1, 2. (a) Wetin dey important to us pass any other thing? (b) Which truths we value, and why? (Check the first pictures.)

WETIN you value pass for your life? You go like to exchange-am with wetin no too get value? For people wey de worship Jehovah, the answer to this question dey simple. Na our friendship with Jehovah be the number one thing for our life, e dey important to us. We no go ever exchange-am with anything. Bible truth dey important to us too, because e de make–am possible for us to get friendship with Jehovah.​—Col. 1:9, 10.

² Just think about everything wey Jehovah, our Highest Teacher, de teach us for e Word, the Bible! E show us the truth about e fine-fine character, and the meaning of e name. E show us how e love us well-well as e give e Son to die for us. E still teach us about the Kingdom wey e put for Jesus hand, and e give us hope for the future. For anointed Christians na hope to live for heaven, and for “other sheep” na hope to live for Paradise for this earth. (John 10:16) E de teach us how we go live our life. We value all this truth because they help us to dey close  to the Person wey e make us. And all this truth de add meaning to our life.

3. When Bible say ‘buy truth’ wetin e no mean?

³ Jehovah na God wey get open hand well-well. E de give good things to people wey really love to learn the truth. Jehovah even give the life of e only Son as free gift. God no go ever want us to pay money for the truth. When Simon give apostle Peter money so that e go fit get power to make other people get holy spirit, Peter talk say: “Make you die with your silver, because you think say you fit get the free gift of God with money.” (Acts 8:18-20) So, wetin Bible mean when e talk say: “Buy truth”?

4. For this topic, wetin we go learn about the truth?

⁴ Read Proverbs 23:23. We must do something before we learn the truth from Bible. We must dey ready to leave anything wey e fit disturb us, so that we go learn the truth. The book of Proverbs talk say, when we don “buy,” or get the “truth,” we must dey careful so that we no go “sell,” or lose-am. For this topic, we go talk about wetin e mean to “buy” the truth, and the price wey we need to pay. We fit value the truth more, and we fit try well-well so that we no go ever “sell” this truth. As we go see, no matter wetin we don pay to buy this truth, we no fit compare-am with this truth.

5, 6. (a) How we fit buy truth without money? Give example. (b) How truth de benefit us?

⁵ Even something wey person get for free fit still cost the person something. The Hebrew word wey they translate as “buy” for Proverbs 23:23, fit still mean to “get” something. This two words mean to do something or to exchange something to get wetin get value. This example fit help us to understand wetin e mean to buy the truth. Make we talk say them de advertise free thing for one place. The thing go just fly come our house? No. We need to go carry-am for the place. The thing na free? Yes, but we must do something and spend time go the place. Na so e still be, we no need to spend money to buy the truth. But, we must do something to get-am.

⁶ Read Isaiah 55:1-3. Wetin Jehovah use Isaiah write explain more about wetin e mean to buy the truth. For Bible book of Isaiah, Jehovah compare e word with water, milk, and wine. Just like clean water wey e dey cold de make our mind come down when we drink-am, na so the truth from Bible de make our mind come down when we learn-am. Just like milk de make us strong and help children to grow, na so Jehovah’s word de make us strong and help our friendship with God grow. Jehovah’s word still be like wine. How? Bible talk say wine de make person heart glad. (Ps. 104:15) So, as Jehovah tell us to “buy wine,” e mean say if we follow the thing wey e word talk, e go make us glad. (Ps. 19:⁠8) Jehovah compare e word with this things so that we go understand say, na we go benefit well-well when we learn the truth and do wetin we learn. We fit compare that thing wey we do to the price wey we pay. So now, make we talk about five things wey we fit pay to buy the truth.

7, 8. (a) Why we must spend time to buy the truth? (b) Wetin one young woman happy to pay to learn the truth, and wetin be the result?

⁷ Time. This na price wey anybody wey e want buy the truth must pay. E de take time to listen to Kingdom message, to read Bible and our publications, to do personal Bible study, and to prepare for  meeting and attend meeting. We must ‘buy,’ or take time from things wey they no too get value. (Read Ephesians 5:​15, 16, and footnote.) How much time e go take us to understand some of the truth wey we suppose to know first for Bible? E depend on the person, because our understanding different. We no fit learn the ways of Jehovah finish, e work and where e sense reach. (Rom. 11:33) The first Watch Tower wey we print compare the truth with ‘simple small flower.’ E say: “No feel say only one flower of truth don reach you. If to say one reach, other ones for no dey. Make you continue to gather the flowers, de find more.” We fit ask ourself say; ‘How the flowers of truth wey I don gather plenty reach?’ Even forever, we go still de learn more about Jehovah. Today, the important thing be say make we use our time well so that we go buy plenty truth as our power reach. See the example of one person wey really hungry for truth.

⁸ Mariko * na one young woman from Japan. E come school for New York City, U.S.A. That time e join one religion wey start from Japan for 1959. One pioneer sister meet Mariko as e de preach from house to house. When Mariko start to learn Bible truth, e like-am well-well. E glad sotey e tell the pioneer say make e de come two times every week. Mariko dey busy because e de go school and e still de do part-time work. But even with all this one, e no waste time, e start to attend meetings. E still stop to spend time for some things like to relax and enjoy e self, sports and other things. E do all this one because e want learn the truth. This things wey Mariko do really help e friendship with Jehovah grow fast. E no reach one year e baptize. And after six months, for 2006, e start to pioneer, and e still de pioneer.

9, 10. (a) When we buy the truth, how e fit change the way we de see money and property? (b) Which price one woman pay to learn the truth, and how e feel about-am?

⁹ Money and property. To buy truth, we fit need to stop our work, even though na big work and e de pay better money. When Jesus invite Peter and Andrew wey be fishermen to come and be “fishers of men,” they “abandon their nets.” (Matt. 4:18-20) The truth be say, many of the people wey learn the truth today no fit leave their work just like that. They must take care of their family as Bible talk-am. (1 Tim. 5:8) But, many people wey learn the truth must change the way them de see money and property, and things wey they want do for their life. Jesus make this point clear when e talk say: “Make wuna stop to gather things wey get value for wuna self for this earth . . . Instead, make wuna de gather things wey get value for wuna self for heaven.” (Matt. 6:​19, 20) Make we see the example of one young woman.

¹⁰ Maria start to play golf even before e reach the age to start school (golf na one of the sports wey e de pay big money). E continue to do this sport and e come sabi-am well-well sotey e win university scholarship when e dey secondary school. E really like to play golf. E plan to be professional golf player for e life. But after, Maria start to study Bible, and e love the truth wey e de learn. E really glad with the way the truth change e life. E talk say: “The more I de change my life to follow wetin Bible talk, the more I de glad.” Maria know say e no go dey easy make e really de do wetin God want and still de follow e plan to be professional golf player. (Matt. 6:24) Which price Maria pay to  learn the truth? E leave wetin e plan to use e life do. To be professional golf player, e mean say e go dey popular and get plenty money. But, because Maria buy the truth, now e de serve as regular pioneer. E talk say now e de really enjoy, “e dey happy and e life get real meaning.”

11. When we buy the truth, wetin some of our family and friends fit do?

¹¹ Family and friends. When we choose to live our life the way Bible want-am, our friendship with family and friends fit change. Why? Jesus pray about e followers say: ‘Use the truth to make them holy; your word na truth.’ (John 17:17; ftn.) ‘Make them holy’ fit still mean to ‘make them different.’ When we learn the truth, we don dey different from the world because we no fit do the things wey them de do again. Other people go de see us as different people because our thinking don change, now we de follow the truth from Bible. We de live our life the way Bible want-am. The truth be say, we no want divide our family or leave our friends. But, some family members and friends fit no like-am make we dey together again, or they fit even dey against us because of our new faith. This one no surprise us because Jesus talk say, the enemies wey person go get go be “people from e own family.” (Matt. 10:36) Jesus still promise us say, wetin we go gain go pass anything wey we pay to buy the truth.​—Read Mark 10:28-30.

12. Which price one man wey be Jew pay to buy the truth?

¹² Aaron, na one business man wey be Jew. From small pikin, e don learn from e religion say na bad thing to call the name of God. But, Aaron really want learn about God. One Jehovah Witness come show Aaron say, if e add vowel letters to the four Hebrew consonants wey stand as the name of God, e go fit call-am “Jehovah.” Aaron really surprise! E glad sotey, e go meet all their rabbi for synagogue to tell them the correct thing wey e learn. Wetin they do surprise Aaron. Instead wey they go happy with Aaron for the truth wey e learn about the name of God, they drive Aaron comot and spit for e face. Even Aaron family reject Aaron. But e no bother, e continue to learn more about Jehovah. E become Jehovah’s Witness, and serve Jehovah well for the rest of e life. Like Aaron, so that we go continue to waka for the truth, we ready to face the way people go de see us. And even face anything wey fit happen to our friendship with our family and friends, so that we go fit remain for the truth.

13, 14. Which kind things we need to change for our thinking and character to fit buy the truth? Give example.

¹³ Bad thinking and character. To learn the truth and live our life the way Bible want-am, we must dey ready to change some things wey we de do and the way we de think. See wetin Peter talk about this kind change. E say: “As obedient children, make wuna stop to do the things wey wuna body want when wuna never know the truth, but . . . make wuna dey holy for all wuna character.” (1 Pet. 1:14, 15) The old city of Corinth for Bible dey corrupt well-well. That time, people wey dey there really work hard to change some things for their life so that they go fit buy the truth. This one na serious big change for them. (1 Cor. 6:9-11) Na so e still be today, many people don comot hand from things wey Jehovah hate so that they go fit buy the truth. Peter remind Christians for e time say: “Because the time wey e don pass dey enough for wuna to do the things wey people of the nations want, when wuna de do shameful things, de get desire  to do bad thing, de over drink, de do wild parties, de do competition for drinking, and de worship idol.”​—1 Pet. 4:3.

¹⁴ Devynn and Jasmine na drunkards for many years. Devynn na better bookkeeper, but e drinking habit no allow make e get permanent work. People know say Jasmine like fight and e de quick vex. One day, as Jasmine don drink finish and dey drunk, e meet two Jehovah Witness missionaries for road. The missionaries arrange to start Bible study with Jasmine. But as they reach e house the next week, both Jasmine and Devynn dey drunk. Two of them no expect say the missionaries go care for them sotey they find them come house. But things change the next time wey the missionaries go there. From the first study, Jasmine and Devynn become serious Bible students, and they start to do wetin they learn for their life. E no reach three months, they stop to drink alcohol and they register their marriage. They change plenty things for their life, and many people notice-am. This one touch many people for their village, and e move them to accept Bible study.

15. Which price fit hard pass price to pay to buy the truth, and why?

¹⁵ Traditions and celebrations wey God hate. To buy the truth, the price wey e fit hard for us to pay pass, na to comot hand from traditions and celebrations wey God hate. E fit dey easy for some people to accept wetin Bible talk about all this traditions and celebrations. And e fit hard for others to accept because family members, people for work, and tight friends fit no like make they stop, or de worry them. The condition fit hard more, especially if the tradition mean say them go do something or honor person wey e don die. (Deut. 14:1) But the correct example of some people fit help us make some change wey we need to make for our life. Make we talk about some people for Ephesus for apostles their time. This people make some big change for their life.

16. Wetin some people for Ephesus do to buy the truth?

¹⁶ For city of Ephesus, na so-so magic full everywhere. E never take long time wey some people for there become Christians, and this people de do magic before. So, wetin this people do so that they go fit buy the truth? Bible talk say: ‘Plenty people wey them de do magic bring their book together and burn-am for front of all the people. And when they calculate the price of all the book, e reach 50,000 pieces of silver. So for powerful way, the word of Jehovah continue to grow and succeed.’ (Acts 19:19, 20) This faithful Christians pay high price, and Jehovah bless them well-well.

17. (a) Wetin be some of the things wey we fit pay to buy the truth? (b) Which question we go talk about for the next topic?

¹⁷ Wetin you pay to buy the truth? All of us spend time to gather the flowers of truth. Some don leave wetin fit de give them money and even their property. Some no tire even as their family and friends don abandon them. Some people fight with bad thinking and character. Some na traditions and celebrations wey Jehovah hate. No matter wetin you pay, we dey sure say the truth wey dey Bible better pass anything wey we don pay to buy-am. Na the truth wey we learn make us get correct friendship with Jehovah. When we think about all the blessing wey we get as we know the truth, we wonder why person go want sell-am. How that one fit happen, and wetin go help us make we no make that kind big mistake? Na this questions we go talk about for the next topic.