The Watchtower Study, "Article 48", Week of January 23-29, 2023, Keep your senses when your loyalty is tested, Answers.

The Watchtower Study, "Article 48", January 23-29, 2023, Keep your senses when your loyalty is tested, Answers.

"Keep your senses in all things" (2 Tim. 4:5).

1. What does it mean to maintain good judgment? (2 Timothy 4:5).

Good judgment means according to 2 Timothy 4:5. Staying awake and standing firm in the faith, we do this by staying calm and thinking clearly when we go through difficult circumstances and also by striving to see things as Jehovah sees them.

This goes beyond just maintaining mental sanity, in a spiritual sense it also means that when under test under pressure, we are able to maintain stability, remain calm, be able to think clearly and strive to see things as they are. Jehovah. If we do, our emotions will not cloud our judgment, which is the same as reason.

We want to see things in the complete picture, we must learn to think before making certain decisions, that is why it is important to be able to see the pros and cons of the decision we are going to make, to be able to see what the end of the road will be, Let's see if we should go that way. And that way we will not live to please the expectations of others, but to please Jehovah, that should be the most important thing for us.

2. What will we see in this article?

We will look at three difficult situations that can arise within the congregation and that can test our loyalty to Jehovah. These situations are when we think that a brother has treated us badly, when they discipline us and when we have a hard time adapting to changes in the organization.

WHEN WE THINK A BROTHER HAS TREATED US BADLY

3. What might our reaction be if we think that a brother treated us badly?

The immediate reaction can be great frustration, great pain in the case of some, great resentment and a desire to even take action, there are many reactions. Many mixed feelings, it can be even anxiety attacks or insomnia attacks, turning the matter over and over, and someone might think if this is done by someone who is called brother in quotes, why do I want enemies with brothers like that. and we can come to think if this is the Organization of God.

Satan wants us to think badly of our brothers in order to get us off the right path. Those are the kinds of negative thoughts that could lead us away from Jehovah and from the congregation. Because if we seek perfection in our brothers, we would have our expectations in others, or in brothers who are imperfect people like us and we would not be placing our expectations on Jehovah, since we must remember that the only perfect beings are Jehovah and Jesus.

4. (a) What did Joseph do to keep his senses when he was treated badly? (Genesis 50:19-21).

Joseph did not become bitter, he did not become an atheist, he did not turn to other gods, Joseph did not transgress what were the commandments of God. Instead of focusing on his problems, he saw the big picture, he thought about Jehovah's purpose, since at that time the Bible says that his father Jacob instructed them in God's commandments. Joseph's brothers were sorry for what they had done, they had a great conscience. Joseph put them to the test and they passed that test and I forgive them.

The point is that along the way we are going to find brothers who can hurt us, it may be that they regret having done it and others will not regret it, they will not regret it. However, going back to the case of José, he saw the complete picture, he thought about Jehovah's purpose and we can also do the same.

4. b) What do we learn from his example?

What we learn is that even within the congregation we could find people who are going to try to harm us and that we must take care of ourselves and hold on to Jehovah as Joseph did. Yes, that is important, since we must remember that Jehovah is perfect, but the congregation is made up of imperfect people.

In the congregation we are going to find brothers who have not matured and have not advanced to spiritual maturity. but what we should never do is leave Jehovah or become agnostic skeptical atheists, since we have been hearing from brothers who, due to an incident like this, have renounced God and have distanced themselves from him and from the congregation, we should never do that, what What we must learn is to endure how to endure and forgive like Jose did.

5. How did Micah manage to keep his senses when he felt he had not been treated well?

Brother Micah, in order to maintain good judgment when he felt that they had not treated him well, he struggled to control his emotions, the paragraph mentions why he prayed a lot and asked Jehovah for his holy spirit and strength to endure this painful situation that he was going through, and He was also looking for information in our publications.

If we think that someone in the congregation has treated us badly, we should remain calm and try to control any negative feelings we have. We must not assume that the brother did it with the intention of harming us, there may be circumstances that have led that person to speak or act in that way and we may not know it. So what we can do is tell Jehovah everything and ask him to help us see things the way that brother sees them. If we do that, it can help give the brother the benefit of the doubt AND thus overlook that offense.

Personally, reading these types of cases makes me feel bad, but we must understand that we are imperfect, and our brothers are going to fail us, just as we will also fail at some point. And just as the brother told Jehovah everything that had happened to him, everything he felt, we can do it too, and well, this leaves us a lesson and that lesson is that we can vent to Jehovah and ask him to help us endure, forgive and hold no grudges.

WHEN WE ARE DISCIPLINED

6. Why is it important that you see Jehovah's discipline as a demonstration of his love? (Hebrews 12:5, 6, 11).

It is important that we see Jehovah's discipline as a demonstration of his love because if we reject it we give Satan the opportunity to attack us, since he wants us to reject Jehovah's discipline and the worst thing is that if we reject him we will move away from Jehovah and from the congregation. Hence the importance of receiving discipline from Jehovah as a sign of his love and we say it because if we receive his discipline he will protect us from satan and his attacks.

The text says that the father loves his son and disciplines him, the Bible says it as a principle, Jehovah can discipline us in many ways and for many purposes, for example, to teach us the lesson, and to correct our steps, it is up to us if we go to learn, as the Bible says if we are listening to the voice of Jehovah or the advice of God.

We can decide to harden our hearts or to be moldable. So it's important that we receive discipline, it can be painful at first, even embarrassing, but if we only focus on the pain and shame we might downplay it and think it's unfair or too harsh or we might even lose sight of it. the important thing, since discipline is a demonstration of Jehovah's love.

This is relative since sometimes, for example, the elderly find it easy for them to discipline the sheep of the congregation, but there is when the person involved is a relative, a son, a daughter or a close friend, that changes everything and feelings are involved. , the heart, the emotions, it is no longer easy, that is why the organization recommends that if the person involved is a friend, we do not get involved, but that other brothers and sisters attend the case when the person involved is a family member, a child, a daughter, or a close friend.

7. (a) As shown in the pictures, what jobs did Jehovah give Peter after he accepted the discipline?

As we can see in the drawings, Jehovah rewarded Peter's loyalty by giving him great responsibilities in the congregation, for example John 21:15 to 17 and one function we already saw in the image was to shepherd the sheep of the congregation, Acts 10 24 to 33 was to take the lead in preaching to the Gentiles, because at first they were only preaching to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And 1 Peter 1:1 is very important. Peter became an instrument for writing inspired letters which became part of the holy scriptures.

Pedro lived a particular experience, it was a type of discipline on a personal level, and he suffered a lot, he got quite depressed and he knows what ideas crossed his mind, but in the end he managed to recover his friendship with Jehovah and with Jesus Christ. Peter was humble, he accepted the advice of discipline and thus it was more useful for Jehovah, eventually it gave results to receive the advice of Jesus. Jesus did not mistreat anyone, much less his sheep or his disciples, but he was direct when telling them the need they had to work on.

7. b) What lesson can we learn from Peter's example?

We learn that it is worth looking past the shame of receiving discipline, because if we accept correction and make the necessary changes we will be more useful to Jehovah and to our brothers.

ILLUSTRATION

Jesus rebukes Peter in front of other apostles. Series of images: Responsibilities entrusted to Pedro over time. 1. Peter in a meeting with the apostles and elders in Jerusalem. 2. Visit Cornelius and his house. 3. Write on a scroll.

Peter was humble and accepted advice and discipline, and thus he was more useful to Jehovah. (See paragraph 7).

8, 9. How did Bernardo feel when he was disciplined at first, but what helped him correct his thinking?

When they disciplined him, Bernardo felt hurt and that was so, because he did not like the discipline he received, since he was more worried about what the brothers of the Congregation would think of him, and what helped him correct his way of thinking, It was remembering when he was old he used the text of Hebrews 12:7 to help his brothers. Then he asked himself, who did putting this verse into practice apply to? and the answer made him reflect. And the brother also spent more time reading the Bible and deep meditation, because although he was still worried that the brothers would think badly of him, he made an effort to go out to preach with them and participate in the meetings, and as he mentions at the end of the paragraph In time he became an old man again.

And something that we can highlight is that the brother recognized his mistakes, which encourages each one of us to have that humility to say yes, I did wrong, but here I am, I accept it, I am willing to improve, that is something that one should applaud. However, shame could prevent us from acting with humility, that is when we should ask Jehovah for help, and we do it by spending more time reading and meditating on his word, attending meetings and participating to the fullest in his service.

WHEN IT IS HARD FOR US TO ADAPT TO CHANGES IN THE ORGANIZATION

10. What organizational change might have tested the loyalty of some Israelites?

Well, the change in the place of the ark, there was a family that was in charge of transporting that ark and it also says that there was an arrangement here, it mentions that some built their altars, so to speak, at home, they made their sacrifices at home, it was very Everything was comfortable at home, but with the advent of the law, the heads of the family no longer had the honor of doing everything at home. Jehovah appointed priests from Aaron's family to offer sacrifices. And from then on if a family head who was not a descendant of Aaron could die, because it was no longer to do it at home, but they had to go to the place that God had established.

There is the possibility that when this change was made, Korah, Dathan, Abiram and 250 chiefs of the people rebelled against Moses. The Bible does not speak about this subject, but if true, we could take it as a lesson for each of us that when there are changes in Jehovah's organization, we must be obedient in order to avoid bad consequences that disobedience produces.

11. What lesson can we learn from the example of some Kohathite Levites?

The Kohatite Levites were no longer going to carry the ark, they were no longer going to do outstanding work as before. Because now it was going to be all in the temple and what was their reaction, well it says that they did not complain, they did not demand more outstanding jobs as they had in the past, but rather they accepted what was available. And the lesson for us is that we should not go looking for special responsibilities or seek greatness. So if we understand this principle we must understand that we do not need a very high privilege or serve in such a high place to be worth in the eyes of Jehovah, since we can be happy no matter where, as the brother of the Governing Body said, no matter where we serve but who we serve.

We also learn that we must wholeheartedly support the changes that the organization makes, the new policies, accepting them can also help us when it affects us directly, the paragraph says in some cases it has been like that, if not we enjoy any assignment, since we remember that our value as a person does not depend on the responsibilities that the organization has and we say this because for Jehovah our obedience is more important than any assignment.

ILLUSTRATION

Four Kohatites carry the ark of the covenant. Series of images: Responsibilities entrusted to the Cohatitas over time. 1. A cohatita singing. 2. Another cohatita closes a door. 3. Another cohatita keeps a stock count in a warehouse.

There we see an image when the Cohatitas were assigned new jobs such as singers, porters and store managers, they gladly accepted the changes, but of course this was a change that came directly from the top of heaven, it was transmitted directly by God. Today God is not sending messages from heaven, that is also very clear, the brothers have said it, they do their best and see how things eventually progress.

When the Cohatitas were assigned new jobs as singers, porters, and storekeepers, they gladly accepted the changes. (See paragraph 11).

12. How did Zaira feel when she had to leave Bethel?

Our sister Zaira was hit hard when she was told she was no longer serving at Bethel and would be reassigned as a special pioneer as she mentions what she thought she was useless for and wondered if she had done something wrong . And the worst of all that many brothers and sisters in the congregation made her feel worse with very harsh words, such as that if she had done things better the organization would not have let her go, these words sank her deeply and she cried every night. Yet she says that I never doubt the organization or Jehovah's love.

When I read these stories personally they make me sad, because several of the brothers who go to Bethel intend to live there, see Armageddon there, they imagine that they are going to see the end of the system there and that it is the best place to be in view of what is coming, and none of them expects that after a few decades they will be thanked and reassigned to another stage of their lives. So looking at it from that point of view we can better understand how our sister Zaira must have felt, and adding the comments of one of the brothers in her congregation that made her feel that she was useless. That is why this experience encourages us that if we see a brother who has suffered a hard blow due to the loss of some privilege, we should encourage them with edifying words that help them look at things from a positive point of view, since we must remember that our words can build or destroy.

13. What did Zaira do to overcome the negative feelings?

What she did was read articles from our publications that spoke about the situation she was going through, she mentions a Watchtower in particular entitled "you can face discouragement". the changes in her service to Jehovah, she confesses that this example was the best remedy for her discouragement, she also leaned on her friends and brothers and stopped thinking about her sadness, she also understood that Jehovah guides her organization and that the brothers were worried for her and that the important thing is to do the work of Jehovah

14. What organizational changes did Vlado have to adapt to, and what helped him to do so?

Our brother had a hard time accepting that his congregation would merge with another and that they would close their Kingdom Hall, also this merger had brought many difficult changes for older brothers like him, but brother Vlado supported the decision, acknowledging that the changes it makes Jehovah's organization, are always beneficial and prepare us to face major changes in the future.

MAINTAIN GOOD JUDGMENT IN ALL THINGS

15. What can we do to maintain good judgment when difficult situations arise within the congregation?

We can follow the suggestions that we have learned in this article. For example, if a brother has treated us badly, we will not be filled with bitterness, if they discipline us we will see beyond the shame that the situation causes and we will accept the advice and make the necessary changes, and when Jehovah's organization makes changes that affect us personally, we will wholeheartedly support and follow the guidance given to us.

16. What can you do to continue to trust Jehovah and his organization?

What we can do is set the goal of studying the lives of Biblical characters who overcame situations where their loyalty was tested and meditate on their example, we must also ask Jehovah to help us and never isolate ourselves from the brothers in the congregation. That's right Satan will not be able to separate us from Jehovah or his organization.

WHAT CAN WE DO TO REMAIN LOYAL TO JEHOVAH AND HIS ORGANIZATION IN THE FOLLOWING SITUATIONS?

When we think that a brother has treated us badly.

We learned that we should not get bitter or think that Jehovah has forgotten us, rather we must remain calm and try to control any negative feelings we have, we must also meditate on how Jehovah helps us to bear the situation, likewise we must be willing to forgive and remember what 1 Peter 4:8 says that love covers a multitude of sins.

When we are disciplined

We learned that our attitude towards discipline must be correct, we must see beyond the shame of receiving discipline, accept the correction and make the necessary changes. If we do this we will be more useful to Jehovah and to our brothers.

When it is difficult for us to adapt to changes in the organization.

We learned that when Jehovah's organization makes changes that affect us personally, we should wholeheartedly lean on and follow the guidance given, remembering that obeying Jehovah is more important than any assignment or responsibility we may have.