Let's Examine the Scriptures Every Day 2022
Friday April 29, 2022
Take care of what has been entrusted to you (1 Tim. 6:20).
We cannot afford to let the desire for more things distract us. “The deceitful power of riches” could stifle our love for Jehovah, our gratitude for his Word, and the desire to bring it to others.—Matt. 13:22. If we want to take care of the things that Jehovah has entrusted to us, we must act quickly in the face of danger. Let's rehearse in advance what we will do if suddenly, while using the Internet or watching a movie or TV show, we come across apostate information or an immoral or violent scene. If we are prepared, we will act quickly to protect ourselves from spiritual harm and be clean in Jehovah's sight (Ps. 101:3; 1 Tim. 4:12). We Christians must take care of the valuable things that Jehovah has given us: the precious truths of the Bible and the honor of teaching them to others. If we do it, We will have a clear conscience, a meaningful life, and the happiness of helping others to know Jehovah. w20.09 30 paras. 16-19
What happened to some Christians who let their guard down?
In the days of Timothy, some Christians did not appreciate the honor they had to cooperate with God. For example, Demas loved this system and thus despised the privilege of serving alongside Paul (2 Tim. 4:10). Phygellus and Hermogenes left the preaching because they were apparently afraid of suffering the same persecution as Paul (2 Tim. 1:15). Hymenaeus, Alexander, and Philetus became apostates and abandoned the truth (1 Tim. 1:19, 20; 2 Tim. 2:16-18). Apparently, all these people were spiritually strong at some point, but they stopped valuing what was really important.
What tactics does Satan use against us?
What tactics does Satan use to make us neglect the treasures that Jehovah has entrusted to us? Let's see some. It uses entertainment and the media to promote values and ways of thinking and acting that could lead us to blurt out the truth. He also uses group pressure or persecution to try to make us feel afraid and stop preaching. And he tries to trick us into paying attention to the “falsely called knowledge” of apostates and abandoning the truth (1 Tim. 6:20, 21).
What do we learn from what happened to Daniel?
If we are not careful, we could gradually release the truth. Let's look at the case of Daniel,* who was crazy about video games. He says: “I started playing video games when I was about 10 years old. At first, they were relatively harmless games. But little by little I started with games that were violent and demonic.” There came a time when he spent fifteen hours a day in front of the screen. Daniel confesses: “Deep down I knew that those types of games and the time I spent on them were taking me away from Jehovah. But my heart had become so hard that I thought that the principles of the Bible had nothing to do with me.” This teaches us that the subtle influence of entertainment could easily lead us to blurt out the truth. If that were to happen to us, we could end up losing the valuable things that Jehovah has given us.
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