The Watchtower, February 15, 1969

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The Watchtower — February 15, 1969

Source: jw.org

Contents

When Youths Have Something for Which to Live

The Last Days of This Wicked System of Things

Look to the Bible as Our Guide in Life

Keep Making Straight Paths for Your Feet

Employment of Early Christians

Assemblies Are for Children Too!

Following ‘Your Light and Truth’

Bethel’s Christian Atmosphere

Questions From Readers

Announcements

When Youths Have Something for Which to Live

IT HAS been estimated that the second-greatest cause of death among students from the ages of fifteen to twenty-four is suicide. College students in particular seem subject to it, the suicide rate among them being 50 percent higher than among non-college students in a similar age-group. Why do so many young people with life just beginning for them decide that they have nothing for which to live?

One young girl said that there is no meaning to life. A student in Harvard claims that he has no values to believe in. A fourteen-year-old boy that was caught after holding up a grocery store said: “I am tired of home, sick of school and bored with life.”

In many instances parents are to blame because of thinking more of material possessions and of being successful in business than of the need to give their children a system of worthwhile values, something to make life meaningful. One young girl said: “I deeply feel the inadequacy of the values I learned while growing up. Categories of social worth; drive for possession of things and people . . . —all of these break down in the search for what is really important, and for a style of life that has dignity.”

On the other hand there are parents who have given their children a fine system of values. Those young people have found something really worth living for. One such is a young man from Central America. He was offered a scholarship to study music in Austria; this could have led to a promising career in music. Another offer gave him the opportunity to study optics in Germany, with a good-paying job waiting for him. But he turned both offers down because he did not feel that they would make life really meaningful. Having been reared by parents who taught him the fine values of God’s Word and the hope it holds out of a peaceful new system of things on earth he chose the service of God as one of Jehovah’s witnesses. He remarked that “there is no other occupation that can produce so much satisfaction, tranquillity and reason to live as this service.” It channels a person’s energies into helping others.

He had good reason to conclude this. The benefits deeply influence both one’s present life and his future. The very things many young people want to see—peace, justice and honest rulers—are assured by God to become a reality earth wide. (Isa. 2:4; 32:1) This gave the youth a sure hope for the future toward which he could work and plan.

He could also see that the values taught by the Bible are practical now. For example, it teaches one to love one’s neighbor as oneself. Is this not a sensible way to gain peaceful relations among peoples? If such love were practiced by everyone, how could there be war? How could there be murders, rapes and thievery? Is this not something that youths who cry for love instead of war can believe in? It is a fundamental command of the Bible.—Matt. 22:39.

The Bible also commands: “Do not be lying to one another.” (Col. 3:9) Is this not a sensible command that would make it possible for people to trust one another and to live together harmoniously? Such Biblical commands are practical for everyday living and they give meaning to a person’s life. They give him a system of values to guide him.

This proved true for a youth who was once a member of teen-age gangs in New York city. During the time he roamed the streets, getting into trouble with the police, he lived each day as it came. He had no plans for the future and nothing for which to live. His life was patterned according to the dog-eat-dog attitude of the neighborhood.

He had no real friends with whom he could talk and from whom to receive counsel as to what is good and what is bad. He needed love, as do all teen-agers, but it did not exist in his world. It was not until he came into contact with Jehovah’s witnesses and attended one of their assemblies that he saw a way of life as different from his own as day and night. He found them to be warm and loving. They took an interest in him and were willing to teach him right principles, which no other adults with whom he had had contact made any effort to do.

By means of the Bible studies they conducted with him he learned the fine principles contained in God’s Word. These provided him with a system of values that gave meaning to his life. He also acquired for the first time a goal in life because of the new system of things that God has purposed for the earth. Now this young man is helping others to have something for which to live.

Another youth with something to live for became disturbed at the utterly materialistic viewpoint of the students and teachers in the college that he was attending. The students had no real hope for the future, but took the attitude of “living it up” today, for tomorrow they might die. This and the organized cheating on examinations convinced him that what he had been leaning from Bible studies with Jehovah’s witnesses was of greater value than college. He quit college and progressed in his Bible studies to the point where he was able to devote his full time to helping others learn about God’s purposes. The Bible had given him values to believe in and a meaning to life.

There is also the experience of a seventeen-year-old “hippie.” By associating with Jehovah’s witnesses she began learning about the practical principles of God’s Word and the new system of things God has purposed for the earth. This changed her life. She said: “I realize that all this ‘hippie’ world, with its drugs, was just Satan’s trap to destroy us kids.” Now, instead of floating aimlessly and hopelessly about, she has a goal for which to live.

Thus we see that there are young people who have found something for which to live, something that gives meaning to their lives and a system of values they can believe in. Now they have fine guiding principles, loving friends and a glowing future.

The Last Days of This Wicked System of Things

THE Bible speaks of the time in which we are living as the “last days” or the “time of the end.” (2 Tim. 3:1; Dan. 11:40) The facts show that this is a limited period that has a definite beginning and a definite end. It began in 1914 when Jesus Christ was enthroned as king in the heavens. It will end when God destroys this present wicked system of things. What a relief it will be when the organizations and persons that cheat and oppress, and all who endanger the security of their fellowmen, are gone!

How soon will that be? God’s own Son, Jesus Christ, gives the answer. After drawing attention to the many things that mark the period from 1914 onward as the “time of the end,” Jesus said: “This generation will by no means pass away until all these things occur.” (Matt. 24:34) Which generation did he mean?

Jesus had just referred to persons who would “see all these things.” “These things” are the events that have taken place since 1914 and those yet to occur down to the end of this wicked system. (Matt. 24:33) Persons born even as much as fifty years ago could not see “all these things.” They came on the scene after the foretold events were already under way.

However, there are people still living who were alive in 1914 and saw what was happening then and who were old enough that they still remember those events. This generation is getting up in years now. A great number of them have already passed away in death. Yet Jesus very pointedly said: “This generation will by no means pass away until all these things occur.” Some of them will still be alive to see the end of this wicked system. This means that only a short time is left before the end comes! (Ps. 90:10) So now is the time to take urgent action if you do not want to be swept away with this wicked system.

WHY A “TIME OF THE END”

Although the Kingdom came to power in 1914, Jehovah did not immediately destroy those who were not serving him. How glad we can be of that! For God’s long-suffering has afforded us the opportunity to take a firm stand for his kingdom, and so escape destruction. The Bible helps us to view this matter in the proper light, saying: “Jehovah is not slow respecting his promise, as some people consider slowness, but he is patient with you because he does not desire any to be destroyed but desires all to attain to repentance.”—2 Pet. 3:9; see also Matthew 24:21, 22 and Romans 2:4.

To this end, Jehovah God has allowed time for a separating work during these “last days.” In his description of the “conclusion of the system of things,” Jesus foretold this activity saying:

“When the Son of man [Jesus Christ] arrives in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit down on his glorious throne. And all the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another, just as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will put the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on his left. Then the king will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who have my Father’s blessing, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the founding of the world.’ . . . Then he will say, in turn, to those on his left, ‘Be on your way from me, you who have been cursed, into the everlasting fire [of destruction] prepared for the Devil and his angels.’ . . . And these will depart into everlasting cutting-off, but the righteous ones into everlasting life.”—Matt. 25:31-46.

When judgment is executed at the conclusion of these “last days,” the ones destroyed will go into “everlasting cutting-off.” There will be no return to life by a resurrection for them. (2 Thess. 1:7-9) So, now, during these “last days,” God has graciously given men everywhere opportunity to choose the side of his kingdom and live.

How does God do this? How is the separating work accomplished? Under angelic direction God’s loyal servants throughout the earth proclaim the message of God’s kingdom so that honest-hearted persons can hear and act upon it. This is the work that Jesus foretold as part of the “sign” indicating the nearness of the end, saying: “Also, in all the nations the good news has to be preached first.”—Mark 13:10; see also Matthew 24:14 and Revelation 14:6, 7.

On the basis of their response to this message, and of their attitude toward those whom Jehovah uses as his messengers, the people are judged as to whether they will be preserved alive or not. (Matt. 25:40, 45) If you want life under the kingdom of God, it is vital to show it now by responding favorably to the Kingdom message and urging others to do the same. In the near future this preaching work will be finished. The door of opportunity will be closed. Then it will be too late!—Ezek. 33:8, 9.

WHO WILL BE DESTROYED?

In frank terms the Scriptures reveal that, when this wicked system comes to its end, “those slain by Jehovah will certainly come to be . . . from one end of the earth clear to the other end of the earth.” (Jer. 25:33) But you do not have to be among the slain. In his Word the Bible God clearly states what kind of persons, systems and organizations will be destroyed. Being forewarned, persons who love life, and who sincerely want to do what is right in the eyes of God, can get out of the danger zone.

That Jehovah God will see that his servants have a place of security when this system of things comes to its end is indicated by his prophetic invitation: “Go, my people, enter into your interior rooms, and shut your doors behind you. Hide yourself for but a moment until the denunciation passes over. For, look! Jehovah is coming forth from his place to call to account the error of the inhabitant of the land against him.”—Isa. 26:20, 21.

So, then, who does God say will be destroyed? As we might expect, it is the wicked. “When the wicked ones sprout as the vegetation and all the practicers of what is hurtful blossom forth, it is that they may be annihilated forever.” (Ps. 92:7) But let us not be misled by adopting the world’s viewpoint as to what is righteous and what is wicked. God plainly tells us that much of what this world views as commonplace is wicked in his eyes.

For example, fornication, adultery and homosexuality may be tolerated by modern-day society, but those who practice such things will not be spared alive by God at the end of this system of things. Likewise, those who are liars, thieves, drunkards and murderers will be barred from the realm of God’s kingdom. (1 Cor. 6:9, 10; Rev. 21:8) Some may have become involved in such practices because of bad associations. But now, knowing what God says, it is vital for these to change their ways if they want to avoid destruction. In God’s new system there will be no place for persons who corrupt and cheat and who endanger the lives of their fellowmen.

Nor will there be any organizations that mislead the people, and that includes false religious organizations. The Bible clearly shows that not all religion is approved by God. Jesus Christ forcefully said to certain religious leaders in his day: “Why is it you also overstep the commandment of God because of your tradition?” Then Jesus applied to these men God’s own words from Isaiah 29:13, saying: “It is in vain that they keep worshiping me, because they teach commands of men as doctrines.” (Matt. 15:3-9) So it should not surprise us that religion built on falsehood will become a thing of the past.

A religious organization may have beautiful buildings and colorful rituals, but if it does not teach the truth about God it really serves the purpose of the enemy of God, Satan the Devil. (1 Cor. 10:20; 2 Cor. 11:13-15) It may make some use of God’s Word, but if it seeks to be a part of the world by having a say in worldly affairs, then it is not obeying Jesus’ instruction to his followers: “You are no part of the world.” Therefore, as the Bible declares, that religious organization becomes “an enemy of God.”—John 15:19; Jas. 4:4.

Do we want to be numbered among God’s enemies? If not, it is up to us to prove to God now that we are not in sympathy with them, that we find pleasure only in the truth and that we ourselves practice worship that is “clean and undefiled from the standpoint of our God and Father.”—Jas. 1:27.

Also in line for destruction is the political system that has so cruelly oppressed mankind. As any study of history reveals, this system has a record of bloodshed and greedy grasping for power. Fittingly, God’s Word compares the entire political arrangement on earth to a “wild beast,” and it explains why the governments have manifested beastly qualities. It tells us that Satan the Devil, “the dragon,” has given the worldly governments their power and that they operate under his control.—Rev. 13:2; Dan. 8:20, 21; Luke 4:5-8.

God makes this information available to us so that we can decide intelligently as to whether we will have anything to do with the political affairs of the world or not. God also informs us what he will do. In Daniel 2:44 he speaks of the time when “the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be brought to ruin.” The evidence shows that the setting up of the kingdom of God took place in the heavens in 1914 C.E. But, as to the action that God’s kingdom will take in the near future, in the war of Armageddon or Har–Magedon, God goes on to say: “It will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms [existing at the time of the end], and it itself will stand to times indefinite.”—See also Revelation 16:14, 16; 19:17-21.

After Satan’s entire visible system has been crushed, Jehovah will next turn his attention to Satan the Devil, the one whom the Bible calls “the god of this system of things.” He will crush Satan, and he will do this soon. (2 Cor. 4:4; Rom. 16:20) At the time the Devil was ousted from heaven following the establishment of the Kingdom in 1914, Satan knew that he had only “a short period of time.” (Rev. 12:12) Now that time is even shorter.

Soon the prophetic vision recorded at Revelation 20:1-3 will be fulfilled: “I saw an angel coming down out of heaven with the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand. And he seized the dragon, the original serpent, who is the Devil and Satan, . . . And he hurled him into the abyss and shut it and sealed it over him.” So Satan, together with his demons, will be taken out of the way. Their influence will be gone. This present wicked system of things will have come to its end.

True Christians here on earth will have no part in that destruction. It is God’s war. He will use angelic forces under Christ to carry out the execution. He will also cause one part of Satan’s visible organization to turn on the other in violent hatred. But Jehovah’s servants on earth are not to join the violence, for the Bible shows that the warfare of Christians is spiritual, not physical. “We do not wage warfare according to what we are in the flesh,” wrote the Christian apostle Paul. “For the weapons of our warfare are not fleshly.”—2 Cor. 10:3, 4.

Even when persecution is directed against them, Christians must not retaliate by seeking revenge against the rulers or trying to overthrow the government. They wait on God. “Do not avenge yourselves, beloved, but yield place to the wrath; for it is written: ‘Vengeance is mine; I will repay, says Jehovah.’”—Rom. 12:19.

WHAT WILL NEVER END

The end of this system of things will not be the end for this planet earth. God’s own Word guarantees: “The earth abideth for ever.” “He has founded the earth upon its established places; it will not be made to totter to time indefinite, or forever.” (Eccl. 1:4, AV; Ps. 104:5) It is not the earth that is at fault, but the wicked system upon it.

Furthermore, not all human life will come to an end. “Ungodly men” will be destroyed. (2 Pet. 3:7) The people who made up the unbelieving world will be gone. But, after stating this, 1 John 2:17 adds: “He that does the will of God remains forever.” It was to make this possible that Jesus Christ gave his life on behalf of mankind. Concerning that, Hebrews 5:9 says: “After he had been made perfect he became responsible for everlasting salvation to all those obeying him.”

The marvelous prospect of eternal life under the righteous kingdom of God awaits the survivors of the end of this wicked system of things. Will you be one of them? You may well be. But, if so, you must keep close in mind these words of inspired counsel: “There are new heavens and a new earth that we are awaiting according to his promise, and in these righteousness is to dwell. Hence, beloved ones, since you are awaiting these things, do your utmost to be found finally by him spotless and unblemished and in peace.” (2 Pet. 3:13, 14) Yes, you must “do your utmost” now, so that God’s Word will deeply influence your entire life. “Quit being fashioned after this system of things, but be transformed by making your mind over, that you may prove to yourselves the good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” (Rom. 12:1, 2) Doing so leads to survival. How thankful we can be that Jehovah, in his love and mercy, has made provision for survival!

Look to the Bible as Our Guide in Life

“Keep making straight paths for your feet, that what is lame may not be put out of joint, but rather that it may be healed.”—Heb. 12:13.

1. Under what conditions had the Israelites depended upon Jehovah for forty years, and what prospect awaited them?

FOR forty years the Israelites had wandered about in the wilderness, without home, without land, without association with any other peoples. For forty years they had been guided and sustained entirely by the hand of God. He had supplied their food, miraculous manna from heaven. He had even brought water out of the rocks by his mediator, Moses. Now this chosen people of God stood on the desert plains of Moab across the Jordan from Jericho, over six hundred thousand able-bodied men, their wives and their children. They were a strong and virile nation of young men and women, no more than a small minority being past the age of sixty. Many of them, perhaps even the majority, had been born in the wilderness. They had known nothing but tent life and desert bleakness, but across the Jordan was a rich and fertile land, a land of milk and honey, of wheat and barley, of fruit trees and flowers, a land of song and laughter, a land of peacefulness—a Land of Promise.

2. Against what did they need to be on guard, and how did Balak fail in his designs against Israel?

2 But they were surrounded by enemies: men, women and children who did not worship Jehovah, who would rather see Israel destroyed than to see their own way of life disturbed; enemies who would use every means they had to prevent this young nation from entering the land and from inheriting its possession promised by God. So it was that Balak, the king of Moab, hired the prophet Balaam to curse Jehovah’s people. Three times he tried to curse the Israelites, but each time the Almighty God controlled Balaam’s tongue to turn the intended curse into a blessing upon Israel, making it clear that “there is no unlucky spell against Jacob, nor any divination against Israel.”—Num. 23:23.

3. (a) What means did Balaam find to break the invincibleness of Israel, and what resulted? (b) What prompt and positive action caused Jehovah to stop the plague?

3 Then Balaam found the only way to break the invincibleness of this strong people. He enticed them away from their God, Jehovah, their Protector and Source of strength. He advised the king of Moab to bring Jehovah’s own curse upon his people by luring them into idolatry through fornication with female idol worshipers. The Bible record reads (Num. 25:1-3): “Then the people started to have immoral relations with the daughters of Moab. And the women came calling the people to the sacrifices of their gods, and the people began to eat and to bow down to their gods. So Israel attached itself to the Baal of Peor; and the anger of Jehovah began to blaze against Israel.” Hence the judges of Israel were ordered to kill the men who had had an attachment with this false god, Baal of Peor. But even while the elders were at the entrance of the tent of meeting mourning Israel’s deflection, an Israelite chieftain’s son named Zimri brazenly brought a Midianite woman into the camp before the eyes of Moses and all the assembly. Phinehas, the son of Eleazar the priest, in a prompt and positive action, took a lance in his hand, followed them into the vaulted tent and pierced them both through. “At that the scourge was halted from upon the sons of Israel. And those who died from the scourge amounted to twenty-four thousand.” (Num. 25:8, 9) Twenty-four thousand offenders died at Jehovah’s hand. They failed to enter the Promised Land when they stood at its brink. They had yielded to selfish passion and had forsaken their God Jehovah as their Guide in life.

4. How were the Israelites to be tested further?

4 But that was not all. One man who had not succumbed to the bawdy sex orgies of the Baal of Peor was still not invulnerable. He too fell victim to selfish passion, but his was greed and avarice, the subtle snare of materialism. And his self-indulgence cost the lives of thirty-six of his brother Israelites.

5. (a) Why did Jehovah remove his favor from Israel, and how was this brought to light? (b) What penalty was imposed upon the wrongdoer, and why?

5 It was after the city of Jericho had been miraculously delivered into the hands of God’s people and they had gone up against the city of Ai to take it. Joshua, their leader, had sent only three thousand armed men, expecting an easy victory in view of the inferior forces of the enemy. However, the men of Ai poured out of the city and completely routed them, killing thirty-six of the men of Israel. Joshua and the older men fell on their faces before Jehovah in an earnest appeal to determine the cause of this disaster. Jehovah told them why: “Israel has sinned, and they have also overstepped my covenant that I laid as a command upon them; and they have also taken some of the thing devoted to destruction and have also stolen and also kept it secret and have also put it among their own articles.” The very next morning, as Jehovah directed, Joshua gathered the entire nation together and, by elimination, finally singled out Achan as the man who was guilty before Jehovah. Under pressure of questioning, Achan admitted that he had appropriated to himself some of the spoil from the city of Jericho that Jehovah had set apart as sacred to his own service. Achan was thereby condemned and, along with his whole family who apparently condoned his action, he was stoned to death.—Josh. 7:1-25.

WARNING THE UNWARY

6. In what parallel position do God’s people stand today as compared with the Israelites on the plains of Moab? (b) What protection do we have?

6 Today God’s people stand at the brink of a new order administered in righteousness, with everlasting life in view. And every curse that has been brought against this people by Satan’s world has been turned into a blessing by Jehovah. But, just like Balaam and the people of Moab, the present wicked system holds out the enticing and seductive influence of sex worship and many other immoral practices such as lying, cheating and stealing. Are we immune? The record says No! Every year several thousand are disfellowshiped from God’s organization because they forsake Jehovah and his righteous principles, because they fail to look to the Bible as their guide in life. Only a few of these will realize what they have lost, repent, and correct their bad course of conduct. All the rest will never enter into the marvelous blessings of the new system of things. How can we avoid this tragedy?

7. (a) According to James, what causes willful transgression of God’s law? (b) In what two directions can we be led, and what is the directing force in each?

7 The action taken by both Zimri and Achan was deliberate. They knew their respective courses were contrary to Jehovah’s express commandments. But it is unlikely that in either case the specific acts that caused them to lose their lives were prompted by desires they had never entertained before. James, the brother of Jesus, describes willful transgression as the result of progressive wrong thinking: “Each one is tried by being drawn out and enticed by his own desire. Then the desire, when it has become fertile, gives birth to sin; in turn, sin, when it has been accomplished, brings forth death.” (Jas. 1:14, 15) Both of these men were under the Law of God mediated by Moses and were subject to its sanctions. Today we are under the law of Christ, and the sanction of that law is the spirit of God motivating us to righteousness. (Rom. 6:18, 19; 7:6; Gal. 5:16-18) But it is the same spirit that is operating on the Christian congregation and its overseers who are appointed by God’s spirit. (Acts 20:28) Therefore, if we are moved by God’s spirit, if we allow God’s spirit through his Word and his organization to guide our lives, then there is no reason why we cannot know in advance when wrong desire is likely to cause us to fall into the snare that entrapped Zimri and Achan and avoid it. The question is, Are we genuinely and sincerely interested in being guided by God’s spirit, or do we really prefer to follow the inclinations of our own desires and, in order to indulge ourselves, prefer to gamble on the consequences for whatever outcome may befall us?

8. How do the servants in the congregation provide a protection, and why do they feel a responsibility?

8 The overseers and ministerial assistants in the congregation are gifts in men, given by Christ with a view to the edifying and strengthening of the members of the Christian congregations throughout the earth. (Eph. 4:8, 11, 12) They are men who have grown to maturity in the observance of God’s law and who have, through experience and training in God’s righteous requirements, learned what is needed to measure up to God’s requirements and to keep his law. They are constantly alert, therefore, to the condition of the congregation and its members under their care and are quick to recognize symptoms of spiritual weakness that could cause serious spiritual sickness or lead to a fatal transgression of God’s law. Being deeply concerned for the flock of God, knowing that they must render an account (Heb. 13:17), they readily accept their responsibility to follow the admonition of the apostle Paul to the Galatians (Gal. 6:1, 2): “Brothers, even though a man takes some false step before he is aware of it, you who have spiritual qualifications try to restore such a man in a spirit of mildness, as you each keep an eye on yourself, for fear you also may be tempted. Go on carrying the burdens of one another, and thus fulfill the law of the Christ.”

THE SERIOUSNESS OF DEFLECTION

9. What attitude should we take when counseled, and what might failure to do so strongly suggest?

9 When such symptoms are observed and called to a brother’s attention, what should his attitude be? Obviously it should be one of appreciation for this provision that Jehovah has made within his organization. He should recognize that the counsel is from God’s Word and be willing to follow it as his guide. If, on the other hand, he becomes offended, or persistently tries to justify a wrong course of action, would it not all the more indicate the wisdom of the counsel and the serious need to call the misdeed to his attention? Might it not indicate that his inclination may already be so strong that the appeal of the worldly course of wrongdoing outweighs the motivating spirit of God toward conformity with the theocratic Scriptural viewpoint? Might it not strongly suggest that the offender has already been led to a dangerous point in his deflection, perhaps already beyond the reach of God’s Word? What is to prevent him now from going farther toward transgression that can produce death? “Do not be misled: God is not one to be mocked. For whatever a man is sowing, this he will also reap; because he who is sowing with a view to his flesh will reap corruption from his flesh, but he who is sowing with a view to the spirit will reap everlasting life from the spirit.”—Gal. 6:7, 8.

10. Why should we not minimize even a minor deflection from Jehovah’s requirements? What is really a simpler course, and why?

10 Never then, should we minimize the seriousness of deflection, even in a minor way. Because, what does deflection mean? It means a deviation, a bending or turning aside from a true course. And any deviation, no matter how slight, causes an ever widening gap the farther it is pursued. The only way the deviator can ever be brought back on course is to change his direction again, and when you look back over the zigzag trail such a one has left behind him, what a difficult road it has been! How much simpler it is to “keep making straight paths for your feet, that what is lame may not be put out of joint, but rather that it may be healed.”—Heb. 12:13.

11. How is it possible to take a false step without realizing it, and what safeguard should we be thankful for?

11 The influence of Satan’s system of things is very strong on all of us. Sometimes we may not appreciate how much or in just what ways. It is possible to get caught up in a pattern of thinking or acting that may seem innocent enough at the start, but, in time, it may lead into serious trouble. This viewpoint or course of action may actually lead into the taking of a false step, a deviation from a Scriptural standard or in violation of a Scriptural principle, yet go unnoticed by the one adopting it because of ignorance of the standard or principle, because of being unaware of the extent to which it can lead or because of momentarily relaxing one’s guard. Whatever the circumstance that has allowed it, how thankful we should be that Jehovah through his Word or his organization, as represented in the servants of the congregation, is on the watch, does observe the false step and call it to our attention.

12. (a) How can the congregation’s servants know when a false step has been taken? (b) For what two-fold reason are they concerned to the point of taking appropriate action?

12 The servants of the congregation may not always know just what the real problem is, but become aware that something is wrong by certain observable trends or attitudes. It may be a tendency to miss meetings, to turn back assignments in the Theocratic Ministry School, or a growing air of independence, a lessening spiritual quality in conversation, an increasing “style consciousness” in dress. Whatever it might be, the servants are concerned because of the indication that the spiritual welfare of the individual is endangered. But their concern goes even farther because they know that what affects an individual will also affect the entire congregation. The apostle Paul said: “We have become a theatrical spectacle to the world” (1 Cor. 4:9), indicating that the course we take is observed by those outside the congregation. If a false step is pursued until transgression occurs, the reflection is on the entire congregation. It is not always necessary either for absolute wrongdoing to occur before reproach is brought on the organization. The observation of one public schoolteacher illustrates this: “I used to admire the children of Jehovah’s witnesses. They were always so well mannered and clean looking. I hate to say this, but I just can’t see the difference in some of them anymore. Their clothes and their hairdos, they look and act just like all the rest of the children.” Anyone visiting the congregational meetings of Jehovah’s witnesses would know that this observation is the exception rather than the rule, but the fact that such a statement could be made is cause for concern, and those servants in congregations where such trends are noted would like to help correct them so that “what is lame may not be put out of joint, but rather that it may be healed.”

13. (a) What is wrong in thinking that we can win people by meeting them on their own terms, and how was this point proved in the Corinthian congregation? (b) What dangers lie in the fear of being different in appearance from worldly associates?

13 Some might argue that the cause of truth would be helped along if we were to appear as “progressive” and “up-to-date” as the most modern ones of the world, meeting them on their own terms, as it were. But that is reasoning from a false premise. The end does not justify the means. Jehovah does not want people associating with his organization because it is popular and modern. He wants individuals who love righteousness and who are willing to live by principle. An example of this is to be found in the early Corinthian congregation. Some of those associated thought notoriety would bring fame to the congregation. When the apostle Paul heard of it he wrote: “Actually fornication is reported among you, and such fornication as is not even among the nations, that a wife a certain man has of his father. And are you puffed up, and did you not rather mourn, in order that the man that committed this deed should be taken away from your midst? Your cause for boasting is not fine. Do you not know that a little leaven ferments the whole lump? Clear away the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, according as you are free from ferment.” (1 Cor. 5:1, 2, 6, 7) Paul found it necessary to take immediate and drastic action to cleanse this congregation. This he did by disfellowshiping the transgressors of God’s law and by straightening out the wrong thinking of others who condoned the wrongdoing. Just as leaven of sin ferments the whole congregation, so a wrong inclination toward copying the styles, customs and manners of this world will contaminate the thinking ability and theocratic viewpoint. If we are afraid to present a different appearance than that of our associates in the world, what is to prevent us from going a step farther and compromising our Christian principles so as not to be too different? Or what is to prevent us from adopting worldly reasoning in handling our problems? This will not produce in us the fruitage of God’s spirit, but rather the fruitage of the spirit of this world, which can eventually lead to transgression of God’s law. (Gal. 5:16-18) As indicated by James, acts of immorality seldom come without warning. Wrong desire seldom springs suddenly into full bloom. Usually two ingredients are necessary, inclination and opportunity. If we look to the Bible as our guide in life, we will endeavor to eliminate both from our lives as completely as possible.

THE DANGER OF BAD ASSOCIATIONS

14. In what way do bad associations provide all the ingredients for slipping into immorality, and how can this be illustrated?

14 Bad associations, because of their contaminating influence, provide all the ingredients for slipping into immorality. Principles are weakened, which tends to encourage wrong inclinations. Besides, the opportunity for wrongdoing is always present, enabling one to be stampeded easily into an unwise course either through ignorance or fear of ridicule. Also the transgression of anyone in the group brings guilt upon all as accessories. One young brother was making fine progress in the ministry, but he chose also to associate with schoolmates who cared nothing about Bible principles. One day, for excitement, they decided to take a few bottles of soda from a delivery truck. To them it seemed like a harmless prank, but the driver saw them and came running out to teach the youngsters a lesson. Before anyone knew what was going on, one of the boys pulled out a switchblade knife and stabbed the driver in the stomach. It killed him. The young minister who was with the gang was disfellowshiped from his congregation and is now in a reform school. Achan, too, brought disaster upon the entire nation and paid for it with his own life. Nor was the nation free of guilt until he was purged from their midst.—Josh. 7:20-25.

15. (a) What mistake did Dinah make, and how can its result to her serve as a warning to us? (b) What opposite course did Joseph take, and how can it be an example to us?

15 No one holding to Christian principles would voluntarily commit fornication. But prudence would dictate also avoiding circumstances that could lead to being raped. Dinah overlooked this possibility in her association with the young daughters of the Canaanites. The amorous son of Hamor saw her and violated her. Had she not been in association with those who did not fear the true God, she would have been spared this degrading experience. (Gen. 34:1, 2) In our own time, similar precautions should be taken. The wise course is to avoid immodest dress, traveling alone in unfrequented or isolated places or in dangerous neighborhoods. Take a proper escort and avoid the company of those who are not restrained by dedication to Jehovah and a love of right principles. Joseph, Dinah’s brother, chose the wise course while he was enslaved in Egypt. When the wife of his master, Potiphar, tried repeatedly to seduce him, he consistently refused to turn aside from what he knew was right and pleasing to God. He tried, as far as his enslaved condition would permit it, to avoid being exposed to this temptation, and when this brazen woman finally tried to force him into immoral relations with her, he turned and ran from her room, leaving his coat behind in her hand. He would rather take whatever punishment she could devise against him than displease Jehovah by transgressing his law. Joseph was blessed by the true God for his firm resolve.—Gen. 39:7-23.

16. (a) What is the danger to anyone reluctant to pull away completely from worldly standards? (b) How is this illustrated in the case of Achan, the Corinthian congregation and Dinah? (c) What solution does Jehovah hold out to us, and what part does the congregation as a whole have in it?

16 If we love Jehovah sincerely with a genuine desire to do his will, no problem we may face is so deep-rooted that it cannot be solved by a proper application of Bible principles. Anyone who is indifferent to responsibility and is reluctant to pull away completely from worldly standards will, in time, become so ingrained in this way of thinking that disaster will certainly strike in some way or another. We are no different today, in this respect, than God’s people have been in times past. Achan’s materialistic viewpoint and his wrong desire led him to steal from God, thereby contaminating the whole congregation and bringing death to thirty-six of his fellow Israelites as well as his own family. Some in the Corinthian congregation were so anxious to please their wicked neighbors that they even condoned incest, thinking fame might come through notoriety. Only Paul’s strong discipline of the congregation, applying Bible principles and disfellowshiping the wrongdoer, saved the spirit of the congregation. Dinah thought she could associate with unbelievers with immunity. She lost her virginity and brought death to all the males of Shechem. Her brother, Joseph, on the other hand, refused to compromise his principles, even though he was far from home and in a strange land, separated from his family. He proved that God loves and protects those who love him and keep his righteous requirements. So, are you one of a family that embraces the truth, or do you stand alone? It makes no difference. We have these problems in common. They belong to the entire congregation. The congregation through its appointed servants must take an active interest in them. There is one solution for all. It is found in the Bible. As the psalmist wrote: “Your word is a lamp to my foot, and a light to my roadway.” (Ps. 119:105) Yes, we have God’s promise that the Bible will lead us unerringly through the wilderness of Satan’s system of things, it will protect us in the presence and from the influence of immoral men and women who practice the worship of the modern Baal of Peor and it will make us ever stronger in God’s love and bring us safely and unscathed into the new order of righteousness just ahead—if we look to the Bible as our guide in life.

[Pictures on page 107]

Christians need to look to the Bible as their guide in life if they are to avoid falling victim to immoral practices as did Achan, whose greed cost the lives of thirty-six fellow Israelites

Keep Making Straight Paths for Your Feet

1. What has the period of time since 1914 been called?

IN THE year 1914 the most radical change in man’s history began. Even when viewed apart from Bible prophecy, which marks it as the beginning of the end of this present system of things, the era of events that began in that year is unprecedented. It has properly been called “the age of violence.”

2. What difference can be seen in successive generations since 1914 as compared with former times?

2 In ancient times, customs changed little from generation to generation, so that for hundreds, even thousands of years, the sons lived much like the fathers. But beginning about the time of the so-called Reformation, each successive generation wanted to build, to go beyond what had already been done, so that real progress resulted from that time forward until 1914. But from 1914 everything started to go into reverse, so much so that one news editor was forced to admit: “The last completely ‘normal’ year in history was 1913, the year before World War I began.” Not that great strides have not been made scientifically. But the progress in development of social relations on individual as well as international levels exploded in 1914 into the worst war the world had yet known and has degenerated since then to what is commonly viewed as near anarchy at the present time.

3. (a) What conditions did Paul foretell for this present time, and what admonition did he add? (b) What different reactions are there to these conditions?

3 One outstanding prophecy foretelling this “age of violence” and its widespread moral decay is that found in Paul’s second letter to Timothy: “But know this, that in the last days critical times hard to deal with will be here. For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, self-assuming, haughty, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, disloyal, having no natural affection, not open to any agreement, slanderers, without self-control, fierce, without love of goodness, betrayers, headstrong, puffed up with pride, lovers of pleasures rather than lovers of God, having a form of godly devotion but proving false to its power”; and then Paul adds: “and from these turn away.” (2 Tim. 3:1-5) In this age of violence there are many who desire to “turn away” from such associations and who do find security and peace. But there are others who find it difficult to realize that standards have sunk so low. Having had no other association, they have accepted these conditions as ‘normal,’ proper, because everyone lives that way. On the other hand, some recoil from the full impact of the insecurity and futility of the modern way of life but look for refuge in the many youth cults that have sprung up around the world, or seek escape through various forms of drugs and dope. Even adults express their dissatisfaction with present conditions by movements of “civil disobedience,” which often end in riots, looting and murderous sniping at civilians and law-enforcement officers.

RECOGNIZING THE SOURCE

4. (a) Why do these conditions prove hard to deal with? (b) How can one be overcome by following such customs as modern dancing?

4 Paul calls these times “critical” and “hard to deal with.” But why should they present such a problem to those who know we are living in the “last days”? One reason is that these conditions, rapidly as they have developed, have been subtly introduced by the “god of this system of things” to make them appear as a natural sequence of events that have no more significance in themselves than troublesome times in the past. As a result, the radical changes in customs and disintegrating moral standards are viewed by the unwary as of no real significance and as nothing against which to be on guard. For example, when dances like the “twist” and all its later developments are introduced, the young accept them eagerly and without question, while their parents raise their eyebrows or smile indulgently for a while and then take them up with almost equal fervor, ostensibly in order to project the youthful image themselves. What they fail to realize is that such dances have their origin in pagan fertility dances that were performed in times past as a part of immoral religious rites. And just as they were designed to arouse the sexual emotions of the participants in the religious orgies, so their modern-day counterparts contribute to the loosening of moral inhibitions. Those who subscribe to the modern morality that allows for premarital sex relations have no objection to this. But what of those who have no such end in view, who may be indulging themselves simply because it is the custom? Such ones should not deceive themselves. They are still affected emotionally in the same way. Stimulation of this sort inevitably leads to improper inclinations, and those who entertain wrong desires can be just as completely overtaken as the twenty-four thousand were in succumbing to the Baal of Peor in the days of Israel.—Num. 25:1-9.

5. How do some try to justify a wrong course of action, but how is their course a mockery of the law of Christ? What inherent dangers are present?

5 The growing acceptance of the standard allowing free premarital sex relations, and even adultery under certain circumstances, has weakened the moral perception of some who make a pretext of holding onto Bible principles. Such ones assume that as long as they refrain from the act of fornication itself, anything else is permissible. On the basis of such fallacious reasoning they indulge themselves in the most extreme forms of petting. This is making a mockery of the law of Christ requiring cleanness and sanctity on the part of anyone professing to be a Christian. Paul said: “Therefore, since we have these promises, beloved ones, let us cleanse ourselves of every defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in God’s fear.” (2 Cor. 7:1) How can those tantalizing themselves with such wrong desires harmonize their course with Jesus’ words in his Sermon on the Mount: “You heard that it was said, ‘You must not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone that keeps on looking at a woman so as to have a passion for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart”? (Matt. 5:27, 28) Not only is this kind of conduct a violation of righteous principles but it opens the door wide for transgression that can lead to death. Not only is the inclination to wrongdoing present in the strong desire, but the opportunity is also present. It is a proved reality: anyone putting himself in a compromising position often enough or long enough will eventually succumb. The proverb says: “Can a man rake together fire into his bosom and yet his very garments not be burned?”—Prov. 6:27.

6. Adopting the customs and practices of modern society can be just as damaging as what other forms of contamination? Why?

6 Those “desiring to live with godly devotion in association with Christ Jesus” therefore should view the customs and practices of modern society with close scrutiny, evaluating them, not according to personal desire or preference, but in the light of God’s revealed Word for us. (2 Tim. 3:12) They can be just as damaging, just as detrimental to developing the “new personality” as the more obvious contamination with the world empire of false religion, Babylon the Great, from which we have been admonished to flee. We are clearly shown that association with any form of false worship means to be guilty of the same sins that will soon cause the downfall of this great empire. (Rev. 18:4) But what we may not realize is that we can become just as fatally a part of this doomed system of things by adopting its customs and practices and thereby diverting our thinking and eventually our interests into its way of life. Religious traditions and even the demands of Caesar are age-old, but the way of life, the customs, the mode of dress, the manners, these all belong to the generation. In times past, these centered around and were influenced in large measure by the religious life of the people. Today, the world is rapidly tuning into a godless civilization, but its customs and way of life are no less influenced by its thinking. To become a part of the way of life of this system, then, is to become a part of its thinking. Sharing its sins means to share in its end.

PERSONAL PREFERENCE VERSUS DISCRETION

7. (a) What freedoms, yet what restrictions, should be recognized in the matter of style of dress? (b) What can be the result for failing to recognize this proper balance?

7 Today, style of dress is largely a matter of personal taste, and tastes and customs vary throughout the world. But for the dedicated Christian, personal preference should not be the only determining factor. Consideration must also be given to how that choice will affect one’s ministry, others inside and outside the congregation and one’s own thinking and viewpoints. The “miniskirt” is nothing new to the Scotsman, yet its popularity among women today is causing much concern and now its advent in England among young men is an innovation, one to stare at. In medieval times boys and even men wore shoulder-length hair. But the youth who appears in public today with unshorn locks is definitely typed as different. Those who observe him do not pass it off as just a personal preference of his. To them he is marked as a young man who subscribes to a certain point of view, a viewpoint that is at odds with the rest of the world. Now, a Christian youth may like long hair on boys, just as a young Christian girl may view the miniskirt as attractive. But if they were to indulge their personal tastes without considering the effect on their ministry, they would undoubtedly lose many privileges of service. One congregation finally had to remove a youthful minister from its list of available speakers because each time he was assigned to conduct a public meeting in a neighboring congregation, a complaint came back about his unusually long hair. Repeated admonition had failed to correct the young man’s viewpoint.

8. (a) Why are certain restrictions in the matter of dress not an unwarranted encroachment on personal liberty? (b) What is Jehovah’s view of dress?

8 Some, especially youngsters, may feel this is an unwarranted encroachment on their personal liberties. But Paul said, even “if food makes my brother stumble, I will never again eat flesh at all, that I may not make my brother stumble.” (1 Cor. 8:13) What was his reasoning for this conclusion? He said: “But food will not commend us to God; if we do not eat, we do not fall short, and, if we eat, we have no credit to ourselves. But keep watching that this authority of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to those who are weak. For if anyone should see you, the one having knowledge, reclining at a meal in an idol temple, will not the conscience of that one who is weak be built up to the point of eating foods offered to idols?” (1 Co 8 Vss. 8-10) As it is with food, so it is with fashions in dress. Long or short hair, long or short dresses, are certainly in themselves of no concern to Jehovah in the way of salvation because both have been acceptable to him in different time periods. But any custom or practice that causes someone to stumble and fall out of the way of life is definitely of concern to him. As Paul put it: “Really, by your knowledge, the man that is weak is being ruined, your brother for whose sake Christ died. But when you people thus sin against your brothers and wound their conscience that is weak, you are sinning against Christ.” (1 Co 8 Vss. 11, 12) Will Jehovah allow such a sin to go by unnoticed and unpunished?

9. (a) Why might someone be stumbled because of the manner of dress of someone who claims to be a minister? (b) When might it be better to yield to others’ opinions in the matter of style and fashion?

9 But why should the matter of styles in dress be a cause for stumbling? And how far must one be influenced by the opinions of others in personal choice of style and fashion? Has Jehovah given us as Christians specific laws on this matter? Yes, but since they are spiritually discerned, they are not so easily identified. Paul’s admonition against stumbling a brother holds out a Christian requirement, and it is binding upon us in more than the eating of food because Paul is arguing for a principle, and his application of it in this specific instance simply serves to illustrate our obligation to Jehovah in any matter that is a cause for stumbling. This would certainly include some styles and fashions of dress today because of the close association of these styles with individuals who subscribe to a specific way of life, individuals whose viewpoints are not according to Bible principles. As one woman writer on the subject of modern women’s fashions said in a radio interview recently: “Clothes should be a mirror of your way of life.” And certainly in modern times, in most countries, no one associates long hair on a man or a miniskirt on a woman with the Christian minister. In fact, this same young woman writer said, in answer to a direct question, “If a woman wearing such clothes is accosted on the street, she has every reason to expect it.”a A fashion designer who was dubbed “mother of the miniskirt” was quoted in Newsweek (November 13, 1967) as saying: “Any law-abiding female, it used to be thought, waits until dark” to have extramarital sex relations. Then she adds: “Well, there are lots of girls who don’t want to wait. Mini-clothes are symbolic of them.”

10. (a) Who might decide as to what is right and proper in dress, and where can a reliable standard be found? (b) Why is the opinion of fashion designers not necessarily a safe guide?

10 It is true, of course, that what one person may call extreme may appear conservative to another. This is true even among those who set the styles, some differing widely from others as to what is in good taste and what is bad. But there have always been those who incline toward the sensational, and particularly in this age of violence are they influenced in designs that keep pace with the downward trend in thinking and moral standards. What, then, should be the standard? Who can decide? James said: “But the wisdom from above is first of all chaste, then peaceable, reasonable, ready to obey.” (Jas. 3:17) Jehovah has set the proper standard for Christians in his Word. Are we willing and ready to follow it? No one can lay down rules as to what is right and proper in dress, except parents with minor children. But even children can be wholehearted in doing Jehovah’s will and can learn to determine what is right when questionable instances arise. If there is a question, why lean in the direction of the standards set by this system? For example, you who are dedicated Christian women, if a choice must be made between something that is known to be acceptable from the standpoint of your ministry and something that the latest fashion magazines hold out as the ultimate in feminine beauty, why accept the opinion of those whose whole purpose is to mold viewpoints and make them conform to the way of life of this dying system of things? It is biased thinking. It is designed specifically to expose susceptible minds to a false standard, the product of a time and a people. If you were born during this system’s time of the end, never forget that the only standard you have ever seen held out by this world is one of a degenerating people. It may be beautiful to you because it is the only one you have known. But in by far the majority of cases, it is not the picture of vibrant health and life that is portrayed in Jehovah’s Book of Life. Include in your instruction for life an accurate picture of the beauty that is pleasing to God.

PUTTING APPEARANCE IN PROPER PERSPECTIVE

11. What picture of the Christian woman did Peter paint, and how can it serve as a pattern?

11 The apostle Peter painted a particularly pleasing portrait of the Christian woman, the wife of an unbelieving mate. At the same time he pictured the quality of beauty that sets her apart, that makes it unnecessary for her to enter into competition with the women of this system for the attention of her husband, the quality that can cause him to be “won without a word.” He wrote: “And do not let your adornment be that of the external braiding of the hair and of the putting on of gold ornaments or the wearing of outer garments, but let it be the secret person of the heart in the incorruptible apparel of the quiet and mild spirit, which is of great value in the eyes of God.” (1 Pet. 3:1-4) Customs have changed completely since Peter penned those words, but the principles upon which his portrait rests are timeless. If you are ever in doubt as to what pattern in dress you should follow, take another look at Peter’s picture of the Christian woman and ask yourself, Which will survive Armageddon, a style of hair braiding or the quiet and mild spirit?

12. What motives should be considered in the matter of choice of style, and how can we deceive ourselves?

12 Peter’s words, too, lay the emphasis on the motive for being overly concerned with personal appearance. Those who are inclined to want to wear the latest fashion, to be “in,” whether male or female, young or old, should examine their motives very carefully. Are they depending upon personal appearance to make them acceptable? Do they want to be noticed, to have a reputation for being particularly style conscious? Is their manner of dress one that easily classifies them with a type? Is this what they want? How will those who observe us react to what they see? If our clothes and appearance are a mirror of our way of life, what will they expect of us? Are we giving others the impression that we really want to give? One very sincere young Christian woman who thought that fashion models were the ideal image for young womanhood, and yet who really wanted to be a minister, was approached by a man who wanted her to pose for pornographic photographs. What a shock this was! But would he have approached her if she had mirrored the image of a young minister? Even with such experiences as this, it required a real struggle and much soul searching for her to change over her thinking and her perspective, but now this young Christian is faithfully serving as a missionary in a foreign assignment and is happily cultivating a “quiet and mild spirit, which is of great value in the eyes of God.” Why should we deceive ourselves? Those who observe us are going to view us according to what our appearance and our course of conduct truly reflect. We should always keep in mind the words of Paul: “All things are lawful; but not all things are advantageous. All things are lawful; but not all things build up. Let each one keep seeking, not his own advantage, but that of the other person.”—1 Cor. 10:23, 24.

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The Watchtower, February 15, 1969