Let's not trip "these little ones"
"Beware of despising one of these little ones" (MATTHEW 18:10).
1. What has Jehovah done for each of us?
Jehovah has done many things for us, one of them is found in the Gospel John 6:44, because there he mentions that, "He attracts people" therefore that is what he has done for each one of us he has given us the opportunity to be part of his people, and the interesting thing that the paragraph mentions is that of the billions of people he saw in us a sincere heart, he attracted us. Therefore he knows us and loves us and has seen good things in us.
2. What example did Jesus set to help us understand that Jehovah loves each of us?
Jesus used this illustration to help us understand the great love that Jehovah has for each one of us, since he used the parable of the 100 sheep and emphasized that if one of them got lost, what a good shepherd would do would be to leave the others. 99 in the mountains and he will start looking for the one who is lost and when he finds her he will not be angry. Rather, you will be happy, what is the idea that is highlighted here that Jehovah sees us as very valuable beings in his eyes, and does not want that not a single one is missing. As Matthew 18:14 indicates, "he does not want a single one of these little ones to be lost."
3. What will we analyze in this article?
We will answer the following questions: How can we avoid tripping others? And what can we do if someone hurts us? So the goal is to try to make sure none of those little ones stumble.
WHO ARE "THESE LITTLE PEOPLE"?
4. Who are “these little ones”?
It refers to all of Jesus' disciples regardless of whether they are really big or small in terms of age. According to the text it says that they are like children, because they allow themselves to be taught by Jesus, it does not matter that they are from different places, cultures, have different tastes, these are not the characteristics that Jehovah looks for in them, but rather that they have faith in Christ and for that reason he loves them and loves each one of us.
5. How does Jehovah feel when someone hurts or stumbles one of his servants?
As we saw in paragraph 2, even though one is affected, Jehovah also feels upset. To understand it better, here we are given the example of children, since if we would see that someone mistreat a child, either verbally or physically, we would we would feel bad, some of us could even be upset or angry. In the same way, Jehovah is the same when he sees that one of these little ones or one of Christ's disciples is mistreated, he can also get upset or enraged if someone of them is tripped. So we also want to understand Jehovah's point of view that is considered valuable no matter who he is.
6. According to 1 Corinthians 1: 26-29, how do the people of the world view Jesus' disciples?
The text used some words that the world would consider towards us, such as they are not powerful, they are not of noble birth, absurd, they are not wise, weak, insignificant, despicable, that is, this is how the world considers us, we are as small in comparison their great stars who are rich, famous or powerful, perhaps they see us as insignificant or unimportant. This is how the people of the world regard the disciples of Jesus.
7. How does Jehovah want us to view our brothers?
Jehovah wants us to see them as he sees them, we should not be interested in their age, culture and origin, since they are important to him, that is why we must love them, protect them, take care of them and sometimes understand them, because sometimes because of their upbringing they do not react as we do We would like or react in a different way, we are encouraged to understand them because perhaps they are very susceptible to something that we do or to the words that we say, but of course we do not want to minimize that they have an attitude of that nature, but if It is necessary to correct any action of resenting ourselves very easily, we must make the necessary adjustments if that is our case.
WE THINK THAT OTHERS ARE SUPERIOR
8. What way of thinking influenced Jesus' disciples?
In Matthew 18: 1 the disciples asked him who is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven, this arose because they were being influenced by the way of thinking of many Jews of that time, since they attached great importance to prestige and prestige. social position, that's why they wanted to know who was superior in the Kingdom of heaven. One specialist says that here men lived and died eager to enjoy honor, consideration, fame, approval and respect, so for that reason they were inclined to take this point of view.
9. What did Jesus' disciples have to do?
The disciples of Jesus had to change their way of thinking and it was not going to be easy at all, that is why Jesus told them whoever is older among you to become the youngest and the one who leads as the one who serves, and how can we get that? In Philippians Chapter 2 verse 3, which is here in the text quoted in the paragraph, it says that we should not do anything motivated by a conflictive or self-centered spirit, but humbly think that others are superior to us. When we come to have that right attitude, we come to see others as superior and therefore we are not going to stumble or trip anyone.
10. What advice from Paul should we take to heart?
In 1 Corinthians 4: 7 under inspiration Paul said: Who makes you different from the others, that you have that you have not received, because you go on presuming as if you had not received it. So even if we have some abilities or gifts, we must remember that all this has been thanks to Jehovah and with the help of the organization. So this text teaches us that we must see the brothers in terms of their positive aspects, their qualities, because let's try to see that in others and everyone will have something different or better than us, and of course we will be using each of these skills to praise of Jehovah.
WE FORGIVE FROM THE HEART
11. What do we learn from Jesus' parable about the king and the slave?
In Matthew 18: 21-35, a situation is described of a king who forgave a very large debt to one of his slaves. However, that slave who had been forgiven had another slave who also owed him, but he did not want to forgive when the king acted against the slave who had no mercy; He thus demonstrated that he had to have done the same thing that had been done to him, so that the greatest debt we owe to Jehovah and yet he mercifully wishes to forgive them.
12. If we refuse to forgive, how do we harm others?
Returning to the case of this parable of the two slaves, the fact that it had affected the one who also owed it was something that he really did not like at all, rather it demoralized him and what to say about the other slaves who saw that type of action. The same happens within the congregation when we do not forgive someone, the unity, the effect on others, it shows. If someone treats us badly and we refuse to forgive, we hurt the person who does not receive our forgiveness and also the brothers of the congregation, who will feel uncomfortable when they notice that there is no peace between these two people.
13. What do you learn from what happened to a pioneer woman?
Well, here is a sister who goes by the name of Cristal. She felt very bad in the congregation because this sister made her feel bad, she did not want to approach her when they went to the ministry, and although she was hurt she decided not to hold a grudge against her. The watchtower found a publication of October 15, 1999 with the title: "Let us forgive from the heart", so when she read this information she was motivated to forgive her, says the sister: Now I understand that we are all trying to put on the new personality, and that Jehovah generously forgives us every day, and that a great weight had been lifted from his shoulders and of course he had regained joy.
14. a) According to Matthew 18:21, 22, what problem does the Apostle Peter appear to have, and what do you learn from Jesus' response? b) What can help us if we find ourselves in the same situation?
Here the Apostle was trying to put a limit to how far he could endure a situation, and Jesus was very clear that he had to extend much more than he was supposed to. That happens with us, it is difficult for us to forgive but we must do it and we do not want to put a limit on forgiveness. All that can be done, of course, under the mercy in goodness, we want to do it without the other abusing this situation either and of course we leave this part in the hands of Jehovah.
14. b) What can help us if we find ourselves in the same situation?
Two things are mentioned: First; Meditate on the times that Jehovah has forgiven us and has generously done so, and we should not see forgiveness as optional, but as an obligation that shows our love for others. And a second thing is; that we should meditate on what happens when we forgive, because we are showing him our love, and of course, he is understanding what that person should also be. Another thing is that we contribute to the unity of the congregation, and of course, our friendship with Jehovah, we also keep it as healthy as possible so there are some points that can help us.
ILLUSTRATION:
A sister speaks alone in the Kingdom Hall with another sister who is angry with her. Picture series: 1. At a meeting for field service at the Kingdom Hall, the brother assigns them to preach together, and one of them looks annoyed. 2. The two sisters enjoy preaching together. Will we hold a grudge or will we forgive from the heart? (See paragraphs 13 and 14.) *
WE DO NOT LET OTHERS 'ACTIONS TRIP US
15. According to Colossians 3:13, what can we do if a brother or sister does something that bothers us?
The text said: Keep supporting each other, that is; If we take that step and still the other person does not want a reaction, react because we have done our part and we will have to endure the situation as much as possible. We should do it to keep the peace and ask that the one who has offended us be blessed, in the case of turning to Jehovah and striving to see good qualities, even if they do not have a very pleasant personality, as the paragraph says; Here we do not want to give him as lost, Jehovah never considers someone lost, and we also want to show him our love by not seeing him that way.
16. What obligation does each of us have?
In response, what appears in the book organized on page 165 is highlighted, there it says: Our obligation is to contribute to preserving that unity, it also indicates; that we will always get along well with our brothers if we learn to see them as Jehovah sees them. And we have seen that Jehovah sees the little ones as valuable, as the parable of the shepherd and one of the lost sheep said.
17. What are we determined to do?
Romans 14:13. To not put any hindrance or obstacle in front of a brother. We must always regard them as superior, forgive them from our hearts, keep the peace in the congregation, and also that our friendship with Jehovah is in the right place.
WHAT ANSWER WOULD YOU GIVE?
Who are “these little ones” mentioned in Matthew chapter 18?
They are all the disciples of Jesus regardless of their age, place of origin, culture, tastes or personality. They are all valuable to Jehovah and they were small, compared to how the world considers us, that we are not like their stars who have some attitudes that they like.
What will help us to think that others are superior to us?
That each of the brothers has something that makes them superior to anything, but we must pay attention to it and each one has received the help of the Lord in what we do in his service; so if he excels at something you have to appreciate it. And if we have something that others appreciate, then give Jehovah the credit for having that ability or gift.
If we have a hard time forgiving, what can we do?
Meditating on how Jehovah forgives us, and it is an obligation is not an option, and the benefit to the people we forgive, we must also realize in addition, give the unity, of the congregation and our friendship with Jehovah; see those points in which we can contribute within the people of God.
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