1. Why e de hard us sometimes to obey?

 E DE hard you sometimes to obey? If your answer na yes, make you know say you no dey alone. Sometimes, King David feel like that and e pray to Jehovah say: “Make you make my heart dey ready to obey you.” (Ps. 51:12) Even though David love Jehovah, sometimes e no easy for-am to obey Jehovah just as e no de easy for us sometimes. Why e be like that? Number one, we no dey perfect. Number two, Satan de try everything to make us no obey Jehovah. (2 Cor. 11:3) And number three, we dey around “people wey no de obey.” (Eph. 2:2) So we no only need to fight against the sin wey dey our body, we still need to fight against Satan and this wicked world. We must do our best to obey Jehovah and the people wey e don give the work to care for im organization.

2. Wetin e mean to dey “ready to obey”? (James 3:17)

² Read James 3:17. James write say people wey get sense always “ready to obey.” Wetin this one mean? E mean say we need to ready and like to obey people wey Jehovah talk say make we de obey. But Jehovah no de expect us to obey person wey tell us to do wetin E no like.—Acts 4:18-20.

3. Why e dey important make we obey people wey Jehovah talk say make we de obey?

³ E fit dey easy for us to obey Jehovah than to obey people. Because Jehovah law no get mistake. (Ps. 19:7) But law wey people make de get mistake because them no dey perfect. Even with that one, Jehovah want make we obey our papa and mama, people for government and elders for congregation.  (Prov. 6:20; 1 Thess. 5:12; 1 Pet. 2:13, 14) When we obey them, we de obey Jehovah. Make we talk about wetin go help us fit obey them even though say sometimes, we fit no like wetin them talk say make we do.

4. Why many young people no de obey their papa and mama?

⁴ Many young people for this our time no “de obey [their] papa and mama.” (2 Tim. 3:1, 2) Why? Because some of them feel say their papa and mama no de do wetin them de tell them to do. Other young people feel say the advice wey their papa and mama de give no fit work for our time or e too hard to follow. If you be young person, you de feel like that? Bible talk say: “Make una de obey una papa and mama as the Lord want, because this one dey correct for God eye.” (Eph. 6:1) But e de hard many young people to obey this command. So wetin fit help you obey-am?

5. Why Jesus be the best example of young person wey obey im papa and mama? (Luke 2:46-52)

⁵ Jesus na the best example wey you fit learn from. (1 Pet. 2:21-24) Jesus dey perfect but im papa and mama no dey perfect. Even with this one, e respect them even when them make mistake or them no understand-am well. (Ex. 20:12) See wetin happen when Jesus dey 12 years. (Read Luke 2:46-52.) E follow im papa and mama go Jerusalem but when them de come back, them no know say e no follow them. Na Joseph and Mary work to make sure say all their children follow them go house after the festival. But when them later see Jesus for Jerusalem, Mary blame-am because them really worry as them no see-am. E for easy for Jesus to let them know say no be im fault. But e answer them with respect. Even with that one, Joseph and Mary “no understand wetin e de tell them.” But Jesus continue to obey them.

6-7. Wetin fit help young people obey their papa and mama?

⁶ E de hard you to obey your papa and mama when them make mistake or when them no understand how you de feel? See wetin fit help you. Number one, think about how Jehovah go feel when you obey them. Bible talk say e de make God happy when you obey them. (Col. 3:20) Jehovah know say sometimes, your papa and mama fit no really understand how you de feel. And them fit tell you to do wetin no easy for you to do. But when you obey them even when e hard you, e de make Jehovah happy.

⁷ Number two, think about how your papa and mama go feel when you obey them. When you obey them, e go make them happy and them go trust you more. (Prov. 23:22-25) E go still make you near them more. Brother Alexandre from Belgium talk say: “When I start to obey my papa and mama more-more, our friendship come de strong more-more.” b Number three, think about how e go help you for future as you de obey your papa and mama now. Brother Paulo from Brazil talk say: “As I de obey my papa and mama, e de help me to fit obey other people wey I suppose obey.” Bible tell us one important reason why we need to obey our papa and mama. E talk say: “So that e go better for you and you go fit live long for the earth.”—Eph. 6:2, 3.

8. Why plenty young people don decide to obey their papa and mama?

⁸ Plenty young people don see how things  go well for them when them obey their papa and mama. One sister from Brazil talk say e get one time wey im papa and mama no allow-am get phone but e no understand why. E de think say e suppose get phone because almost all im mate get phone. But after, e see say wetin im papa and mama de do na to protect-am. Now Sister Luiza know say when e obey im papa and mama, e de protect-am. Another young sister from United States wey im name na Elizabeth talk say, sometimes e de hard-am to obey im papa and mama. E talk say: “When my papa and mama give me law and I no know why, e de hard me to follow-am. But when I remember how e de better for me anytime wey I obey them, e de help me fit follow-am.” Sister Monica for Armenia talk say, things de always go well for-am when e obey im papa and mama pass when e no obey them.

9. How plenty people de feel about government law?

⁹ Plenty people agree say we need government and say we suppose obey some of the laws wey government make. (Rom. 13:1) But them no de obey law wey government make wey them no like or wey them feel say e too much. For example, make we talk about tax. For one country for Europe, many people believe say “person no suppose pay tax if the person think say the tax too high.” Because of this one, the people for that country no de pay all the tax wey them suppose pay to government.

10. Why we de obey government laws, even the one wey we feel say e no easy to obey?

¹⁰ Bible agree say government for this world de make us suffer and tell us say na Satan de control how them de do things. But God go soon destroy them. (Ps. 110:5, 6; Eccl. 8:9; Luke 4:5, 6) E still tell us say: “Anybody wey dey against the authority de fight against the thing wey God don arrange.” For now, Jehovah don allow people for government to rule for this world so that everything no go turn up-side-down and e expect say make we obey them. So we must “give [them] wetin them suppose get,” like to de pay tax, respect them and obey them. (Rom. 13:1-7) Government fit make law wey we feel say e no make sense, or no easy for us to obey or say the money wey them say make we de pay for something, too much. But we go obey them because Jehovah tell us to obey them, if wetin them tell us to do no dey against Jehovah Law.—Acts 5:29.

11-12. As e dey for Luke 2:1-6, wetin Joseph and Mary do to obey government, even when e no easy for them. And how Jehovah bless them? (Still check the picture.)

¹¹ We fit learn from the example of Joseph and Mary. Them obey wetin the government for their time say make them do even when e no easy for them. (Read Luke 2:1-6.) When  Mary belle dey around nine months, government tell them to do something wey no go easy for them to obey. Augustus wey be king for Rome that time talk say make everybody go im village so that them go count the people wey dey under im government. Because of this one, Joseph and Mary need to travel go Bethlehem and na journey wey reach 150 kilometers (93 mi) and the road get plenty hills. This journey no go easy especially for Mary. E fit be say them worry about wetin fit happen to Mary and im belle. What if the time for Mary to born reach when them dey road? This one go don really worry them because na the pikin go be the Messiah wey Jehovah don promise. You think say this one go make them talk say them no go obey wetin government talk?

¹² Even though Joseph and Mary get plenty things wey fit make-am no easy for them to obey, them still obey the law. Jehovah happy say them obey and e care for them. Mary travel reach Bethlehem and born the pikin. This one make wetin Bible don talk happen.—Mic. 5:2.

13. When we obey, how e fit affect our brothers and sisters?

¹³ When we obey government, we de gain and other people de gain. Why we talk like that? One reason be say government no go punish us when e de punish people wey no obey. (Rom. 13:4) When we obey government e go affect the way government de see all Jehovah Witness people. For example, many years ago for Nigeria, soldiers enter Kingdom Hall for meeting time, them talk say them de look for people wey no want pay tax. The soldier wey de lead them tell them say make them go back and talk say: “Jehovah Witness People de always pay their tax.” When you de obey government law, e go make people see us as people wey de obey law. And one day, this one fit help our brothers and sisters.—Matt. 5:16.

14. Wetin help one sister to de obey government?

¹⁴ Even though we know say e good to obey  government, sometimes we fit still no want to obey them. One sister for United States talk say: “E de really hard me to obey government because some people for my family don suffer well-well because of partial wey government do.” But Joanna work hard to change the way e de think. The first thing wey e do be say, e stop to read things wey people post for Internet against government. (Prov. 20:3) The second thing be say, e pray to Jehovah make e help-am to trust-am, instead to de trust say government for this world go fit change things. (Ps. 9:9, 10) The third thing be say, e read our books them wey talk say make we no put hand for politics matter. (John 17:16) Sister Joanna talk say now wey e don de respect and obey government, e “really get peace of mind.”

15. Why e de hard us sometimes to obey wetin Jehovah organization talk say make we do?

¹⁵ Jehovah tell us say make we “obey people wey de guide” us for congregation. (Heb. 13:17) Jesus wey be our leader dey perfect but the brothers wey e don choose to care for us no dey perfect. Sometimes, e fit no easy for us to obey them especially when them tell us to do something wey we no want do. This kind thing happen to apostle Peter. When one angel tell-am say make e chop some animals wey the Law of Moses say make them no chop, Peter no gree chop and na three times e talk say e no go chop them. (Acts 10:9-16) Why? Because wetin the angel talk dey different from wetin Peter don de do all im life. Wetin the angel talk dey new to Peter and e no make sense to-am. As e hard Peter to obey angel wey dey perfect, this one really make-am clear say sometimes, e fit hard us to obey people wey no dey perfect.

16. Even if apostle Paul don think say wetin them tell-am to do no make sense, wetin e still do? (Acts 21:23, 24, 26)

¹⁶ Apostle Paul ready to obey even when them tell-am say make e do something wey e fit feel say e no make sense. Christians wey be Jew don hear people talk about Paul say e de preach “against the Law of Moses” and say e no de respect the Law. (Acts 21:21) The elders for Jerusalem tell Paul say make e take four men go temple and clean imself as the Law talk, for people to know say e de obey the Law. Paul know say Christians no de follow the Law of Moses again. And e know say e no do wetin the people talk. Even with this one, Paul no waste time to obey. E “go with the men the next day and make imself dey clean together with them as the Law talk.” (Read Acts 21:23, 24, 26.) Because Paul obey them, e make the Christians continue to dey as one.—Rom. 14:19, 21.

17. Wetin you learn from the example of Sister Stephanie?

¹⁷ E no easy for one sister wey im name na Stephanie to follow the decision wey branch office for their country make. Sister Stephanie and im husband be de happy as them de serve for one group wey de speak another language. The branch office decide to stop the group and send them back to congregation wey de speak their language. Sister Stephanie talk say: “I no happy at all for this decision. I no really believe say work plenty for the congregation wey de speak our language.” Even with this one, e decide to obey. E talk say: “Later, I see say the decision wey the brothers make really make sense. For our new congregation, we don be like papa and mama for many brothers and sisters wey their family no de serve Jehovah. I de study with one sister wey stop to preach and go meeting for  some time. And now I get more time to study. Because I do my best to obey the decision, my conscience no de worry me and this one de make me happy.”

18. Wetin we de gain when we obey?

¹⁸ Jesus “learn how to obey from the things wey e suffer.” (Heb. 5:8) We too fit learn how to obey. Like Jesus, many times we de learn how to obey when things really hard us. For example, when coronavirus just start, them tell us say make we no de do meetings for Kingdom Hall and make we stop to go preach to people for their house, this one fit don hard you to obey. But you obey and this one protect you, make us dey together as one and make Jehovah happy. This one don help us ready to obey anything wey Jehovah Organization go tell us say make we do for great tribulation. And na this one go save our life.—Job 36:11.

19. Why you de obey?

¹⁹ We don learn say Jehovah de bless us when we obey. But the main reason why we de obey Jehovah na because we love-am and we want do wetin go make-am happy. (1 John 5:3) We no go ever fit pay Jehovah for all the things wey e don do for us. (Ps. 116:12) But we fit obey Jehovah and the people wey Jehovah say make we obey. If we obey them, e show say we get sense. And when we show say we get sense, we de make Jehovah happy.—Prov. 27:11.