Awake!, March 22, 1994

Awake! — March 22, 1994

Source: jw.org

Contents

Page Two

Love of Money—A Root of Much Evil

Is the Worker Worthy of His Wages?

Helping Those With AIDS

How Can I Avoid Toying With Immorality?

From Hitchhiking Hippie to South American Missionary

The History of Ice Cream

“The City Having Real Foundations”

Watching the World

From Our Readers

The Dapper Dipper

An Event You Should Not Miss

Page Two

Page Two

The Money Chase Where Will It End? 3-11

It is pursued in many ways. Some choose crime. Some gamble for it. Some play the stock market. Some seek it through sports. Many work for wages. Some end up with millions; others end up in poverty. Is there a better way?

How Can I Avoid Toying With Immorality? 16

It is all too easy to drift into intimacies reserved for married couples.

From Hitchhiking Hippie to South American Missionary 19

A long journey with a happy ending.

Love of Money—A Root of Much Evil

Love of Money​—A Root of Much Evil

EACH generation may argue that they have seen the greatest quest of all for that most-​sought-​after commodity on the face of the earth​—money! Each can point to the wars they fought to gain wealth and riches, the length often determined by how long the money lasted.

Worldwide, people have been killed by the millions for money. Children of wealthy parents have been snatched away and held for ransom​—money the parents will pay for their safe return. Unsuspecting victims have been swindled out of their life’s savings by con artists. People’s homes have been ransacked and burglarized for money. Daring men have been labeled “Public Enemy Number One” because they held up a single bank. No single generation can lay exclusive claim to these shameful acts. No generation, for example, has witnessed a greedier quest for money than the one that saw a despicable culprit betray his best friend, the greatest man who ever lived, for 30 pieces of money.

Late in this generation, however, the chase for this ever-​elusive medium of exchange, styled by one American writer as “the almighty dollar, that great object of universal devotion,” has descended to new depths. No other generation has witnessed more daring bank robberies​—millions of dollars snatched from tellers at gunpoint, not simply by men and women but even by youths. Such thefts are now so prevalent that they receive little attention in the news media. Financial institutions by the scores have failed because greedy owners illegally manipulated millions in depositors’ money for their own personal use, thus draining bank assets and leaving many depositors virtually wiped out.

What can be said of today’s white-​collar workers who embezzle millions of dollars from their employers to try to sample the life-​styles of the rich and famous? Reams could be written about people who lurk on dimly lit streets to rob passersby of the contents of their purses and wallets. And what of the daring holdups witnessed by many in broad daylight, victims killed and their pockets emptied of money? In some urban neighborhoods, residents lament: “It is not will I be held up on my street but how often.” Some even carry ‘mugger money’ to appease the robber, who may in turn spare their life. Unfortunately, this concluding generation of the 20th century is experiencing the most ruthless quest for money that the world has ever known.

The Power of Money in the Family

Witness the day-​to-​day battles between husbands and wives over money. “Money is a magnet that draws in all the frustrations in our lives,” wrote one researcher. “You must understand how you and your spouse view and use money if you’re going to stop fighting about it,” she said. Whether families are rich or poor or are somewhere in-​between, most experts agree that couples fight mostly about money. “It amazes me,” said another researcher, “how many fights involve the spending or saving of money.” Consider, for example, the fabulously rich. Often the penny-​pinching mate seeks to save his or her money, while the prodigal one seeks to spend it. In spite of the wealth, battle lines are drawn​—not because of the lack of money but because of the abundance of it. There are those who marry for money, enjoy undreamed-​of life-​styles, and in due course divorce for staggering settlements of money.

In this money-​crazed system of things, money is a metaphor for power and self-​esteem. This often creates resentment when a wife earns more than her mate. When she does, her husband may feel that his power and self-​esteem are lost. Jealousy rears its ugly head​—not over some secret interloper—​but over that coveted almighty dollar that has dared to come between them. In the fight between money and love, all too often money wins hands down.

And so it goes. Truly “the love of money is a root of all sorts of injurious things.” (1 Timothy 6:10) Yet, the lack of money has brought great anguish and suffering to those who have been victimized by the ones chasing after it.

Money, Money Everywhere

It is often said that it takes money to make money. Witness the huge sums​—multimillions—​spent to lure the would-​be shopper into buying the products hawked by advertisers. Check your incoming mail​—maybe you will be the next to “win ten million dollars.” No one seems to be interested in just a million dollars anymore; now it is ten million and up. A number subscribe to magazines they do not want, and will probably never read, for fear of missing out on some windfall of money. The advertised promise “You don’t have to buy to be eligible to win” seems dubious to many.

Behold the states in America that now have lotteries with payoffs that can soar into the millions for the winners! A few million is “chicken feed.” These days, from 50 million to 100 million dollars may be won on a single drawing. There seems to be no end of money available for the jackpots. In many countries, national lotteries have been in existence for generations. People have spent an entire week’s pay on a single chance to win big money. Families have gone without adequate food and clothing​—the money is sacrificed to “the god of Good Luck” instead.​—Isaiah 65:11.

Take note of the millions who imagine winning large sums in games of chance. Consider those who play out their fantasies in gambling casinos throughout the world. With one roll of the dice, one draw of a card, one pull of a slot-​machine handle, they hope to fulfill their dreams. Always, however, it would be easier for such ones to grasp and hold oil in their hand.

And so the inexorable chase for the elusive dollar continues at full speed, a chasing after the wind. Even though some have amassed a fortune, they have found that suddenly, in one unexpected moment, it is gone. Wise King Solomon’s words should have significant meaning for them then: “Your money can be gone in a flash, as if it had grown wings and flown away like an eagle.”​—Proverbs 23:5, Today’s English Version.

Profile in Contrast

It cannot be denied that there are those who have brought great suffering to themselves and their families by spending their last dollar on a game of chance. Often they are poor, with little means, earning little more than a meager livelihood. Others are lazy and prefer gambling in quest of an unearned dollar. Today, however, most of the world’s poor are victims of circumstances beyond their control. Those with barely enough education to be able to write their own names can be counted in the untold millions. With countless others, failing local economies have brought their earnings to a poverty level. Even those with college degrees have had to face rejection of their applications for employment. As large corporations cut back on production because the supply of their products is greater than the demand, thousands more find themselves out of work. How do they cope?

Opportunities to get some money by dishonest means may appeal to them. They may reason that the end justifies the means. “I will do anything to feed my family” is a common attitude among those facing dire financial straits. The dishonest pathways are many, prostitution by women, thievery by men. Is dishonesty, stealing, or gambling​—chasing after the unearned dollar—​ever justified? The world is full of those who think so.

Do you believe in the Grand Creator, Jehovah God? His counsel is to throw your burdens on him, to rely on his support in times of need. After some 25 years of Christian experience, the apostle Paul could write: “I know indeed how to be low on provisions, I know indeed how to have an abundance. In everything and in all circumstances I have learned the secret of both how to be full and how to hunger, both how to have an abundance and how to suffer want. For all things I have the strength by virtue of him who imparts power to me.” (Philippians 4:12, 13) Obviously, Paul did not resort to dishonest means when he was low on provisions, but he trusted in Jehovah and was sustained.

So if you are poor, in want, do not seek dishonest gain. Certainly it is not wrong to make money honestly; Jesus himself said that “the worker is worthy of his wages.” (Luke 10:7) Nor is there any wrong in being rich. But never resort to moral compromise to meet your needs. Build a relationship with your Grand Creator, Jehovah God, and rely on him to help you cope with life’s hardships and problems. “Throw all your anxiety upon him, because he cares for you.”​—1 Peter 5:6, 7.

Is the Worker Worthy of His Wages?

Is the Worker Worthy of His Wages?

LOOK at them! They seem barely to survive, often in squalid housing, many times with only the bare essentials, even though many of them live and raise families in an affluent nation. They are the migrant workers, as many as five million in the United States alone, who pick the fruits and vegetables for some of the nation’s largest corporations.

See their scarred and aching bodies laboring in the broiling heat. Watch them try to straighten their backs after long hours in a stooped position, picking vegetables that will adorn the shelves and bins of distant stores and supermarkets. From sunup till sundown, six and seven days a week they will be there. See the children, working alongside their parents and often their aged grandparents. Many of the youngsters are taken out of school at an early age because their parents follow the crops that come in, season after season. All of this just to eke out a mere existence.

Does the constant noise of low-​flying aircraft bother you as you watch these laborers toil in the fields? Do the noxious pesticides from the plane’s spray nozzles cause your eyes to burn and your skin to sting and itch? Are you afraid of the short- and the long-​range dangers to you? The workers are. The spray is ever on their clothes, in their nostrils, in their lungs. They have watched these pernicious chemicals take a toll on their children and aged parents. They have seen family members and fellow workers incapacitated at an early age because of pesticide poisoning.

One child, now in her early teens, was born with a dislocated hip, no chest muscle on the right side, and one side of her face paralyzed. Her father believes that her deformity was caused by pesticides sprayed on strawberry fields during her mother’s pregnancy. It has been reported that pesticide exposure alone affects 300,000 workers a year and that migrant workers have a disability rate five times that of workers in any other industry.

If your emotions are not overtaken by the mere sight of them toiling in the fields or by seeing their squalid living conditions, then listen to their words. “This work makes you tired to death,” sighs one mother of seven children after a long hard day in the field. “I’ll probably just wash and go to bed. I slept past 4 this morning and didn’t have time to make lunch, so I haven’t eaten. Now I’m too exhausted to have a meal.” Her hands are blistered. A fork or spoon would make eating painful.

“[Our children] help us sometimes on weekends,” said another mother, “and know what it’s like to work in the fields. They don’t want to do that for a living. . . . I still have splinters in my hands from picking oranges last winter.” Said her husband: “We work from sunrise to sunset six days a week. . . . But we’ll probably be doing this our whole lives. What else are we going to do?” Together the couple earns a meager $10,000 a year​—poverty level by American standards.

Workers are afraid to complain for fear of losing their jobs. “You complain,” said one, “they won’t call you back.” Many of the migrant workers are husbands and fathers who have had to leave families behind to follow the crops, since housing, often cinder-​block barracks that quarter up to 300 workers, is too filthy and cramped for other members of their family. “It would be sweet to live with [my family] year-​round,” said one father, “but this is what I have to do.” “We’re already at the bottom of the barrel,” said another. “We’ve got nowhere to go but up.” To add insult to injury, many of these are also at the bottom of the pay scale. To some, $10,000 a year for a family of workers looms large, a salary they cannot hope to reach. “Growers can pay Third World wages and simply expel any workers who don’t do exactly as they are told,” wrote People Weekly magazine. “The worker is worthy of his wages,” Jesus said. (Luke 10:7) Migrant workers must wonder when this principle will apply in their lives.

Those Who Teach Our Children

Consider, now, those whose occupations have made them responsible for teaching children and adults reading, writing, spelling, arithmetic, basic science, conduct in the workplace​—components of a basic education. In institutions of higher learning, educators teach law, medicine, chemistry, engineering, and high technologies, fields that command the more lucrative jobs in this computer and space age. Because of the extreme importance of the teaching field, would these educators not rank high as those worthy of wages appropriate to the invaluable service rendered? When compared with people whose wages seem outrageously out of proportion to the work they do, it would appear that society has placed a low valuation on the teaching profession.

Late in this 20th century, teaching has become a high-​risk occupation in some places, not only in high schools but in elementary schools as well. In some localities teachers are instructed to walk with sticks in the classrooms and the playing fields to defend themselves against unruly children. Guns and knives are carried by schoolchildren of all ages, on their person and in lunch boxes.

Teachers, both men and women, have suffered bodily harm inflicted by students. In secondary schools in recent years, more than 47,000 teachers and 2.5 million students became crime victims. “The problem exists everywhere,” reported the teachers’ newspaper NEA Today, “but it’s worse in urban areas, where each year a teacher faces a 1-in-50 chance of being attacked in school.” The widespread use of drugs and alcohol in schools has increased the frustration of teachers.

To add to their burden, in some areas teachers are expected to continue their professional growth throughout their career, to use their vacation time to take advanced courses or to attend conventions or seminars for teachers in their field. Yet, would it surprise you to learn that in some major cities in the United States, the pay level for school custodians​—those responsible for keeping the schools clean and repaired—​can top teachers’ salaries by $20,000?

Salaries for teachers vary from country to country, from state to state, and from district to district. In some countries the pay scale for teachers is the lowest in the nation. Even in more affluent countries, reports indicate that for the responsibility resting on the shoulders of educators, their wages are inequitable.

As reported in The New York Times, one critic of the pay scale for teachers and educators said: “The vocational professions in the United States, such as teaching . . . , have always been very poorly compensated or rewarded. The public has always thought, ‘well, that’s their [thing], that’s what they’re happy doing.’ I don’t think that is very fair, and I don’t think it is very intelligent.” Consider, for an example, this report published in The New York Times: “College and University faculty salaries in the 1991-92 academic year rose at the smallest rate in 20 years,” an average of 3.5 percent. “When the 3.5 percent increase is adjusted for inflation,” a researcher noted, “salaries grew at a minuscule 0.4 percent.” Concerns mount that because of low salaries paid responsible educators, many might be forced to leave the teaching profession for better paying jobs.

And Then There Is Sport

A contrasting example of salaries out of control is the sports world. How do the poverty-​level migrant workers and inequitably salaried educators view the extravagant take-​home pay of sports figures?

Does the average policeman walking his beat and the fireman living by the alarm​—people who risk their lives every day on the job—​smile with approval at the outlandish salaries that professional athletes are paid because they are heralded as stars? In the United States, over 700 police officers have been killed in the line of duty in the last decade. Fireman fatalities are also high. Yet, these highly trained professionals have been universally recognized as being grossly underpaid. Would they not question the value society has placed on their jobs and lives?

Consider baseball, for example​—a major drawing card for sports fans in the United States, Canada, and Japan. More than 200 major league players in the United States earn more than a million dollars a year. At the end of the 1992 baseball season, 100 players signed contracts guaranteeing them $516 million. Of these, 23 signed deals worth more than $3 million a year. Eclipsing these staggering wages of lesser-​known players are the contracts of those more in the limelight, who signed for more than $43 million for six years of play and $36 million for five years. Each year salaries keep soaring, and new records are set for the highest paid in baseball history. Football too has seen players’ salaries skyrocket to an average of $500,000.

These salaries prompt the question, Can the average reader imagine picking up a weekly check for $62,500? “Yet that is exactly what all those million-​dollar quarterbacks in the National Football League do each week during the 16-​week season,” reported The New York Times. “Or how about a $2 million baseball player, who gets a $75,000 paycheck every two weeks? After taxes, he has $50,000 to tide him over until the 15th of the month.” This does not include the money paid the sports star for product endorsements, autographed baseballs, autographs for fans, and appearance fees, which together can run into the millions. Here again, what is the underpaid teacher to think when he or she makes less in one year than an athlete can make in a single game?

Because of the power of television, professionals in golf, tennis, basketball, and hockey have also come into a monetary bonanza. Stars in their fields can count their income in the millions. A $42-​million contract is signed by a leading hockey player for six years. Another hockey player gets $22 million over five years, an average of $4.4 million a season even if he never puts on a pair of skates for his team because of injury or illness.

In one tennis match between two top professionals, one male and one female​—billed as the “Battle of the Sexes”—​the two dueled it out on the court for a winner-​take-​all purse of $500,000. Although the male won the prize, it is reported that they both got “substantial appearance fees, which weren’t announced but were estimated to be anywhere from $200,000 to $500,000 apiece.”

In such countries as Britain, Italy, Japan, and Spain, to name a few, salaries for professional athletes have gone through the roof​—unheard-​of sums in the millions of dollars. All of this prompted one top professional tennis player to label the salaries of the ’90’s “obscene.”

This is not to say, however, that professional athletes carry any blame for these high salaries. It is the team owners who bid for talent. Players merely take what is offered. Players can take credit for bringing in the fans to support the teams. The 1992 baseball and football seasons, for example, saw record attendances in many stadiums. This and television rights have brought in more revenue for the owners. Hence, some reason that the players are merely receiving their fair share.

The extravagant salaries paid for hitting a ball over a net, into a tiny hole, or out of a ballpark, in contrast with the poverty-​pay of migrant workers who toil long hours under a hot sun to harvest our food, is a sad commentary on the sense of values of an affluent society.

Consider another study in contrast, the profile of another well-​known professional. Operating with less than $2 million for research on a vaccine for preventing polio, the American scientist Jonas Salk and his fellow researchers toiled long hours in a laboratory formulating vaccine after vaccine, testing and retesting. In 1953, Salk announced the development of a trial vaccine. Among the first to receive the vaccine test were Salk, his wife, and their three sons. The vaccine was found to be safe and effective. Today, polio has been virtually wiped out.

Salk received many honors for his outstanding contribution in the prevention of this deadly and crippling disease. Yet, he refused to accept any cash awards. He returned to his laboratory to improve the vaccine. Obviously, his real reward was not money but satisfaction in seeing children and parents free from the fear of this grave danger.

Finally, consider being taught the prospects of living forever in a paradise earth, where sickness, disease, and sorrow are abolished forever. Imagine the handsome salaries that teachers of such good news could reasonably garner. Yet, there are such educators, and they are teaching free! No monetary reward for them! When Jesus said that ‘the workers are worthy of their wages,’ he was not talking about salaries for these teachers of this good news. (Luke 10:7) He said that they would receive their necessities. To such ones he also said: “You received free, give free.” (Matthew 10:8) What will be their reward? Ah, exactly what Jesus, the greatest man who ever lived, promised​—eternal life in a cleansed, paradise earth. Salaries in the millions of millions cannot equal that!

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Money, Fame, or Drugs​—Which?

The lure of fame and of millions of dollars to be earned in professional sports has prompted youths to resort to the use of anabolic steroids to build massive bodies and bulging muscles in an abnormally short time. Dr. William N. Taylor, a member of the U.S. Olympic Drug Control Program, warned that the use of these drugs has reached “epidemic proportions.” It is estimated that in the United States alone, some 250,000 adolescents use steroids.

“The pressure to use steroids in college is unbelievable,” said one professional football player. “Athletes don’t think 20 years ahead to what the problems might be if they use steroids. They don’t think 20 days in advance, especially at the collegiate level. The makeup of the athlete’s mind, particularly at a young age, is: I’ll do whatever it takes to get it done.”

“If I want to be a player,” said one aspiring pro-​footballer, “I’ve got to do them. . . . There’s so much competition in the weight room. You want to be bigger and stronger each year, and you see other guys making these gains, and you want to make gains, too. That mind-​set takes over.” In spite of that feeling, however, this athlete, without the aid of steroids, became what he set out to be​—a professional football player. He believes that steroids are “more dangerous to the game than street drugs.”

Reams have been written not only by doctors but also by those who have suffered the terribly harmful effects of steroids and other body-​enhancing drugs. The most serious reactions have resulted in death.

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Migrant workers harvesting garlic at Gilroy, California

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Camerique/​H. Armstrong Roberts

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Do not teachers rank high as those worthy of their wages?

[Picture on page 10]

Over 200 major league baseball players in the United States earn more than a million dollars a year

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Focus On Sports

Helping Those With AIDS

Helping Those With AIDS

“TOUCHED by AIDS, Minister Finds Doors Shut” was the title of an article in The New York Times. The newspaper related the story of a Baptist minister whose wife and two children became infected with the AIDS virus from a blood transfusion administered to her in 1982 (the children were infected in her womb). Subsequently, he and his family were discouraged from attending various Baptist churches because of the illness. Disillusioned, he stopped trying and quit the Baptist ministry.

This man’s frustration over the failure of his church raises several questions: Does God care for sick people, including those who have AIDS? How can they be helped? What precautions need to be taken when providing Christian solace for those with AIDS?

God’s Love for the Afflicted

The Bible shows that Almighty God expresses deep empathy for those who suffer. When on the earth, Jesus also displayed heartfelt pity for the sick. And God gave him the power to heal people of all their illnesses, as the Bible relates: “Great crowds approached him, having along with them people that were lame, maimed, blind, dumb, and many otherwise, and they fairly threw them at his feet, and he cured them.”​—Matthew 15:30.

Of course, today God has not given anyone on earth the power to heal people miraculously as Jesus did. But Bible prophecy shows that soon, in God’s new world, “no resident will say: ‘I am sick.’” (Isaiah 33:24) The Bible promises: “[God] will wipe out every tear from their eyes, and death will be no more, neither will mourning nor outcry nor pain be anymore.” (Revelation 21:4) In his great love for humans, God has prepared a permanent remedy for all ills, including AIDS.

Psalm 22:24 says of God: “He has neither despised nor loathed the affliction of the afflicted one; and he has not concealed his face from him, and when he cried to him for help he heard.” God’s love is available to those who sincerely call on him for help.

Who Contract the AIDS Virus?

AIDS is mainly a disease of life-​style. Many infected people agree in retrospect with Psalm 107:17, which states: “Those who were foolish, due to the way of their transgression and due to their errors, finally caused themselves affliction.”

When a person abandons Bible standards and engages in sexual intimacy outside of God’s arrangement of marriage, the risk of contracting AIDS or infecting others becomes very real. Also, when individuals share needles to inject drugs intravenously, they can get AIDS and can pass the virus to others. Additionally, many have got AIDS by means of blood transfusions from infected donors.

Tragically, however, staggering numbers of innocent people are being infected with the AIDS virus, and in several ways. For example, many faithful marriage partners, through no fault of their own, are contracting AIDS through sexual intimacy with their infected mate. Then too, especially in some areas, an alarming percentage of babies are acquiring the AIDS virus from infected mothers, making the newborn baby with AIDS one of the most tragic of victims. Also, medical personnel and others have acquired the disease because of accidents when they were handling tainted blood.

In whatever way AIDS is acquired by someone, the Scriptures are clear that God is not responsible for the transmittal of this deadly disease. Although today the majority of those affected have brought AIDS on themselves and have infected others by conduct that is not in harmony with Bible standards, the percentages are changing, reflecting larger numbers of innocent victims, such as babies and faithful mates.

The World Health Organization states that women throughout the world are now becoming infected with the AIDS virus about as often as men and that by the year 2000, the majority of new infections will be in women. Health workers in Africa say that 80 percent of AIDS cases there “are transmitted by heterosexual sex, and nearly all the others are transmitted from mother to child during pregnancy or birth.”

However, while God is opposed to any transgression of his laws, including violations that result in such suffering, he is quick to extend his merciful hand to all who are thus afflicted. Even those who have acquired AIDS by wrongful acts can benefit from God’s mercy by repenting and ceasing to do what is bad.​—Isaiah 1:18; 1 Corinthians 6:9-11.

What Is Known at Present

AIDS is a worldwide health problem. While scientists assure people that “HIV is not an easily transmissible virus,” it is small comfort to the millions who already have it and the countless millions who will get it in the years to come. The facts show that it is spreading throughout the earth.

Summarizing the usual methods of transmission, one authority says: “Virtually all HIV infections are transmitted through sexual contact or by exposure to infected blood.” Reflecting the conclusions of most in the medical profession, a report states: “For infection to occur, there must be an infusion of body fluid (almost always blood or semen) from an infected person into an uninfected person’s body.”

However, the phrases “virtually all” and “almost always” acknowledge the possibility of exceptions. So while the vast majority of the mechanisms for transmitting AIDS are known today by those in the medical field, in a very small percentage of cases, the mechanism for acquiring the virus may be unknown. Hence, there may still be need for caution.

How Will You React?

Some 12 million to 14 million people around the world are already infected with the AIDS virus. And estimates are that many millions more will be infected by the turn of the century. Thus, you have likely, or may soon, come into the company of those who have this disease. For example, in any large city, casual contact with such people occurs daily in workplaces, restaurants, theaters, sports arenas, buses, subways, airplanes, and trains, as well as in other public encounters.

So, increasingly, Christians may meet, and be moved to help, AIDS sufferers who want to study the Bible, attend Christian meetings, and progress toward dedication to God. How should Christians respond to these needs of the AIDS victims? Are there precautions that would be practical for the benefit of the sufferer and for those in the Christian congregation?

Based on the current consensus, casual contact does not transmit AIDS. So it seems reasonable that one need not be unduly fearful of being around people with AIDS. And since AIDS sufferers have a dramatically weakened immune system, we ought to be careful that they do not contract common viral infections that we might harbor. The damage to their body from such common illnesses may be great.

Because of the life-​threatening nature of AIDS, it is wise to keep in mind some reasonable precautions when welcoming an AIDS sufferer into our personal association or that of the Christian congregation. First, while no general announcement is to be made, we may want to inform one of the elders in the congregation of the situation so that he would be prepared to give a kind and appropriate response to any who may inquire about the matter.

Since the virus can be transmitted by an infected person’s blood, it may be reasonable for congregations to practice what are called universal precautions when cleaning rest rooms and spills, especially if blood is involved in the spill. “Universal precautions” is a term adopted by the medical profession to describe a set of rules whereby all blood from any person is considered contaminated and potentially hazardous and is therefore handled in a specific way. Because the Kingdom Hall is a public facility, it might be wise to have on hand cleaning supplies with a box of Latex or vinyl gloves available to provide proper care and cleanup in case of an accident. A 10 percent bleach (Clorox) solution is generally recommended for cleaning up blood spills.

In all our dealings with others, including AIDS victims, Christians are instructed to follow the example of Jesus. The compassion he had for those who were afflicted, and yet were sincere in their desire to please God, is worthy of our imitation. (Compare Matthew 9:35-38; Mark 1:40, 41.) However, since there is currently no cure for AIDS, it is appropriate that a Christian take reasonable precautions as he provides sympathetic help to those who suffer from it.​—Proverbs 14:15.

AIDS Victims Can Also Help

The prudent AIDS sufferer realizes that others are sensitive about this disease. Therefore, out of respect for the feelings of those who want to be of assistance, it would be better for the AIDS victim not to initiate public displays of affection such as hugging and kissing. Even if there is little or no possibility that such gestures could communicate the disease, this restraint will show that the victim is considerate of others, thus engendering similar consideration in return.a

Realizing that many have fears of the unknown, the person with AIDS should not be quick to take offense if he or she is not invited to private homes right away or if it seems that a parent restricts a child from being in close contact with him or her. And if one of the Congregation Book Studies is held at the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses, it may be wise for one with AIDS to choose to attend there, rather than in a private home, unless that one has discussed the situation with the householder.

AIDS carriers should also exercise cautious concern for others when, for example, they have an active productive cough and are known to have tuberculosis. They would then want to apply community health guidelines regarding this condition as respects isolation procedures.

Another situation in which an innocent person could become infected is by marrying someone who is unknowingly harboring the AIDS virus. The need for caution in such circumstances may be particularly necessary if one or both of the intended marriage partners had been promiscuous or had used needles to abuse drugs prior to coming to an accurate knowledge of God’s Word. Since there is a growing number of people who have asymptomatic HIV infection (that is, no outward symptoms as yet), it would not be improper for an individual or for caring parents to request an AIDS blood test of the prospective mate prior to engagement or marriage. Because of the devastating, fatal nature of this disease, a potential marriage partner should not take offense if that request is made.

If the test proves to be positive, it would be inappropriate for the infected party to pressure the intended mate to continue the courtship or engagement if the prospective mate now wishes to end the relationship. And it would be wise for anyone who previously lived a high-​risk life-​style, was promiscuous or used drugs intravenously, to choose voluntarily to be tested before beginning a courtship. In this way, hurt feelings could be avoided.

Thus, as Christians we want to act with compassion and not shun people who have AIDS, recognizing, however, that individual feelings may vary on this sensitive subject. (Galatians 6:5) With a disease such as AIDS, not everything is known, so there may be some hesitation on the part of many in dealing with the issues involved. A balanced view of the matter would be to continue to welcome AIDS victims into the Christian congregation and to show love and warmth to them, while at the same time taking reasonable precautions to protect ourselves and our families from the disease.

[Footnotes]

What should a person who knows he or she has AIDS do when he or she wants to become one of Jehovah’s Witnesses and get baptized? Out of respect for the feelings of others, it may be wise for them to request a private baptism, although there is no evidence to suggest that AIDS has been transmitted in swimming pools. While many first-​century Christians were baptized at large public gatherings, others were baptized in more private settings because of varying circumstances. (Acts 2:38-41; 8:34-38; 9:17, 18) Another alternative would be for the candidate with AIDS to be baptized last.

[Box on page 13]

My Heart Went Out to Her

One day while I was in the public ministry, I approached a young woman about 20 years of age. Her big brown eyes looked so sad. In trying to start a conversation about God’s Kingdom, I offered her one of the tracts I had in my hand. Without hesitation she chose Comfort for the Depressed. She looked at the tract and then looked at me and said in a hollow voice: “My sister just died from AIDS.” Before I finished expressing my sympathy, she said: “I am dying from AIDS too, and I have two small children.”

My heart went out to her, and I read to her from the Bible about the future that God has promised mankind. She blurted out: “Why would God care about me now when I have never cared about him?” I told her that from a study of the Bible, she would come to understand that God welcomes everyone who sincerely repents and comes to trust in him and in his Son’s ransom sacrifice. She responded: “I know who you are. You are from the Kingdom Hall down the street​—but would a person like me be welcome in your Kingdom Hall?” I assured her that she would be.

When she finally continued on her way, clutching the book The Bible​—God’s Word or Man’s? and her tract, I thought, ‘I hope she finds the comfort that only God can give.’

How Can I Avoid Toying With Immorality?

Young People Ask . . .

How Can I Avoid Toying With Immorality?

“I used to feel it was OK to neck and pet, that it was only a way of expressing my deep feelings and love. I thought I could stop before doing anything really serious like fornication. But I was so wrong.” So wrote a young woman named Valerie who fell into sexual immorality.a

CHRISTIAN youths know that the Bible condemns premarital sex. (1 Corinthians 6:9, 10) However, some may not realize that the Bible also condemns toying with sexual immorality​—indulging in intimacies that are clearly reserved for married couples.b (Galatians 5:19) Does this mean that it is wrong to express affection? Not at all.

The Bible tells the story of a Shulammite girl and a shepherd boy who were engaged. Their courtship was impeccably chaste and moral. Yet, they evidently did exchange some displays of affection before they married. (Song of Solomon 1:2; 2:6; 8:5) Today, some courting couples may likewise feel that holding hands and embracing are appropriate expressions of endearment when marriage seems imminent.c

It is all too easy even for a couple with honorable intentions to get carried away and begin toying with sexual immorality. How can they avoid doing so?

“Keeping on Guard”

At Psalm 119:9, the psalmist asked: “How will a young man cleanse his path?” The answer? “By keeping on guard according to your word.” One way to keep on guard is to watch who your friends are. “My friends are always putting pressure on me to go all the way,” says one American boy named Nakia. The Bible warns: “He that is having dealings with the stupid ones will fare badly.” (Proverbs 13:20) One youth magazine thus gave good advice when it said: “Work on finding new friends who share your values.”

Another way to keep on guard is to avoid compromising circumstances. Consider what happened when the Shulammite girl’s shepherd lover invited her on a romantic walk. His motives were innocent enough; he simply wanted to enjoy the beauties of spring with her. Even so, the Shulammite girl’s older brothers ‘grew angry with her.’ Not that they didn’t trust the couple. But they well knew the temptations that could arise if the couple were allowed to be alone in a romantic setting. The solution? The older brothers broke up the couple’s romantic plans and gave their sister a demanding job that would keep her busy.​—Song of Solomon 1:6; 2:8-15.

Being alone in a romantic setting continues to breed danger today. Recalls one teenage girl we’ll call Mary: “When we dated, we usually had a chaperon.” On one occasion, though, they found themselves alone in an apartment. “We got carried away. It was just stupidity on our part to let that happen. We had the attitude ‘It won’t happen to us.’ Well, now I know you have to have a chaperon all the time, no matter what. Make other arrangements if you can’t find anybody to go with you. We just let our guard down.”

Don’t let your guard down! If you are courting someone, plan your dates carefully. If possible, date in groups, or insist on a chaperon. Avoid risky settings, such as being alone in a parked car or in an apartment. Enjoying each other’s company on visits to museums, restaurants, skating rinks, and so forth is usually safer. Along the same lines, you might also keep in mind the words of Hosea 4:11: “Wine and sweet wine are what take away good motive.” Since alcohol tends to lower inhibitions, it makes good sense to be very careful regarding its use even if you are legally old enough to drink.

Setting Boundaries

Proverbs 13:10 gives another important piece of advice when it says: “With those consulting together there is wisdom.” Don’t wait until you are in some emotion-​charged romantic setting to establish ground rules. A courting couple is wise to set boundaries in advance, honestly discussing what expressions of affection are appropriate. Both, however, must follow the principle at Ephesians 4:25: “Speak truth each one of you with his neighbor.”

Suppose, for example, that a young woman feels her relationship with a young man has reached the point where a good-​night kiss is appropriate. The young man may feel, however, that given his own emotional makeup, a kiss would simply be too much of a temptation. Fearing rejection or perhaps feeling an obligation to please her, he may go against his better judgment. But embarrassing as it may be for him, he needs to speak truth and express his true feelings in this regard. Since Christian love “does not look for its own interests,” each should respect the other’s feelings​—and conscience—​in this matter. (1 Corinthians 13:5; 1 Peter 3:16) Granted, talking about such a sensitive subject can be difficult and embarrassing, especially in the early stages of courtship. But it can do much to prevent serious problems from developing later on. Interestingly, your ability to communicate and negotiate in these matters may also serve as an indicator of how much potential the relationship has for a solid marriage.

‘You Would If You Loved Me’

Sometimes, though, in spite of the best of intentions, a situation begins to get too heated. Now’s the time for you to speak up! Kindly but firmly put on the brakes, so to speak. Leave if necessary. (Compare Proverbs 23:2.) What if the person you are dating refuses to respect reasonable boundaries and continues to pressure you to go too far? Sad to say, some youths have fallen for such transparent lines as, ‘You would if you loved me’ or, ‘Everybody’s doing it’ or even, ‘We’re going to get married soon, so what’s the problem?’ As in Bible times, there are those who try to seduce ‘by the smoothness of their lips.’ (Proverbs 7:21; compare Psalm 5:9.) Don’t give in to verbal intimidation!

For one thing, someone who really loves you will never pressure you into doing something that violates your Christian conscience or that makes you feel uncomfortable. (1 Corinthians 13:5) Second, it is simply not true that ‘everyone is doing it.’ And even if everyone were, that would hardly mean that you should do it. Remember the principle at Exodus 23:2: “You must not follow after the crowd for evil ends.”

As for promises of marriage, nowhere do the Scriptures give engaged couples the permission to behave as married people. Besides, note the sad statistics reported in the book The Compleat Courtship, by Nancy Van Pelt: “More than 33 percent of the sexually experienced girls believed when they first had sex that they would marry the fellow​—but few of them did. However, only 7 percent of the sexually active fellows polled thought they would marry the young woman. One of two things was taking place​—either she was fooling herself or he wasn’t telling the truth. Take your pick.” A wise proverb says: “Anyone inexperienced puts faith in every word, but the shrewd one considers his steps.”​—Proverbs 14:15.

When You’ve Got Carried Away

Confesses a German youth named Thomas: “I had a steady girlfriend, and we went pretty far. But we always seemed to stop in time. This gave me the feeling that I could control myself.” That illusion led to his engaging in sexual immorality. Recall the Bible’s warning: “Consequently let him that thinks he is standing beware that he does not fall.”​—1 Corinthians 10:12.

What if a couple does fall into improper conduct? A young man named John says: “When my fiancée and I first started courting, our conduct was clean and kept on a high level. But one time we started kissing and petting​—almost to the point of committing fornication. It was then that I decided to speak with one of the elders in my congregation.” Yes, when a couple allows things to go that far, both need help! Do not deceive yourself into thinking you can solve the problem alone. “I’d pray, ‘Help us not to do it again,’” confesses one youth. “Sometimes it would work, but a few times it didn’t.” The Bible thus gives good advice when it says: “Call the older men of the congregation.” (James 5:14) These Christian overseers can give whatever counsel, advice, or reproof is necessary to get your relationship with each other​—and, more important, with God—​back on track.

It is far better, though, to take proper safeguards, to set boundaries in advance, and to be determined to stay clean in God’s eyes. In this way you can avoid calamity.

[Footnotes]

Some of the names have been changed.

See the article “Young People Ask . . . How Far is ‘Too Far’?” in our October 22, 1993, issue.

In some parts of the world, public displays of affection between unmarried individuals are considered to be in poor taste and offensive. Christians take care not to behave in any way that could stumble others.​—2 Corinthians 6:3.

[Picture on page 17]

A wise couple will say no to inappropriate expressions of affection

From Hitchhiking Hippie to South American Missionary

From Hitchhiking Hippie to South American Missionary

I WAS hitchhiking into Birmingham, England, with my French girlfriend in 1974. Two of Jehovah’s Witnesses driving home from work passed us, and as one of them, John Hyatt, looked back at us, he wondered aloud to his companion, “How do people like that ever learn the truth about God?” Of course, I didn’t know about this until later. Anyway, they didn’t stop for us; you wouldn’t have stopped either. I looked the typical hippie.

But let me start at the beginning. I was born in Richmond, Virginia, U.S.A., in 1948. The very first thing I remember is being five years old and not being able to walk. I had polio. My mother bathed me on a stretcher in the tub. Fortunately, after four or five weeks, with help from my parents and doctors, I recovered. I was able to walk again.

Ours was a typical Southern family​—conservative, Southern Baptist. Our parents required that we children​—two brothers, my sister, and I—​attend church until we were 18. At 18 we left the church. I had been baptized when I was seven years old, at a Billy Graham crusade. I was serious about my baptism; it was not done in an emotional frenzy. I remember distinctly that I dedicated my life to God, although I really didn’t know who he was.

Our parents taught us good morals, respect for authority, and respect for the Bible. Those early ideas influenced the decisions I would make the rest of my life. To this very day, I am grateful for that parental training.

In the sixth grade, I remember considering the world situation and thinking: ‘This can’t go on.’ Even then, I didn’t think the political systems could continue.

In my teen years, I developed scoliosis, an abnormal curvature of the spine, possibly brought on by the earlier polio. I became a guinea pig as the doctors imprisoned my body from hips to neck in a Risser cast, a jacket that acted like an exoskeleton.

Not the image I would have chosen. I looked like a walking statue. The other kids at school were kind, but the lesson that I learned while I wore the contraption my junior year in high school: Accept what we can’t change.

Attending college was expected of me, so I went. I was in the class of 1970. In the ’60’s the hippie movement was in full swing, and immorality and drugs were the order of the day. I worked my way through school, and my job in an office required that I have short hair and wear a suit. But the free spirit and nonconformity of my friends beckoned to me. They were as disgusted with the system as I was. I wore jeans under my graduation gown.

Education had not proved to be satisfying. Observing my wealthy uncle had convinced me that money wasn’t the answer. He was no happier than poor people. What was the point? So I dropped out, let my hair grow, and went in search of a real purpose in life.

I traveled in Europe on a Eurail pass and a thumb. My objective was to hitchhike around the world. Maybe somewhere I would find the answers. In my backpack I carried two pairs of jeans, three shirts, and a Bible.

Sitting in pubs, drinking beer and reading the Bible, I would ask questions of those around, getting all kinds of different answers. I was searching, looking, groping​—for what? I wasn’t sure.

In London the “Children of God” caught my interest. But like the message of all young hippies, their whole message was childlike​—undiscriminating love. No answers here for me.

On a tour of a very beautiful Anglican church, a former Catholic cathedral, I was awestruck. I asked the vicar who had conducted the tour why he had become a priest. He held his hand up and rubbed his thumb and fingers together in the sign of one feeling money! I was devastated. What hypocrisy! Fed up, I gathered up all my religious literature and put a match to it.

September 1973, I was on the road again, thumb out​—on to Liverpool to see the Beatles and hear their music. Gordon Marler picked me up. The Bible became the subject of our conversation because we both read it, and so we exchanged familiar scriptures.

Thereafter, Gordon became my “truth” connection. We kept in touch by letter and in the spring of 1974, he wrote that he was having a Bible study with Jehovah’s Witnesses. I had no reaction to the name Jehovah’s Witnesses, never having been contacted by them in Richmond. Months later a letter arrived with an invitation: “Come on up for a Bible study.” He said his study was on Wednesday evening. So on a Wednesday morning, the thumb was out again. My French girlfriend’s presence made it easier to get a ride.

We went with Gordon to his Bible study. The host turned out to be John Hyatt, the one who had passed us up earlier and had wondered, ‘How do people like that ever learn the truth about God?’ When introduced, he exclaimed: “Oh, the hippie couple from the road, the Yanks!”

And so it began. I had lots of questions as a result of my Bible reading. There wasn’t enough time to get the answers, since the Witnesses’ big convention was to begin early the next morning. John gave me a book, The Truth That Leads to Eternal Life, and told me to pick a chapter, bring all my questions, and come back the next Wednesday. He invited me to the convention on Sunday. The clean, polite people impressed me. My girlfriend wasn’t interested. When I told her that I loved God more than I loved her, she left.

On Wednesday, I was back at John’s house, having picked the chapter on Jesus Christ. I had specific questions about sexual conduct and Daniel’s prophecy of the 70 weeks of years. John was a full-​time evangelizer, who really knew the Bible. He told me the Bible’s view is that sex is restricted to married people, and he clarified the 70 weeks of Daniel for me. All the loose ends from my Bible reading were being nicely tied up. At two in the morning, I said: “This is the truth.” I had intended to sleep in the park, as I had frequently done in the past, but John said no and had me bed down on the living room floor.

It seemed providential that he did so, for that night a gang of skinheads were raising a drunken ruckus on the elevator. My appearance would surely have made me a target for a violent beating.

As the studies progressed, I learned that I had been right as a child. The system can’t go on. It is careening toward oblivion. God himself will make things right by means of his government, the Kingdom I had prayed for but never understood. (Daniel 2:44; Matthew 6:9, 10) My distaste for hypocrisy was validated. Jesus didn’t like it either. (Matthew, chapter 23) I had groped for God, and he had let himself be found by me.​—Acts 17:27.

I talked about this truth to everyone I met. Right away I wanted to go home and share the knowledge with my family. Back in Richmond, I did just that.

I also called the Kingdom Hall. Brother Herbert Lohwasser answered the phone. He was working on the new hall, preparing it for its dedication. I told him I wanted a Bible study. He told me about a large meeting the next day where all the city was invited to hear a Bible lecture. I went.

I stuck out like a sore thumb, my appearance announcing that I was a visiting stranger. A young single pioneer there named Mike Bowles introduced himself and invited me to sit beside him right up front. Afterward, the crowd was buzzing with the question, “Who was that girl with the long beautiful hair sitting beside Mike Bowles?” That was me!

After my third study, I got my hair cut and changed my manner of dress. My outsides began to match my insides. I joined the Theocratic Ministry School in October and in November started in the public preaching work. Soon I was conducting Bible studies with others. In March 1975, I was baptized again, this time in symbol of my dedication to Jehovah, the God I had at last come to know.

I began the full-​time ministry, like those who had helped me so much. Brooklyn Bethel, world headquarters of Jehovah’s Witnesses, became my home in May 1976. I had two jobs, running an elevator and delivering mail. Both allowed me the privilege of talking to spiritual brothers daily.

After two years, I returned home to Virginia and preached full-​time for a while. Eventually I became an elder in the congregation. The work was a pleasure, but there was an uneasy feeling inside of me. I kept thinking: ‘There has to be more that I can do in God’s service.’ Missionary service? Could that be it? I applied for the Watchtower Bible School of Gilead and was accepted for missionary training into the 1983 winter class.

Before graduation, my missionary assignment was announced: Colombia, South America. I was on the road again but not traveling by my thumb this time.

My first stop was at the Watch Tower branch office in Santa Fe de Bogotá, where I studied Spanish intensely for three months. Then I was assigned to a missionary home in Medellín, where Spanish was studied for four hours a day, six days a week.

Starting to preach in a new language had its moments. Early on I went knocking on a door all alone as a Spanish-​speaking sister observed within earshot. I offered our Christian magazines to a woman for 30 pesos. The woman looked indignant and shut the door! Returning to the sister, I got the explanation. “Be careful of your pronunciation,” she said. “You said besos, not pesos.” I had asked the woman for 30 kisses!

Colombia is a beautiful place. The great attraction is the people. They are warmhearted, closer to the earth than people in more industrialized societies. Therefore, teaching the Bible is different. Colombian people respond to stories, illustrations, real-​life experiences without complicated details. They are more attuned to real life. People live close to people here. They have strong feelings and are responsive. My audience is like the audience Jesus spoke to, the people of the earth; this causes me to try to imitate Jesus closely in teaching. The people remind me of Ephesians 3:19, where Paul spoke of “the love of the Christ which surpasses knowledge.”

In 1989, I was given a new assignment, circuit overseer. That means I travel to a different congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses each week and stay with them, going along in the door-​to-​door search for those who want to know God, giving talks in the Kingdom Hall, and accompanying the local brothers and sisters on Bible studies.

Jehovah continues to discipline and refine me in many ways. One incident in particular comes to mind. Mosquera, outside Bogotá, was the congregation I was to serve, and as usual the brothers had arranged for me to stay with a family​—a sister, her unbelieving husband, and two children.

I arrived to find, essentially, a one-​room house with a sort of cubbyhole office, containing bunk beds, that was separated from the rest of the house by only a sheer curtain. I was directed to that space, and having been told to choose my bed, I picked the lower bunk. That was Tuesday. As I lay reading the Bible about 9:30 p.m., the two children entered, and plop, plop, they were in the upper bunk.

My thoughts raced. ‘Oh, no! I need more privacy than this. What am I, a man used to having his own room (or at least his own private space in a park), doing here?’ I determined I would certainly seek other accommodations for the next visit and went to sleep. Each night the same scene was played out. But on Thursday as I read, a little head peeked down from the top bunk. It was Andrés, nine years old. “Brother Fleet,” he asked, “are you asleep?” My answer was a curt no. Another question. “Brother Fleet, have you prayed yet?” Another no.

Then Andrés asked, “When you pray, could I come down, and you pray for me too?” I was touched. My attitude changed. In fact, my attitude about the whole visit changed. Here was a little “fatherless boy” who wanted a man to pray with him. I was the man. I prayed with him. And I stayed with this family on a later visit. Little Andrés helped me to focus less on my own needs and more on the personal needs of the brothers. I began to seek out ‘the fatherless boys’​—those who are groping for God, just as I was as a child. (Psalm 10:14) Andrés’ father is now attending meetings at the Kingdom Hall and has joined us in the public preaching work.

Since I arrived in Colombia, the number of those worshiping Jehovah has grown from 22,000 to 55,000. I no longer contend with that uneasy feeling that there is more I should be doing. I am content to be in this good place. Forever I will be thankful to the merciful God who looked right through my hippie outward appearance and saw a person struggling to find the true God, whose name is Jehovah.​—As told by Richard Fleet.

[Picture on page 19]

Richard in 1973

[Picture on page 21]

Richard Fleet, South American missionary

The History of Ice Cream

The History of Ice Cream

ICE CREAM has come a long way since its early days. The ancient Romans invented sorbet. This semifrozen dessert, made from snow, fruit, and honey, could sometimes be found on the tables of the rich. Sorbet production was perfected over a long period of time, evidently reaching its zenith at the hands of Arab chefs during the Middle Ages. The words “sorbet” and “sherbet” are probably Arabic in origin.

It could be said that the classic sorbet, made mainly of water, is the predecessor of modern-​day ice cream. A turning point was reached with the use of milk, eggs, sugar, and flavoring, producing a creamy, tasty mixture. If you had lived in the 1600’s at the court of the French king Louis XIV, you would have witnessed ice cream’s high-​society debut. At that time there was some controversy among doctors and other scholars as to whether ice cream was good for the digestion or not.

…