STUDY ARTICLE 32
Follow Jehovah Example and Be Reasonable
“Let your reasonableness become known to all men.”—PHIL. 4:5.
SONG 89 Listen, Obey, and Be Blessed
WETIN WE COMING LEARN? a
1. How Christians must be like tree? (Also see the picture.)
YOU na see wetin coconut tree can do when heavy breeze blowing? It can bend but it can’t break. So this just teach us about one important quality that can help certain trees to keep standing even when heavy breeze blowing, and that to be flexible. If we want continue serving Jehovah and be happy, we our self too must be flexible when things get hard in our life. How? When things change in our life, we must be reasonable by adjusting to our new situation. Also, we can show that we reasonable by showing respect for other people idea and the decision them they can make.
2. What quality them will help us to adjust, and wetin we coming learn in this article?
2 We who serving Jehovah must try to be reasonable. We must also be humble and feel sorry for people. In this article, we will see how this quality them na help some Christians to adjust when things change in their life. We will also see how this quality them can help us. But first, yor let learn from Jehovah and Jesus. They set the perfect example about how to be reasonable.
JEHOVAH AND JESUS REASONABLE
3. How we know that Jehovah reasonable?
3 The Bible call Jehovah “the Rock” because he stable. (Deut. 32:4) But he also reasonable. When things changing in the world, Jehovah can be adjusting and making sure that everything he promise will come true. Jehovah made us in his image, so we able to adjust when things change in our life. In the Bible, we can find good-good advice that can help us to make wise decisions no matter the kind na problem we can face. Jehovah own example and Bible principles can help us to know that he reasonable even though the Bible call him “the Rock.”
4. Give one example that show that Jehovah reasonable. (Leviticus 5:7, 11)
4 Jehovah reasonable in the way he can do things and he perfect. He can’t deal with people rough way. Take for example the way Jehovah show that he reasonable when he was dealing with the Israelite them. Whether the people were rich or poor, he never force everybody to make the same sacrifice. In some case them, he allow each person to make the sacrifice them that they were able to make.—Read Leviticus 5:7, 11.
5. Give one example that show how Jehovah humble and he can feel sorry for people.
5 Because Jehovah humble and he can feel sorry for people, it make him to be reasonable. For example, Jehovah show that he was really humble when he was coming to destroy the wicked people in Sodom. Jehovah use his angel them to tell the righteous man Lot to run away to the area that were having plenty mountain. Lot was scary to go there. So he beg Jehovah for he and his family to run away to Zoar. Zoar that was small town that Jehovah wanted to destroy. Jehovah was having the right to tell Lot to follow his direction. But Jehovah allow Lot to go to Zoar and Jehovah not destroy that town. (Gen. 19:18-22) After plenty years pass, Jehovah feel sorry for the people that were living in Nineveh. He sent the prophet Jonah to tell the wicked people in Nineveh that they and their city will be destroy. But Jehovah not destroy them and their city because he was feeling sorry for them when they repented.—Jonah 3:1, 10; 4:10, 11.
6. Give some examples that show how Jesus follow Jehovah example to be reasonable.
6 Jesus follow Jehovah example and show that he reasonable. Jehovah sent him to the earth to preach to “the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” But he show that he was reasonable when he was preaching to the people. For example, one woman who was not Israelite beg Jesus to heal her daughter who the demon was suffering bad way. Jesus feel sorry for the woman and heal her daughter. (Matt. 15:21-28) Yor let look at another example. When Jesus started his ministry, he say: “Whoever disowns me . . . , I will also disown him.” (Matt. 10:33) But you think he disown Peter when he deny him three times? No. Jesus knew that Peter was faithful man and Peter really felt sorry for what he did. After Jesus came back to life, he appear to Peter and told him that he na forgive him and still love him.—Luke 24:33, 34
7. From Philippians 4:5, how we want other people to look at us?
7 We na see that Jehovah God and Jesus Christ reasonable. How about us? Jehovah expecting us to be reasonable. (Read Philippians 4:5.) One translation say this verse like this: “The way you behave must show that you reasonable person.” We can think on this question them: ‘People know me to be somebody who can agree with other people sometime? Or they know me to be somebody that hard head and can’t listen to anybody? I can always stick behind people to do things the way I want it to be? Or I can listen to other people and even agree with them when it possible? The more we reasonable that the more we will be following Jehovah and Jesus example. Yor let talk about two situations where it important to be reasonable, (1) when things change in our life, and (2) when other people thinking and decision them different from our own.
BE REASONABLE WHEN THINGS CHANGE IN YOUR LIFE
8. Wetin can help us to be reasonable when things change in our life? (Also see the footnote.)
8 We must be reasonable when things change in our life. When things change it can cause problems for us that we were not expecting. For example, when we just get seriously sick. Or money and food business just start getting hard. Or things change in the government that making things really hard for us. (Eccl. 9:11; 1 Cor. 7:31) It can even be hard if the organization change our assignment. No matter what happen, we able to adjust to any new situation if we follow this four thing them: (1) accept that your situation na change, (2) think about what you can do now-now (3) focus on the good-good thing them that happening in your life, and (4) do things for other people. b Yor let see how some of our brother and sister them na benefit from doing this thing them.
9. Wetin help one marry people to go through the problem them they were not expecting?
9 Accept that your situation na change. The organization assign Emanuele and Francesca to be missionaries in different country. When they just started to learn the language and to get to know the brother and sister them in their new congregation, the COVID-19 started. They were force to stay away from other people. Then Francesca mother just die quick. Francesca really wanted be with her family, but because of the COVID-19 sickness she was not able to travel. Wetin help her to go through all this problem them? First, she and her husband pray to Jehovah for wisdom so that they can’t worry too much and be able to bear the problem every day. Jehovah answer their prayers the right time through his organization. For example, one brother interview that they watch really encourage them. The brother say: “If we quick to accept our new situation, it will be easy for us to be happy again. Then we will be able to do our best in our new situation.” c Second, they decided to learn how to do telephone witnessing good-good, and they even started one Bible study. Third, they allow the brother and sister them to help them. They were really grateful for the love the brothers show to them. One kind sister sent them short message with one Bible verse every day for one year. We our self too, when we accept our new situation we can be happy with what we able to do.
10. How one sister adjust to one big change that happen in her life?
10 Don’t think on how life was looking before, but focus on the good-good thing them that happening in your life. One sister from Romania name Christina living in Japan. She was really feeling bad when they close down the English congregation she use to go to. But she not continue thinking on what happen. She went to the Japanese congregation and did her best to preach in the Japanese language. She ask one woman she use to work with to teach her how to speak Japanese good-good. The woman agree to use the Bible and the Enjoy Life Now and Forever! brochure to teach her. So Christina learn how to speak Japanese good-good. But the most important one the woman show interest in the truth. We must not continue thinking on how our life was looking before. But we must focus on the good-good thing them that happening in our life now-now. When we do it, the change we were not expecting will bring blessings that we will not be expecting.
11. Wetin help one marry people when money business got hard on them?
11 Do things for other people. One marry people living in one country where they stop our work. They lose their job because things got so hard in the country. How they adjust to this new situation? First, they buy only the thing them they needed. After that, they focus on helping other people by spending plenty time in the preaching work instead of focusing on their problem them. (Acts 20:35) The husband say: “Because we spend plenty time preaching we were not having any time to think about our problems. But we were having more time to do what God wanted us to do. When things change in our life, we must remember that it really important to continue helping other people especially by preaching to them.
12. How the apostle Paul example can help us to be flexible when we preaching to other people?
12 It good for us to be flexible when we preaching the good news. The people we can preach to get different-different ideas about God. They come from different-different places and they can do things different-different ways. So Paul use to adjust, and we can learn from his example. Jesus appoint Paul to be “apostle to the nations.” (Rom. 11:13) So Paul preach to Jews, Greeks, big-big people in the government, kings, book people and people who not know book. Paul became “all things to people of all sorts” just to touch their heart with the good news.” (1 Cor. 9:19-23) He use to think good-good about where the people he talk to coming from and what they believe. This one help him to be flexible and to talk to each person in the way that will touch their heart and make them to learn about God. We our self too can improve our preaching if we flexible and try to think about the best way to help each person.
RESPECT OTHER PEOPLE IDEAS
13. If we respect other people ideas, what danger we will avoid that in 1 Corinthians 8:9?
13 When we reasonable it will also help us to respect other people idea. For example, some of our sister them like to use makeup, and some of them not like to use it. Some Christian them like to drink some liquor and some of them can decide not to drink any liquor. All Christians want be alright in the body, but they can choose different-different way to take care of their body. If we think that we always right and try to convince our brother them to do the same thing we can do, then we will stumble other people and divide the congregation. And we not want do that one! (Read 1 Corinthians 8:9; 10:23, 24) Let look at two examples that show how when we apply the Bible advice, it can help us to not go overboard and still have peace with our brother them.
14. What Bible principles will help us to know what to wear and what hairstyle to fix?
14 Dress and hairstyle. Jehovah not tell us wetin we must wear but he gave us good advice to follow. The way we dress must show that we know our limit, we reasonable, and sound in mind. (1 Tim. 2:9, 10; 1 Pet. 3:3) So, the way we dress must not make people to only be thinking about how we looking. Also, Bible principles will help the elder them to not make their own laws about how people must dress and about how they must fix their hair. For example, the elder them in one congregation wanted to help some young brother them who was following one popular hairstyle that was short but looking too bad. How the elder them was able to help them without making law? The circuit overseer advise the elder them to tell the young brothers: “If you on the stage and the brother them paying attention to the way you looking more than what you saying, then it mean something wrong with your hairstyle or the way you dress.” This one help the young brother them to understand what they must do and the elder them not make any law. d
15. What Bible laws and principles can help us when we making decisions to take care of our health? (Romans 14:5)
15 Taking care of your health. Each Christian must decide how to take care of their own health. (Gal. 6:5) When Christian thinking about the type of treatment to take, they must obey the Bible laws to not take in blood and to stay away from spiritism. (Acts 15:20; Gal. 5:19, 20) But apart from this one, their own self can decide what type of treatment to take. Some people can only get treatment from hospital or clinics. But some people can choose different type of treatment. Sometime, we can be sure that certain type of treatment can help us or it not good for us. But we must respect the right our brother and sister them get to make their own decisions to take care of their health. So, we must remember this three thing them: (1) Only God Kingdom will stop all sickness. (Isa. 33:24) (2) Each Christian must really be sure about the type of treatment that alright for him. (Read Romans 14:5.) (3) We must not judge other people for the decision them they make and we must not do anything that will make other people to be stumble. (Rom. 14:13) (4) We must show love and understand that the unity in the congregation more important than our own idea. (Rom. 14:15, 19, 20) If we remember this point them we will always have good friendship with our brother and sister them, and help to keep peace in the congregation.
16. How elders can show that they reasonable when they having elder meeting? (Also see the pictures.)
16 Elder them must set good example and be reasonable. (1 Tim. 3:2, 3) For example, no elder must think that his fellow elder will always accept his idea just because he older than them. He know that Jehovah spirit can make any elder to say something that will help them to make good decision. And if most of the elder them agree to do something that not against the Bible, the elder that reasonable will support that decision even if he was having different idea.
WE CAN BENEFIT WHEN WE REASONABLE
17. When we reasonable, how we can benefit?
17 When we reasonable we can enjoy plenty blessings. We can get good friendship with our brother and sister them, and peace can be in the congregation. We can enjoy the different-different way Jehovah people can do things. And it can just full our mouth to know that even though all of us different, we still worshiping Jehovah like one family. The most important one that, we happy to know that we following Jehovah example, our God who reasonable.
SONG 90 Encourage One Another
a Jehovah and Jesus reasonable or flexible, and they want us to get that same quality. If we reasonable, it will be easy for us to adjust. For example when we get sick or money business get hard on us. It will also help us to say and do things that will help for peace and unity to be in the congregation.
b See the article “How to Deal With Change” in the Awake! No. 4 2016.
c Watch the video Interview With Brother Dmitriy Mikhaylov that in the article “Jehovah Turn Persecution to Opportunity for Preaching” that in the March-April 2021 Live and Preach Meeting Work Book.
d To learn more about dress and hairstyle, see lesson 52 in the Enjoy Life Now and Forever! book.