. E. Boyd Barrett, one-time Jesuit priest, had in mind when he wrote his book Rome Stoops to Conquer, in which he described what he felt to be the efforts of the Catholic church to gain political power in the United States. He closed his book with the words, "Rome will use steel, and gold and the silvery lie. Rome will stoop to conquer."
The Bible gives us many examples of this kind of stooping to conquer. Did not Satan the Devil stoop to conquer in the garden of Eden? He did, for he stooped to lying to estrange the first human pair, Adam and Eve, from their Creator, Jehovah God. (Gen. 3:1-19) Thus also wicked Queen Jezebel gained the vineyard of Naboth for her husband Ahab by stooping to bribe false witnesses, as a result of which Naboth was stoned to death and her husband was able to take possession of the vineyard he coveted.—1 Ki. 21:1-16.
Likewise, one of the sons of David, ancient king of Israel, the beautiful and popular Absalom, stooped to lying propaganda in his efforts to conquer the kingdom of Israel, wresting it from his father.
Thus whenever anyone came to the capital with a grievance, he would win his allegiance away from his father King David by saying: "See, your matters are good and straight; but there is no one from the king giving you a hearing. . . . O that I were appointed judge in the land, that to me every man might come that happens to have a legal case or judgment! Then I should certainly do justice to him." By such means he well-nigh succeeded in wresting the kingdom from his father. —2 Sam. 15:1 to 18:18.
To stoop to conquer is to proceed along the vicious principle that the ends justify the means. But they do not. If you use questionable means to gain your ends you have lost more in self-respect than you have gained in a material way; which is why so many salesmen and politicians fail to sound convincing.
That a politician is stooping to conquer when he makes promises that he cannot possibly fulfill, for the purpose of getting votes, is obvious to all; and, of course, the same is true regarding the salesman who stretches the truth for the purpose of making a sale. But, actually, this kind of stooping is something that all lovers of righteousness must guard against if they would have the approval of their God Jehovah. Since the human heart is described as inherently "more treacherous than anything else," and the 'inclination of our hearts is bad from our youth up,' unless we are on guard we will be prone to stoop in one manner or another to gain our ends.—Jer. 17:9; Gen. 8:21.
For example, time and again the man of the house maintains his position as head of his family by what might be described as stooping to conquer. That is, he will stoop to ignoble tactics, such as being overbearing, domineering and harsh, so that his family will be in abject fear of
him and so give nim craven obedience. Or he may resort to losing his temper, shouting and throwing things around so as to show his authority. All such 'stooping to conquer' results in unhappiness, not only to his family, but also to himself. True, to rule in love may make it a little more difficult at times to show his authority and get his wishes, but the results will make it worth while. That is why the Scriptures counsel husbands and fathers: "Husbands, keep on loving your wives and do not be bitterly angry with them. You fathers, do not be exasperating your children, so that they do not become downhearted."—Col. 3:19, 21.
Of course, the same also applies to the wife and mother. Many a wife keeps nagging and grumbling so as to have her own way, and today children often do the same. But in doing so they are defeating their own ends, stooping to conquer, as it were; for what is home life without happiness and how can there be happiness when there is continual nagging and grumbling? Concerning the nagging wife, a wise king of long ago, who, incidentally, had much experience, once stated: "Better is it to dwell upon a corner of a roof than with a contentious wife, although in a house in common. Better is it to dwell in a wilderness land than with a contentious wife along with vexation." "A leaking roof that drives one away in the day of a steady rain and a contentious wife are comparable."—Prov. 21:9, 19; 27:15.
And not only within the family circle do you want to be on guard against yielding to selfish impulses by stooping to conquer but also in all your relationships with others, be they in business, in your place of employment or in the Christian congregation. Your being thus on guard will enable you to act justly and lovingly at all times, to the benefit of yourself as well as to the benefit of others.—Luke 6:31.
YOUR RIGHTEOUSNESS
Before Men
TRUE religion is distinguished from
false religion by motives as much as it is by commandments and principles. That is why Jesus Christ, the Founder of Christianity, warned his disciples against hypocrisy and admonished them not to perform their righteousness to be seen of men.
However, there exists in sinful man an overpowering temptation to do the very opposite, namely, to do evil secretly and good openly. Imperfect man's vanity taints what little good he may do when he performs his deeds to make himself conspicuous.
In his Sermon on the Mount Jesus commanded: "Take good care not to practice your righteousness in front of men in order to be observed by them; otherwise you will have no reward with your Father who is in the heavens." (Matt. 6:1) Christians are never to do bad either in public or secretly, but when they do good they are not to do it ostentatiously before men. To prevent his disciples from falling victim to this subtle human failing and snare, Jesus gave them instructions on how to practice their good deeds. For only right worship is rewarded by God.
ship and false worship, in its very motive, Jesus illustrated in his Sermon on the Mount. He used three examples—when giving gifts of mercy, when praying, when fasting—to press home his point. These are occasions when approval or commendation of men often proves a subtle temptation, when hypocrisy can disguise itself as righteousness and mock humility as worship.
Jesus teaches that God is the Searcher of hearts, that he detects hypocrisy and insincerity and that he hates these degrading qualities. He further instructs that worship is without reward from God unless it is genuinely given to the true God. Therefore, this contrast between true wor-
Gifts of Mercy
Speaking to his disciples, Jesus said: "Hence when you go making gifts of mercy, do not blow a trumpet ahead of you, just as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be glorified by men. Truly I say to you, They are having their reward in full. But you, when making gifts of mercy, do not let your left hand know what your right is doing, that your gifts of mercy may be in secret; then your Father who is looking on in secret will repay you."—Matt. 6:2-4.
The giving of gifts to the poor was stressed so much in Jesus' day that the idea of giving was to some people synonymous with "righteousness." The religious Pharisees participated in many collections for the poor. This opened up opportunities for ostentatious or showy giving. Some authorities state that literal trumpets may have been sounded, professedly to call the poor together to receive their gifts, when in reality the givers were merely drawing attention to themselves. Today large dinners and parties are often given, at which times the names of heavy donors and contributors are heralded over radio, television and in newspapers, praising them for their generous acts of charity.
Jesus was aware of the insincerity of pride and knew how easily it besets those who have a sense of duty toward God. So he warns against such ostentatious giving, for there is no reward from God in it. In colloquial English, he said: 'Don't blow your own horn when you do things for people.' 'Don't blow a trumpet' when engaged in the work of God. The hypocrites get what they want. They desire the reputation of being charitable. That they receive. Their reward is self-glory, self-praise. But it is an empty reward. There is no lasting joy in such pretentions. Ostentatious giving counts for nothing with God.
The 'hypocrites in the 'synagogues and in the streets' were those who pretended to be more plious than they were. The word "hypocrite" is taken from a Greek word meaning actor or stage player, one who acts the part of another, or speaks, not his own sentiment, but the sentiments of others. It simply means one who expresses feelings other than his own, one who, for purpose of gain, show or applause, puts on a form of godliness, a form of religion. The hypocrite appears to be deeply religious when in all truth he is not.
Jesus' words stand as a warning to true worshipers to guard against the subtle encroachment of such a mentality. He teaches us not to advertise our gifts of generosity. "Do not let your left hand know what your right is doing." (Matt. 6:3; Prov. 19:17) Thus Christians are taught to worship in truth, with all genuineness and by their unostentatious manner to teach others to worship likewise. For such sacred service there are blessings from God.
Watch How You Pray
Hypocrites manifest the same spirit about prayer as they do about giving gifts of mercy. They pray to be seen and heard of men. They are actors when praying. They seek out audiences and pour out their eloquence. In the synagogues, near the marketplaces and courts, where they could be seen of men in Jesus' day, they would recite long, loud prayers. Some persons had the idea that if a fifteen-minute prayer was good, a half-hour prayer was twice as good. Some Pharisees would actually stand praying for three hours! Others in the synagogue would say their own prayers instead of being content to join in the prayer offered in the congregation. Jesus condemned these practices, saying:
"Also, when you pray, you must not be as the hypocrites; because they like to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the broad ways to be visible to men. Truly I say to you, They are having their reward in full. You, however, when you pray, go into your private room and, after shutting your door, pray to your Father who is in secret; then your Father who looks on in secret will repay you. But when praying, do not say the same things over and over again, just as the people of the nations do, for they imagine they will get a hearing for their use of many words. So, do not make yourselves like them, for God your Father knows what things you are needing before ever you ask him."—Matt. 6:5-8.
Jesus does not condemn all public prayer; but the one who engages in public prayer must be of the same mental attitude as if he had gone into his private room and shut the door and prayed. Prayer involves a direct personal relationship with Jehovah God, and an attitude of play-acting, praying with the aspect of pleasing others, with the thought of recelving praise, destroys its spirit.
It loses its effect.
Jesus taught that prayer, whether it be public or private, must be genuine in word and act. God does not need to be preached to as if he did not know our needs. Yet Jesus does encourage persistence in prayer. (Matt. 7:7-11) Most important of all, man must be of the mental state that will prevent him from posing or acting before God. The worshiper must strip himself free of every disguise. His prayer must be childlike in innocence and simplicity.
Many Jewish houses of old had a place for secret devotion or prayer. In secrecy and in solitude men would pray to the Searcher of hearts. But are there any such secret places today? When away from home, when traveling, when among strangers in strange surroundings, when in automobiles or on ships, if we appreciate prayer we will find that secret place. We will search one out somewhere. The desire to pray and a love of prayer will stimulate us to find such places or opportunities in abundance. Jesus had the very problem we have of being surrounded, crowded in, watched, yet he found his "secret place," his "private room" in which to pray. Sometimes to be alone he arose early in the morning, before daybreak, went into a solitary place and prayed. (Mark 1:35) When was the last time you rose up early to pray? There are many "private rooms" or places in the early morning hours.
Jesus does not specify the times when we should pray or how often we should pray. He does tell us that prayers should be in secret and not repetitious. Not that we cannot repeat a thing or an idea from the fullness of the heart. Christ prayed all night at times. (Luke 6:12) His prayer recorded at John chapter 17 shows he repeated thoughts. There are so many things
to be asked that there are times when we may pray long without unmeaning repetition. What Jesus condemned was the thought that one would be heard because of the multiplicity of one's words. When such thinking begins, devotion ends. Use of vain repetition is still popular in the prayers of man in Christendom and heathendom. Prayer wheels of the Far East and the rosaries of the West are vain repetitions, according to Jesus' words. The Jews were guilty of the same practice. They believed that by saying many prayers they would be heard and that the one who prayed long would have his day prolonged. According to their canons, a man should pray at least eighteen prayers a day. Their prayer books abounded in tautologies, needless repetition in different words. It was these degrading practices that Jesus condemned.
Jehovah requires that we pray, that we may feel our dependence on him and that we may be brought into a proper state to receive his blessing and render him the praise. If we pray this way, regardless of the prayer's length, God will hear in secret and reward us openly.
Fasting Properly
As with giving gifts of mercy and prayer, motives are also important in fasting. The word "fasting" literally means to abstain from food and drink, whether from necessity or as a religious observance. In the Bible it is generally applied to the latter. It is then an expression of grief or sorrow. During times of sorrow there is often a loss of appetite and people often put off eating. Therefore, fasting is the natural expression of grief. It is what persons in grief naturally do.
The Jews, of course, made quite a show of their fasts, and Jesus was talking to them. Christians, on the other hand, were conspicuous because they seldom fasted.
The Jews had four annual fasts: in commemoration of the capture of Jerusalem, of the burning of the temple, in memory of the death of Gedallah and in memory of the beginning of the attack on Jerusalem. (Zech. 7:3; 8:19) In addition to these there were many other fasts kept by them. Many Pharisees kept two fasts each week. (Luke 18:12) They fasted on the days when Moses respectively ascended and descended Mount Sinai. This ritual they observed with faces unwashed, with drawn looks, in bare feet and with ashes on the head.
Just to win attention the Pharisees would suffer much and endure great pain and sorrow. However, their squalid, haggard and disfigured appearances deceived neither God nor man. God saw through all their antics. It is this pretense of piety that Jesus exposed as falsehood. Jesus taught men never to exhibit outwardly more than they feel inwardly. And never should they pretend to be what they are not, simply to be seen of men. In this connection, note the words of Jesus:
"When you are fasting, stop becoming sad-faced like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that they may appear to men to be fasting. Truly I say to you, They are having their reward in full. But you, when fasting, grease your head and wash your face, that you may appear to be fasting, not to men, but to your Father who is in secrecy; then your Father who is looking on in secrecy will repay you."—Matt. 6:16-18.
The Pharisees were more concerned with their outward appearance than they were with their inner or spiritual cleanliness. Jesus rebuked them for this, saying: "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because you cleanse the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside they are full of plunder and immoderateness. Blind Pharisee, cleanse first the inside of the cup and of the dish, that the outside of it also may become clean." (Matt. 23:25, 26) First, care for your spiritual appearance, for this God sees. When this is right, man's physical appearance will fall in line as a natural consequence. "Cleanse first," however, "the inside of the cup."
Jesus drove to the heart of the matter. Be what you are. Appear as you do daily. Do not assume any new appearance or change your dress because of fasting. The Jews made a lot of washing and anointing themselves, and in some lands they still do.
The meaning of Jesus' words, recorded at Matthew 6:17, 18, is, When you feel that you must fast, do so in an ordinary dress and appearance. Keep neat and clean as usual so as not to attract undue attention to yourself. God will know how you feel, and that is what counts with the true worshiper. He who sees in secret, Jesus said, will approve and reward such honest and sincere devotion.
When fasting becomes a parade of self-righteousness it ceases to have value before God. Jehovah is the Searcher of hearts. Who can deceive him?
In these three things Jesus taught us to examine the inner man, namely, our motive in giving, our motive when praying, our motive when fasting. Thus he impresses upon our minds the greatness of God, who cannot be deceived by subtle pretentions. Jesus calls for genuineness in worship, for honesty and truth from our very core, our very being, for pure motive in all our worship. "True worshipers will worship the Father with spirit and truth, for, indeed, the Father is looking for suchlike ones to worship him."—John 4:23.
WHAT EMPLOYERS LOOK FOR
THROUGHOUT the world each year millions of youths flood the labor market. Out of these millions, hundreds of thousands may still be looking for work the following year. And, perhaps, even a greater number will be unhappy in jobs for which they neither trained nor yearned.
Since the world is not so neatly packaged that you can go out and get any job you want, it would be wise for both youths and adults to learn what employers look for in job seekers. Armed with this knowledge, you are better equipped for cultivating the desired qualifications. This is especially vital for young men who plan to get married and rear a family. It would be good for them to know what they are going to face when it comes to getting and maintaining adequate employment.
Because of insufficient or inadequate training, some youths have found it necessary to work at two jobs, or the wife has had to work just to make ends meet. At times this has been because they have wanted many material possessions or have failed to budget their money properly. But often it has been a matter of not having the needed skills for the work that would be advantageous. A certain job may pay enough for a young man to get by on when he is single, but if he gets married and has a family, will it be enough? Will his wages provide adequately for a home, meet medical expenses and the other needs of our times? These are but a few things that youths planning to enter the labor market should think about. A sound program for developing needed skills, planned early in life, may prove beneficial in later years, both in a material and a spiritual way.
The hiring of beginners is often considered risky by employers, especially so if the job requires much training. Therefore, about the first thing an employer wants to know is whether the job applicant has the necessary educational background.
Now, suppose you tell the company's hiring agent that you quit high school before graduation; what sort of impression do you think you will make? Immediately the agent is aware that he is faced with a quitter. And the risk in hiring a quitter is great. The employer becomes suspicious that you will sooner or later quit on him too. If other persons are available who have not quit school and who possess assets equal to yours, then why should the hiring agent feel obligated to take the risk? Most likely he will not. Labor-wage statistics for
the United States show that dropouts are on the bottom of the wage scale, that the average dropout makes $2,000 a year less than the average high-school graduate, which underscores what employers think about dropouts.
Employers, as a rule, believe that the high-school graduate has developed, during his four high-school years, a certain outward poise. To graduate from high school is an attainment, and because of this employers are of the impression that the youth is dependable and reliable, to a degree, at least, and that he can be trusted with some responsibility. Therefore, a diploma is viewed as proof of ability to learn, as evidence of stick-to-itsiveness and dependability.
Skills and Schools
More and more, better jobs are going to those who can show that they have skills. If you are of school age you may find that you can receive considerable help in learning a trade during your high-school years. Some schools offer programs in which the student holds a job part of the time and attends school part of the time, to learn a trade or a skill. If you are not aware of the programs available in your school or neighborhood, inquire of your school-teachers. They may suggest what studies or courses to pursue that would be of maximum benefit to you in preparing for a job.
In addition, many local school systems, with the help of local businessmen, are developing post-high-school cooperative courses in what is called "distributive education." Those who enroll in these programs divide their time about equally between study and work in their special field. Training is given in a variety of business activities. You may inquire whether your school has such a program in force.
Another thing that can be done is to arrange for an interview with a work counselor. He, no doubt, will ask you about your studies, your interests, your hobbies and any work that you have done. He can tell you what the qualifications are that employers in various fields are looking for. You may discuss with him which jobs interest you and which you are best qualified to learn. A professional counselor can also give you useful suggestions on how to apply for work, how to present yourself to an employer during the employment interview and where and how to look for a job on your own. This information can prove invaluable when you are first starting out.
If you have completed high school, and feel that you need specialized training, you may choose to attend a trade school for a time. Depending on the kind of skill desired, some students who think they need a four-year college education would be wiser to consider a shorter technical program in a trade school, where they are not as likely to be saturated with worldly philosophy and where they actually learn a skill that can be put to good use. Courses generally consist of basic mathematics and science, administrative and management training; general education subjects; training in the ability to read, write and interpret technical and scientific data.
Some occupations, especially manual crafts and trades, require several years of preparation. For one to become an apprentice to learn a trade, he needs an employer to sign a contract, agreeing to train him. Apprentice-training contracts are carefully controlled in many countries, to be sure that you get the training promised.
Available, also, in America is excellent free training in high-demand skills under Federal and State vocational programs.
Daytime and evening courses are given at local high schools, technical institutes and other special schools. At these schools you can learn to become a technician in airconditioning, heating and refrigeration; an architectural draftsman; a dental hygienist, one who assists a dentist in his professional duties; and scores of other trades. When you finish the course you have an associate degree or a certificate indicating your qualification as a technician.
follow rules, laziness, absence or tardiness without cause, troublemaking, lack of initiative, too little or too much ambition, disloyalty, irresponsibility, lack of adaptability and misrepresentation.
For example, one attractive seventeen-year-old girl dressed sloppily and noisily chewed gum. When she applied for a sales job she did what was natural to her. She snapped gum during the job interview and wore an untidy dress. It was only after
To what extent are these provisions available? Every major city in the United States has one or more of these schools
where skill can be acquired at a minimal cost. This may mean that you might have to move to a large city to get the training you want, but it is wise to in-
she consulted a counselor that she was advised about her chewing habits and dress. She corrected these objectionable habits
ARTICLES IN THE NEXT ISSUE
God Is Alive!
Technical Science Speeds Postal Service.
Modesty Bafita the Medical Profession.
The Revolution in Office Copying.
vestigate before making any major move. Be sure the school offers you the training
and got a job. Learn now the importance of a neat appearance and of good grooming. Overdressing, like slovenliness, should also be avoided.
While a neat appearance and good grooming are decided assets, still more is
you desire.
Desirable and Undesirable Qualities
Repeated studies show that employers are desirous of good personality qualities along with working skills. They want applicants who not only have ability but also are dependable and trustworthy. They want workers who have initiative, are efficient and loyal, who have a good attendance record, are cheerful, helpful and unselfish, and who will persevere. Most of these desirable qualities should be devel-
desired by employers. Another girl, eighteen years of age, was neat, well-groomed and efficient, but failed to get a job. What was her problem? When a job recruiter told her the pay offered, she told him in a sarcastic tone that friends advised her not to work for "those wages." The employer phoned the employment agency and said he would not hire this applicant under any circumstances. Her attitude and manner were so unsatisfactory that he felt that she should not be referred again.
Remember, a pleasant, friendly person-
oped or attained early in life. This will require that some attention be devoted to correcting or overcoming any objectionable personality traits.
Authorities say that more workers lose their jobs due to poor qualities of personality than due to lack of skill. Some of the qualities found most objectionable by employers are carelessness, unwillingness to MARCH 82, 1966
alty, a mild and gentle disposition are viewed by an employer as being just as vital as your skills in typing, bookkeeping and shorthand. Politeness is a quality appreciated by employers. There is always the need for tact, gentleness and cooperation. When asked a question, give full information, but never brag.
Honesty is another quality that is vital to an employer. A seventeen-year-old high-school graduate had specialized in shorthand and typing.
She applied for a job and told her employer she was eighteen. Two months later her employer learned her true age and dismissed her at once. Through this misrepresentation this girl hurt her chances for obtaining future jobs. Employers desire workers who are honest.
Showing Enjoyment of One's Work
Employers want more than a worker who does his assigned work. They want to see their workers enjoy what they are doing, and not just for them to be going through the motions in a perfunctory fashion. This enjoyment of one's work reflects itself in various ways.
Promptness is one way that enjoyment of and appreciation for one's work is reflected. Starting on time and giving of oneself fully are things that the worker has agreed to do. But when he responds to his assignment with willingness, then this contagious enthusiasm is reflected and is appreciated not only by the employer but often by the other workers as well.
Enthusiasm is also a desirable quality, showing enjoyment of one's work. Employers like to see enthusiasm reflected with a businesslike seriousness. They do not care for a flippant, frivolous attitude. Life is serious business. So they appreciate controlled thinking and speaking.
Remenper, even if a worker shows fine qualities of personality, he still must have the ability to do his work well. There is no substitute for skill.
A wise person does well to bear constantly in mind that spiritual interests should come first in his life; that education and secular employment are merely means to an end, which is to provide the necessities of life while he treasures up for himself a fine foundation for the future, in order that he may get "a firm hold on the real life." (1 Tim. 6:19) If a person allows either worldly education or secular employment to detract him from this goal, then he has missed life's meaning and purpose. For, in the words of Jesus Christ, "even when a person has an abundance his life does not result from the things he possesses."—Luke 12:15.
Nevertheless, good jobs can mean much. If personal skills are used as the Christian apostle Paul used his tentmaking skills, namely, to maintain himself in the ministry, then these skills are desirable assets. Those with good-paying jobs who have a balanced outlook on life are not pressed into doing extra work because of material necessities. They enjoy greater job security and often work fewer hours. These advantages can combine to enable one to devote more time to spiritual pursuits, to assume greater responsibilities in the congregation of God's people.
Miles of Capillaries
A recent scientific report estimated that a human has some 60,000 miles of capillaries in his body. These were compared to miniature tunnels that connect a very small vein at one end with a very small artery at the other end. Though only three-thousandths of an inch in diameter, one important function of the capillaries is to allow nutrients and oxygen to move through their "walls" to the surrounding tissues and to permit carbon dioxide and other wastes to be picked up and carried off by the blood. As man learns more about the marvelous body that God has given him, he has all the more reason to agree with the comment of the ancient psalmist: "In a fear-inspiring way I am wonderfully made. Your works are wonderful as my soul is very well aware"—Ps. 139:14.
AS THE busy housewife, duster in hand, hastens to put the final touches to her day's cleaning, just before the family get home for the evening meal, she may chance to look out the window and be held spellbound by the gorgeous display of the setting sun. Little does she realize, perhaps, the very real relationship that exists between those dust particles she seeks to banish and the glorious scene that swiftly develops before her eyes.
On first thought, there would seem to be little in common between the sunset's glories and the grayish film that settles on furniture and all around the home. But there is, for dust is the little-appreciated medium by which the light from the sun is reflected and scattered throughout the atmosphere.
Can you remember how, as a child, you were entranced by the beam of sunshine streaming in through the living-room window? With curiosity you noted the myriad tiny dust particles that seemed to flutter endlessly. You would not have seen those particles filling the air had it not been that they were lighted by the sun's rays; and you would not have noted the beamlike form of the sunlight had it not been for the presence of those particles.
The lower atmosphere enveloping our earth is filled with these tiny floating particles of every type and shape, some large enough to see, but most of them so small
that even a powerful microscope would not reveal all of them, and so light in weight that it may be many months or even years before they settle down somewhere. And when they do settle, the slightest air turbulence can send them off again in flight. Some of these particles have the ability to absorb water and thus become the nuclei around which droplets of moisture collect, which droplets in turn merge into vapor clouds in the sky.
Basis for the Colorful Sunset
The scattering of light by dust particles in the atmosphere results from the principle that, when light encounters an obstacle, some of it is reflected, some is absorbed by the obstacle and, if the intervening body is not opaque, some of the light is passed on, though in a somewhat modified form. Light is generally believed to be of a wavelike nature. It proceeds from its source outward in all directions, like ripples in a pond into which you have tossed a pebble.
Something else we should keep in mind about sunlight: It is composed of all the marvelous shades and tints you ever beheld, in fact, some two million of them. Looking at sunlight through a glass prism, you can see a number of the outstanding colors: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, violet. But between these the graduating tints (lighter) and shades (darker) are almost innumerable.
Light of different color moves in waves of varying length. For example, waves of blue light are much shorter than those of orange and red. Red light waves, in fact, are over twice the length of the violet.
The myriads of tiny specks floating around in the atmosphere have the ability to reflect and disperse the colors of shorter wavelength, namely, the violets and blues. Hence we note that the bluish shades are
tries release plenty of material into the atmosphere. Dust particles may be of animal, vegetable or mineral origin. The type of dust in the air, and its predominant color in any given region, will produce varied light effects, just as you get varying results by looking at the sunlight through several different colors of glass.
Another variation in color effect is produced by the alterations in the distance through which the sunlight must penetrate
Hence we not that the sunshades are spread across the heavens, producing the beautiful blue vault of the sky with which we are all so familiar. At the same time, and for the same reason, the sun appears to us much yellower in color than it really is—so much of the blue color having been filtered out by the atmosphere before its light reaches us.
If our earth were devoid of atmosphere, surrounding space would all look black to us. Our main source of light then would be the reflective properties of the various portions of earth's surface. Of course, we
through which the sanguine muse penetrate the dust-laden air to reach various spots on the earth's surface. At the equator, the sun's rays are falling more or less perpendicularly, this representing the shortest span from the sun. So the rays have to penetrate a minimum of dust particles. In the northerly latitudes, however, the sunshine strikes the earth's surface obliquely, and so the light has to traverse a much thicker belt of atmospheric dust.
Palette of the Atmosphere
portions of earth's surface. Of course, we would get a fine view of other stellar bodies around us in space, but we would sorely miss that cushioning property of the atmosphere that permits air near the earth to cool off gradually after sunset, and to warm up gradually at dawn. The swift changes in temperature would be unendurable.
Even if our atmosphere only lacked the ability to scatter light, we would be exposed to unbearable sun glare, far beyond that of the hottest equatorial noon. And it
When the sun goes down, the spot on which we are standing is being carried farther and farther from the direct light of the sun, because of the earth's rotation on its axis. As this takes place the sun's rays are reaching us on an ever-lengthening diagonal route through the dust-filled air, and the light is being filtered through ever deeper layers of dust. The effect then is that even the yellows and oranges and reds are now reflected and absorbed and scattered across the western sky, as from a
is this ability of the dust in the atmosphere to spread light that provides for the gradual shading off of day into night and for those softer outlines that please and soothe the eye. In effect, our dusty atmosphere furnishes an indirect-lighting system.
The sources of dust in the air are many and varied. Desert sandstorms, volcanic eruptions and chemical and other indus-
gigantic palette. Add to this the presence of multiformed clouds with their odd silhouettes partially obscuring the declining sum, and you can grasp some of the mechanics of the colorful sunset.
Those familiar with the vast rolling prairie lands of the West are likewise familiar with the variety and phantasy of its sunset displays. The glow of gold gently merges into the lighter reddish tints, and then the show winds up with the crimson splendor flooding the whole western sky.
Another very beautiful sunset is produced by what is called the mackerel sky. The peculiar cloud formation, against a background of sunset colors, so closely resembles the markings on the skin of the mackerel.
In other parts of the world, too, unusual sunset effects are often observed. For example, at sea the brilliant colors are sometimes transferred to the waters themselves, giving the illusion of a red ocean. Another maritime sunset has been called the peg top because the sun's disk is somehow distorted by the watery horizon into the shape of the upper half of a boy's spinning top.
In far northern latitudes during the summer season the clearly defined disk of the sun often assumes a rosy-pink hue as it slowly sinks below the horizon, while the sky continues to be suffused with light. Arctic travelers have also reported sunset experiences during which they had the sensation of walking on nothing. The brilliant colors of sunset, reflected equally by white vapors above and by glittering snow beneath, blended so perfectly that the horizon simply disappeared.
In the higher latitudes where there is an open view of the horizon, twilight lingers on until the sun's upper rim has sunk at least 18\circ below the horizon. This is why the sunset spectacles in these regions last so long. Reflections of sunlight from the clouds in the upper atmosphere continue to produce beautiful and colorful effects long after sunset, effects that we call afterglow. In equatorial regions, on the other hand, the sun's rim dips quickly and darkness arrives. This is because the sun, to the observer, is sinking behind the main
bulk of the earth at the center of the horizon. Its last rays escaping along the rim of the horizon to north and south are no longer visible to the observer.
That sunset displays produce varied mental impressions there is no denying. A pale, wan sunset suggests bleakness and loneliness. When the yellow hues predominate, there is a feeling of peaceful serenity communicated. The rich golden glow gives the idea of warmth and promise. At times, as long jagged bars of fiery red peep out between black and frowning cloud formations, there is something disquieting about the display. A sunset that features dark red, edged with black cloud, can even seem menacing. The greatest thrill comes when orange and yellow and red and purple shades appear in rich profusion, momentarily changing form and color with the movement of the drifting clouds. The pace of the show is usually fast. You have only to glance away for a moment, and there will be an entire change of scene.
The marvel of the setting sun has engaged the attention of artists and other lovers of beauty down through human history. It has been the inspiration of many a masterpiece. It has introduced the thrill of color into lives otherwise lacking in color. It induces in appreciative observers a sense of wonder that is most appropriate. Why? Because those beautiful displays are not the product of blind chance. The great Creator long ago established the principles whereby light and moisture would interact with solids of varying density to produce the gorgeous colors that invest our earthly home with warmth and vitality. As we breathlessly watch the sunset's marvelous progress, from rich to richer shade, we can derive deep satisfaction from the knowledge that we are watching a production of the Master Artist.
By "Awake!"
correspondent in Paraguay
PECULATION in the neighborhood ran high on January 11, 1965, as a truck pulled up to the Watch Tower Society's lot and unloaded building materials. "What would be going up here?" people wondered. "A private home or perhaps a theater?" In just a few days they knew that here, on the corner of one of Asunción's prominent avenidas, Jehovah's witnesses were constructing a building that would house a Kingdom Hall, a branch office for the Watch Tower Society and living quarters for some of the missionaries who are carrying on their ministry in Paraguay.
In a country where constructions of a religious nature drag on for years at times, the neighbors, and the thousands of people who passed by on their way to and from work and to the football games at the principal stadium three blocks away, were amazed to see the daily progress. Almost overnight the walls seemed to spring up, and other notable changes were observed. Even more amazing to those observing the progress were the groups of volunteer workers, including women and youngsters who showed up every weekend to do necessary menial work, even during the heat of the day when it was time for siesta.
But speed of construction did not lessen the quality of the building. A heavy foundation of reinforced concrete was poured instead of having the usual foundation of large rocks held together by a weak mixture of lime and sand. The entire roof, too, is of reinforced concrete. The outside of the building is painted a pleasant two-tone blue, and the windows are covered with practical yet stylish shutters of aluminum. The entire building, as one person expressed it, "appears just as if it had been sculptured out of a solid piece of stone."
October 23, 1965, was a big day for the missionaries, for on this day, some ten months after the start of construction, the move was made from the old rented branch missionary home to the new. Here at last was progress for which they had worked and prayed for a long time.
In this respect it is interesting to note that the ministerial activities of Jehovah's witnesses have been carried on in Paraguay in an organized way since the year 1939. During the service year of 1965, a peak of 541 ministers was reported, and these ministers devoted more than 120,000 hours of their time in helping their fellowman. Yes, theocratic progress here in
Paraguay made these new facilities necessary.
The dedication of the structure was deferred to coincide with the visit of the president of the Society, during his Central and South American tour. Dedication night fell on January 10, 1966, or exactly one year from the time that construction began. It was truly a joyful night. Representative brothers from most parts of the country were present along with a goodly number of interested people, and, when the final count was taken, a happy crowd of 370 was present. The Kingdom Hall was packed out, with the overflow group seated in the side patio. The program was touching. Apart from the main dedication talk, it was handled entirely by local brothers.
The Society's president took his listeners back to the time of the dedication of the tabernacle in the wilderness. He also gave a vivid description of the time when Moses stood atop Mount Nebo and could see the entire expanse of the Promised Land. To prove the Bible true in the matter, he told of his own experience when, during an airplane flight over this area at about the same height as Mount Nebo, he, too, could see what Moses saw just before he died the entire expanse of the promised land. He told of how the Israelites, after entering the Promised Land and later building the magnificent temple of Solomon, turned unfaithful and had their temple destroyed by a heathen nation. Thus, too, today it is not the building that is important, he said, but "it is you, the people, who are important, and what you do in the future as Jehovah's people."
And so another step in the progress of Jehovah's witnesses in Paraguay was taken.
By "Awake!" correspondent in Brazil
THERE had been some hot days at the beginning of the year, as there often are here before a shower. But, after all it was summertime in Rio de Janeiro. Then came the night of January 10. A heavy overcast finally erupted into a violent rainstorm. Rain, sheets of rain, pouring down, especially heavy in the southern part of the state of Guanabara, which embraces the city of Rio de Janeiro with its suburbs.
Rains always have been some problem in this city, which is built mostly just a little above sea level. A third of the total area of this city-state is made up of three principal mountain masses covered with deep-green vegetation, the highest peak being over one thousand meters (about 3,300 feet). Contributing to the peculiar charm of this city are spurs, hills and other elevations. The city itself is built in the hollows between many rugged, curiously shaped hills. But from all of these the rainwaters rush down toward the sea, sometimes flooding parts of the city when the rain is heavy. On many hills and mountain slopes are houses of all kinds, some hanging precariously to the slopes.
On this Monday night the rain was pouring down in what at first looked like a heavy summer shower. But it continued on and on. Next morning when the first reports were made public, it was apparent that it was not just another heavy downpour but a major disaster.
Repeated Rains Raise Death Toll
In twelve hours an average of 237 millimeters of rain fell, with certain places receiving as much as 287 millimeters (about 11 inches). This completely flooded some
lower parts of the city. It washed down hillsides, carrying along shacks, houses and even collapsing apartment buildings on hill slopes. Rain and mud raced through the lower floors of some buildings, completely destroying them. Landslides blocked main arteries with rocks, earth, mud, water and other debris. Rain washed away parts of hillside roads and streets, carrying away and burying cars, breaking power and telephone lines, destroying viaducts and killing scores of people.
It had not rained here like that in eighty-three years. Thousands of people were left homeless. Schools, government buildings, shopping centers and the biggest soccer stadium in the world, the huge Maracanã stadium—near which Jehovah's witnesses were planning to hold their regional "Word of Truth" district assembly—were transformed into temporary living quarters for many thousands of people.
By Tuesday morning over a hundred dead persons had been brought to the city morgue. However, it was known that a sizable number of other victims had not yet been found, since many lay buried under the avalanches of mud and debris.
Others had drowned. It was not yet possible to see the extent of the tragedy, which was to spread itself also over the neighboring state of Rio de Janeiro and other parts of the country, raising the number of dead into the hundreds.
For days the rains continued. A landslide of earth and rocks damaged one of the principal water mains, leaving part of the city, including the fashionable Copacabana beach district, without usable water for several days. The main communication arteries into Rio were partly blocked. The trains stopped running, bus connections out of the city were severely cut, and airports were temporarily shut down. Within the city, public transportation had to be reduced.
A Minister's Eyewitness Report
One of the seriously affected hill districts on a pass between two mountains is also the territory of one of the forty congregations of Jehovah's witnesses in the city. The local congregation overseer tells what happened there:
"When the rain started on Monday evening, I happened to be visiting at the home of a Witness near the ocean highway known as Avenida Niemeyer. Since the rather heavy rain did not stop, I decided to go home. A big boulder had crashed down the hill, blocking the road; however, by chance I got a ride on a bus that had turned around. Later I learned that the two little houses next to the one I visited had been destroyed by a landslide shortly after I left, but the home of the Witness had not been damaged at all.
"All during the night the rain kept pouring down. It was impossible to be of any help on the hill, since there was no light due to the power failure. But first thing the next morning other Witnesses
and myself checked to see if any of our Christian brothers needed help or were endangered. We discovered that huge amounts of earth and stones had slid down the hill, burying everything in their path and killing seventy people. However, none of the Witnesses had suffered loss, although some will have to move so as not to stay exposed in perilous places. Later that afternoon I checked on a group of Witnesses who lived on a spot that had become rather dangerous due to the rain. I invited them to the Kingdom Hall to have their Bible study and to spend the night there."
Arrangements were made to care for them. The Kingdom Hall, not yet quite completed, suffered no damage, not even a broken tile, although houses all around it had crashed down, and some mud had been swept up to one wall on the outside of the Kingdom Hall. This was promptly cleared away by the Witnesses and safety measures were taken to ensure no repetition of it.
A similar thing occurred on a different hillside location where a new congregation of Jehovah's witnesses had just been formed. There also no Witnesses were killed, and only one family suffered any material loss. The new Kingdom Hall remained safe, although avalanches of mud had crashed down on both sides of it not far away.
Interest in Assembly Despite Rains
In another area, some families of Witnesses living in a low place lost their belongings when their houses were flooded. The authorities evacuated them. When their congregational overseers found them and inquired about their condition, their chief concern was whether the "Word of Truth" assembly was going to be held on schedule. They determined that at least some from every family would be present.
As far as is known, no lives of Witnesses have been lost, and their material losses have been cared for by their congregations.
Many people commented on what they observed taking place among Jehovah's witnesses. They were also wondering if the Witnesses would still be able to hold their district assembly, January 13 to 16, in the Maracanazinho (the Little Maracanã) gymnasium.
But there, on Thursday, despite the rain and mud and transportation difficulties, was an initial crowd of almost 3,000. They had a pleasant surprise. That evening, the president of the Watch Tower Society, N. H. Knorr, addressed them for an hour on the subject "Finding Happiness." He also told them that he was on a quick inspection tour, preparing for next year's international assemblies in Central and South America. The one in Brazil is to be
held in January 1967 in São Paulo, the second-largest city in Brazil.
The assembly reached its climax on Sunday, at the public lecture, with an attendance of 14,094. Some from other states had not been able to come due to the transportation difficulties, and others had to go to one of the other assemblies in the series of ten for the same reason. But over fourteen thousand did assemble in the gymnasium despite the rain, even though the main arena still had some water in it.
To many, the prompt and loving action by the congregation overseers and their assistants on behalf of the needy highlighted a Bible prophecy. It proved that such ones are "like a hiding place from the wind and a place of concealment from the rainstorm" in more ways than one. (Isa. 32:2) Inquiries from all over the country and even from foreign lands showed the love on the part of their Christian brothers in other parts of the world.
DESIGN FOR A BIRD'S-EYE VIEW
On comparing human eye-ability with that of birds, we are forced to conclude that the bird's eye excels in a number of vital respects. This is attributed to the vastly greater number of visual cells in the lining of the bird's eye. Says one writer, A. Parmelee, in the book All the Birds of the Bible (1959): "While the retina of a man's eye contains some 200,000 visual cells per square millimeter, most birds have three times that number, and hawks, vultures, and eagles have a million or more per square millimeter."
The bird's eye also has superior ability to focus on small objects at a great distance, and to keep the object in focus while it swoops down upon it. The eagle, for example, can spot prey some miles off and dive to the precise location, never for a moment letting the quarry out of sight.
Displaying a depth of wisdom about earth's creatures that long antedates scientific discovery, God's Word, the Bible, has this gem: "Is it at your order that an eagle flies upward and that it builds its nest high up . . . ? From there it has to search for food; far into the distance its eyes keep looking."—Job 39:27.29.
WHEN oxygen, hydrogen, carbon, nitrogen and a small amount of other elements are brought together properly, what do you have? YOU!
Yes, the living substance that makes up your body cells, protoplasm, is composed of various elements of the earth. These elements are foundation blocks of our material universe.
What is an element? It is a substance that cannot be further simplified or decomposed by ordinary chemical means. As one scientist put it: "An element is a substance made up entirely of atoms of one single kind." In other words, when one has a piece of pure gold, it contains nothing else but gold atoms.
Elements are usually described as either inert (inactive) or active. Inert elements, such as helium or argon, will not combine with other elements. But active elements can be combined. When they are, a compound is formed, a substance new and different from the elements that make it up. For instance, if 56 parts of iron are mixed with 32 parts of sulfur and heated, a new and different substance, iron sulfide, is produced. Chlorine gas by itself is a poison. So is the element sodium. But when combined, the result is a compound entirely different from either element, sodium chloride, ordinary table salt!
Active elements have enough differences in their characteristics so as to be divided into two general groups, metals and nonmetals. Metals, such as iron, aluminum, copper and others, are usually distinguished by a metallic luster, are generally good conductors of heat and electricity, and can usually be drawn into wire or hammered or rolled into sheets. The nonmetals, such as silicon, selenium, phosphorus, sulfur and others, do not have the
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