DAILY TEXT, From today Monday January 2, 2023, The sadness disappeared from his face (1 Sam. 1:18).

DAILY TEXT, Monday January 2, 2023,  The sadness left his face (1 Sam. 1:18).

Let's Examine the Scriptures Every Day 2023

Monday, January 2

The sadness left his face (1 Sam. 1:18).

Ana was married to a Levite named Elcaná, who loved her very much. But Elcaná had another wife, whose name was Peniná. He loved Ana more than Peniná. However, "Peniná had children, but Ana had none." Peniná “always made fun of her to make her feel bad”, to the point that “Ana ended up crying and didn't eat anything”. Even so, the Bible does not indicate that Hannah tried to get back at her. Rather, she opened her heart to Jehovah and trusted him to help her (1 Sam. 1:2, 6, 7, 10). What do we learn from Ana's example? If someone tries to compete with us in any way, let's remember that we can control how we will react. We don't have to let ourselves be provoked. Instead of paying evil for evil, let's try to make peace (Rom. 12:17-21). Even if the other person does not change, we will maintain inner peace. w21.07 17 pars. 13, 14

How can we fight against egocentrism?

We can fight against self-centeredness if we follow the advice that the apostle Paul gave to the Philippians: “Do not do anything out of a contentious or self-centered spirit, but humbly think that others are superior to you” (Phil. 2:3). . If we think that others are superior, we will not compete with those who have more talents or abilities than us, but we will be happy for them. This is especially true if they are using their abilities for the praise of Jehovah. For their part, if the brothers who have talents also follow Paul's advice, they will focus on the good qualities they see in us. The result will be that we will all foster peace and unity in the congregation.

What will help us control the tendency to envy?

What will help us control the tendency to envy? Being modest, that is, recognizing that we have limitations. If we are modest, we will not try to show that we have more talent and ability than other people. Rather, we will look for ways to learn from those who do certain things better than we do. For example, if a brother in the congregation gives excellent public talks, we can ask him how he prepares them. If a sister cooks very well, we can ask her for some advice to improve. And, if a young person doesn't have an easy way to make friends, she may be able to ask someone who does for suggestions. All this will help us avoid envy and improve our own abilities.

What situation did Gideon face?

Let's think about what happened between Gideon, who was from the tribe of Manasseh, and the men from the tribe of Ephraim. With Jehovah's help, Gideon and his 300 men had won a great victory for which they could have been very proud. Ephraim's men went to talk to Gideon, but not to congratulate him, but to discuss with him. Apparently, their pride was wounded because he had not invited them from the beginning to fight together with him against the enemies of God. They were so focused on protecting the honor of the tribe from him that they hadn't thought of the most important thing: Gideon had just helped honor Jehovah's name and protect the people from him (Judg. 8:1).

How did Gideon respond to the men of Ephraim?

Gideon humbly said to the men of Ephraim: “And what have I done compared to what you have done?” He then gave them a specific example of how Jehovah had blessed them. As a result, "they calmed down" (Judg. 8:2, 3). Gideon was willing to put aside his pride in order to maintain peace among God's people.

What do we learn from the Ephraimites and from Gideon?

What does this story teach us? From the Ephraimites, we learn that we should not place more importance on protecting our honor than on honoring Jehovah. From Gideon, householders and elders can learn that if someone is upset with them for something they did, they should try to see things from their perspective. They can also congratulate you on something you have done well. For that humility is needed, especially if it is evident that the other person is wrong. But keeping the peace is far more important than proving we're right.

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