1, 2. (a) How did Jesus respond when Peter told him to be kind to himself? (See opening picture.) (b) Why did Jesus respond in that way?

JESUS’ disciples were shocked! They thought that Jesus would restore the kingdom of Israel, but Jesus said that he would soon suffer and die. The apostle Peter spoke first: “Be kind to yourself, Lord; you will not have this happen to you at all.” Jesus replied: “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me, because you think, not God’s thoughts, but those of men.”​—Matthew 16:21-23; Acts 1:6.

² By saying that, Jesus made it clear that Jehovah’s thinking is different from the ideas of this world controlled by Satan. (1 John 5:19) Peter encouraged Jesus to have the selfish attitude that many people in the world have. But Jesus knew that Jehovah wanted him to prepare himself for the suffering and death that he would  soon experience. Jesus’ answer clearly showed that he accepted Jehovah’s thinking and completely rejected the world’s.

3. Why is it difficult to accept Jehovah’s thinking and reject the world’s?

³ What about us? Do we think like Jehovah or like people in the world? As Christians, we work hard to make sure that what we do pleases God. But what about the way we think? Are we working hard to think like Jehovah, that is, to view matters as he views them? Doing so takes a lot of effort. However, it is very easy to think like people in the world. That is because the spirit of the world is all around us. (Ephesians 2:2) Also, people in the world often focus on themselves, and we may be tempted to think like them. Yes, it is difficult to think like Jehovah but very easy to think like people in the world.

4. (a) What will happen if we let the world influence our thinking? (b) What will we learn in this article?

⁴ If we let the world influence our thinking, we will likely become selfish and want to decide for ourselves what is right and what is wrong. (Mark 7:21, 22) So it is vital that we learn to think “God’s thoughts,” not “those of men.” This article will help us to do that. We will consider reasons why viewing matters as Jehovah does is not too restrictive but is beneficial. We will also consider how we can avoid being molded, or influenced, by the thinking of this world. In the next article, we will learn how we can get Jehovah’s thinking about certain matters and make his thinking our own.

5. Why do some people not want anyone to influence them?

⁵ Some people do not want anyone to influence the way they think. They say, “I think for myself.” They probably mean that they want to make their own decisions and that they have the right to do so. They do not want others to control them or to force them to be just like everyone else. * (See footnote.)

6. (a) What freedom does Jehovah give us? (b) Is this freedom unlimited?

⁶ It is good to know that if we accept Jehovah’s thinking, we can still have our own opinions. Second Corinthians 3:17 says: “Where the spirit of Jehovah is, there is freedom.” Jehovah gives us the freedom to become the type of person we want to be. We can have our personal preferences and choose which things to be interested in. Jehovah made us this way. But this does not mean that we have unlimited freedom. (Read 1 Peter 2:16.) When we need to know what is right or wrong, Jehovah wants us to use his Word as our guide. Is this too restrictive, or is it beneficial?

7, 8. Is it too restrictive to view matters the way Jehovah wants us to? Give an example.

 ⁷ We can illustrate it this way. Parents try to teach their children good values. They may teach them to be honest, to work hard, and to care about others. This is not too restrictive. Rather, parents are preparing their children to be successful in life. When the children grow up and leave home, they will be free to make their own choices. If they choose to live according to the good values their parents taught them, they are more likely to make good decisions and avoid many problems, anxieties, and regrets.

⁸ Like a good parent, Jehovah wants his children to have the most satisfying life possible. (Isaiah 48:17, 18) So he teaches us basic principles about moral conduct and how we should treat others. He invites us to learn to view matters the way he does and to live according to his values. This is not too restrictive. Instead, it makes us wiser and helps us make better decisions. (Psalm 92:5; Proverbs 2:1-5; Isaiah 55:9) We can still have our personal preferences, but we will make choices that will make us happy. (Psalm 1:2, 3) When we have Jehovah’s thinking, we benefit in many ways!

9, 10. What proves that Jehovah’s thinking is superior to the world’s?

⁹ Another reason why we want our thinking to be more like Jehovah’s is that his thinking is far superior to the world’s. The world gives advice about what conduct is moral, how to have a happy family, and how to succeed in our career and other areas of life. But most of this advice does not agree with Jehovah’s thinking. For example, the world often encourages people to pursue only their own interests and to view sexual immorality as acceptable. And it sometimes suggests that married couples would be happier if they separate or get divorced for minor reasons. This advice goes against what the Bible teaches. But is the world’s advice more practical today than the Bible’s advice?

¹⁰ Jesus said: “Wisdom is proved righteous by its works.” (Matthew 11:19) Although the world has made much progress in technology, it has not been able to solve the major problems that prevent us from being happy, such as war, racism, and crime. In addition, the world views sexual immorality as acceptable. But many people admit that this destroys families,  causes health problems, and has other bad consequences. What about Jehovah’s advice? Christians who have accepted Jehovah’s viewpoint have happier families, are healthier, and have peaceful relationships with their brothers and sisters around the world. (Isaiah 2:4; Acts 10:34, 35; 1 Corinthians 6:9-11) This clearly proves that Jehovah’s thinking is superior to the world’s.

11. Who molded Moses’ thinking, and what was the result?

¹¹ Jehovah’s faithful servants in the past knew that Jehovah’s thinking is superior. For example, even though Moses was taught “all the wisdom of the Egyptians,” he knew that true wisdom comes from Jehovah. (Acts 7:22; Psalm 90:12) So he asked Jehovah: “Make me know your ways.” (Exodus 33:13) Because Moses let Jehovah mold his thinking, Jehovah used him in an amazing way to accomplish His purpose and gave honor to Moses by calling him a man of great faith.​—Hebrews 11:24-27.

12. What did Paul base his decisions on?

¹² The apostle Paul was an intelligent, well-educated man, and he spoke at least two languages. (Acts 5:34; 21:37, 39; 22:2, 3) But he rejected worldly wisdom and made his decisions based on God’s Word. (Read Acts 17:2; 1 Corinthians 2:6, 7, 13.) As a result, he had a very successful ministry and looked forward to a reward that would last forever.​—2 Timothy 4:8.

13. Who is responsible for adjusting our thinking so that we view things the way Jehovah does?

¹³ Clearly, God’s thinking is far superior to the world’s. If we follow God’s standards, we will be truly happy and successful. But Jehovah will not force us to think like him. “The faithful and discreet slave” does not control our thoughts, and neither do the elders. (Matthew 24:45; 2 Corinthians 1:24) Each of us is responsible for adjusting our own thinking so that we view things the way Jehovah does. How can we do that?

14, 15. (a) What must we meditate on so that we think like Jehovah? (b) Why must we not allow worldly ideas to enter our minds? Give an example.

¹⁴ Romans 12:2 says: “Stop being molded by this system of things, but be transformed by making your mind over, so that you may prove to yourselves the good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” This scripture teaches us that no matter what molded our thinking before we learned the truth, we can change our thoughts and make them more like God’s. Although genetic factors and our experiences in life have influenced the way we think to some degree, our mind can keep changing. And it will change based mostly on what we choose to think about. If we meditate on Jehovah’s thinking, we will prove to ourselves that his viewpoint is always  right. Then, we will desire to view matters the way he views them.

¹⁵ But to make our mind over so that we think like Jehovah, we must “stop being molded by this system.” This means that we must stop watching, reading, and listening to anything that goes against God’s thinking. To help us understand how important this is, consider the example of food. Someone who wants to be healthier may decide to eat better foods. But all his efforts will be useless if he also regularly eats rotten food! In a similar way, all our efforts to learn about Jehovah’s thinking will be useless if we allow worldly ideas to enter our minds.

16. What must we protect ourselves from?

¹⁶ Can we completely avoid worldly ideas? No, we will be exposed to some of the world’s ideas because we cannot literally get out of the world. (1 Corinthians 5:9, 10) Even when we are preaching, we will hear people express wrong ideas and false beliefs. But while we cannot completely avoid wrong ideas, we do not have to keep thinking about them or accept them. Like Jesus, we should be quick to reject thoughts that Satan would like us to have. And we can protect ourselves by avoiding unnecessary exposure to the world’s thinking.​—Read Proverbs 4:23.

17. How can we avoid unnecessary exposure to the world’s thinking?

¹⁷ For example, we should choose our friends carefully. The Bible warns that if we become close friends with people who do not worship Jehovah, we will start to think the way they do. (Proverbs 13:20; 1 Corinthians 15:12, 32, 33) We should also choose our entertainment carefully. When we reject entertainment that promotes the theory of evolution, violence, or immorality, we avoid poisoning our mind with ideas  that are “against the knowledge of God.”​—2 Corinthians 10:5.

18, 19. (a) Why must we be careful of worldly ideas that are promoted in less obvious ways? (b) What questions should we ask ourselves, and why?

¹⁸ We must also recognize and reject worldly ideas that are promoted in less obvious ways. For example, some news reports are presented in a way that favors certain political opinions. And some news stories promote goals and accomplishments that the world admires. Some movies and books promote the “me first” and “family first” ways of thinking and make them seem reasonable, appealing, even right. However, these viewpoints ignore the Bible. It says that we and our family will be truly happy when we love Jehovah above all. (Matthew 22:36-39) Also, some children’s stories, although they may be mostly acceptable, can subtly cause children to accept immoral behavior.

¹⁹ This does not mean that it is wrong to enjoy wholesome entertainment. But we should ask ourselves: ‘Do I recognize worldly ideas even when they are promoted indirectly? Am I protecting my children and myself from certain TV programs and reading material? Do I help my children to have Jehovah’s view of matters so that they are not influenced by the worldly ideas they hear and see?’ If we recognize the difference between God’s thinking and the world’s, we can avoid “being molded by this system of things.”

20. What will determine who molds us?

²⁰ We must remember that there are only two sources of information. One is Jehovah, and the other is Satan and his world. Who molds you? The answer is, the one you get information from. If we accept the world’s ideas, the world will mold our thinking and we will think and act selfishly. So it is very important that we carefully choose what we watch, read, listen to, and think about.

21. What will we discuss in the next article?

²¹ In this article we have learned that to have Jehovah’s thinking, we must avoid worldly ideas. We must also meditate on God’s thoughts so that we will think more like him. In the next article, we will learn how to do that.