Kingdom Proclaimers Report

An Honest People Brings Praise to Jehovah

THROUGHOUT the earth, Jehovah’s Witnesses​—young and old—​are known for their honesty. Consider examples from three continents.

Seventeen-year-old Olusola, who lives in Nigeria, was going home from school one day when she found a purse on the ground. She took it to the principal, who counted the money, and it came to ₦6,200 (about $45, U.S.). The principal returned the purse to the teacher who had lost it. In appreciation, the teacher gave Olusola ₦1,000 (about $7, U.S.) and told her to pay her school fees with it. When other students heard what had happened, they ridiculed Olusola. Some weeks later, a student reported his money stolen, so the teachers were asked to search all the students. “You stand here,” the teacher told Olusola. “I know that as one of Jehovah’s Witnesses, you cannot steal.” The money was found with two of the boys who had ridiculed Olusola, and they were severely punished. Olusola wrote: “I am very happy that I am known as one of Jehovah’s Witnesses, who will never steal, thus giving glory to Jehovah.”

Upon leaving home one day, Marcelo, a native of Argentina, found a briefcase on the ground a few yards from his back door. Taking the briefcase inside the house, he and his wife carefully opened it. Much to their surprise, they found a huge sum of money in cash, credit cards, and several signed checks, one of which was for a million pesos. On an invoice, they found a phone number. They called the owner and arranged to return the briefcase with its contents at the place where Marcelo works. When the owner arrived, he seemed nervous. The employer told him to calm down, for Marcelo was one of Jehovah’s Witnesses. As a reward for finding the briefcase, the owner gave Marcelo only 20 pesos (about $6, U.S.). This infuriated the employer because he was very much impressed by Marcelo’s honesty. This gave Marcelo the opportunity to explain that as one of Jehovah’s Witnesses, he wants to be honest at all times.

From Kyrgyzstan comes the following experience. Rinat, a six-year-old boy, found a purse belonging to a lady who lived nearby. The purse contained 1,100 som (about $25, U.S.). When Rinat returned the lost purse to the lady, she counted the money and then told Rinat’s mother that 200 som was missing. Rinat said that he had not taken the money. Then all went out to search for the missing money and found it near the place where the purse had been found. The woman was astonished. She expressed her gratitude to Rinat and his mother, first for returning the lost money and second, for his Christian upbringing.