LIVING AS CHRISTIANS: Week of December 18 to 24, 2023, “What am I doing to contribute to our good reputation?” Video: We respect the truth and value it highly, Analysis and Answers

LIVING AS CHRISTIANS: December 18-24, 2023, “What am I doing to contribute to our good reputation?”, Analysis and Responses.

“What am I doing to contribute to our good reputation?” (15 mins.): Analysis with the audience and video.

Write how a Christian should react in these situations and write down a biblical principle that would help you:

Someone who is not a Witness cruelly criticizes him.

A Christian should react with patience and love when cruelly criticized by someone who does not share our faith. The biblical principle that would help at this time is found in 1 Peter 3:9, which says not to return evil for evil or insult for insult, but rather to return a blessing. Without a doubt, this reminds us of the importance of responding to criticism with kindness and understanding, always maintaining a peaceful and loving attitude.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS

We must remain calm and instead of giving in to a fight, we can pray for that person. A principle that can help us is Matthew 5:44, which teaches us about love and prayer for those who criticize us or treat us badly.

As Jehovah's Witnesses we are targets of malicious criticism, but true Christians do our best to be peaceful and not be ashamed of our beliefs. A text that can help us is 1 Peter 4:16, which encourages us not to be ashamed and continue to give glory to Jehovah and bear his name, even though we may suffer cruel criticism from people who do not agree. according to our beliefs.  

Your clothes, vehicle or home look neglected.

Well, a Christian should react with humility and willingness to improve when his clothes, vehicle or home look neglected, since as 1 Corinthians 10:31 says. Everything we do or how we look should always reflect that we worship Jehovah.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS

For example, if our clothes, vehicle, and home look unkempt, we could reflect on how that appearance may affect others' perception of us and whether we can improve without losing sight of humility and generosity. A biblical principle that could be useful to us in this situation is Romans 15:12, which says that each of us should please his neighbor for his well-being, in order to build him up.

We must remember that Jehovah is a clean God, and for a long time he has demanded that his people be clean and if we worry about keeping our things clean, we are giving Praise to Jehovah. The advice of 1 Peter 1:16 helps us understand that point of view, since it mentions that we have to be Holy because Jehovah is Holy.

There is a law in your area that seems unfair or difficult to obey.

A Christian should react with respect to authority and look for peaceful and legal ways to deal with the situation if he or she encounters a law that seems unfair or difficult to obey. The Biblical principle that would help us at that moment is the one found in Romans 13:1, which gives us the idea that we must all submit to higher authorities, because there are no authorities that do not come from God, since these authorities that exist have been placed by God in their relative positions.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS

If man's law is in conflict with Jehovah's and we have to violate our trained conscience. Of course we obey God rather than mere human beings as Acts Chapter 5 verse 29 mentions, we have to obey God as ruler rather than men. 

A Christian's reaction to a law that he or she considers unfair or difficult to obey could involve seeking peaceful and legal ways to express disagreement, maintaining a spirit of respect toward authorities, but also appealing to the fundamental principles of his or her faith when necessary. necessary. The principle we can use is that of Romans 13:12. Well, this does not mean that Christians should blindly follow laws that go against Jehovah's principles, since in situations where the law clearly contradicts Biblical principles, we must remember that above them comes first obeying Jehovah.

AFTER WATCHING THE VIDEO WE RESPECT THE TRUTH AND VALUE IT VERY MUCH, ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTION:

What impresses you most about the efforts that go into keeping our publications accurate?

Well, the video highlights the rigorous research, review and verification processes that are carried out to guarantee the accuracy and reliability of the information presented in the publications, only reliable and official sources are used, and they choose the information well, That is, they do not choose information that is only based on the opinion of others, but rather on objective information that is based on facts and that is well documented.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS

They also have well-equipped Libraries, since as they very well mention, they have 65,000 books and other reference works, and specialized encyclopedias are consulted when it comes to history.

These efforts reflect the commitment to truth and integrity in the communication of Biblical teachings, which is impressive and demonstrates a high standard of quality in the production of material produced by Jehovah's organization.

It is impressive that they stick to the Bible, all the topics of the publications are based on reliable sources, they use extremely objective information. Seeing how the research is exact and is not information based on the opinions or beliefs that people have about a topic, that has allowed us to publish topics of science, flora, fauna, history, but all of these are based on well-documented facts. 

In this way they follow the method similar to those used by Biblical writers of historical accounts, such as Luke and Jeremiah, since reliable and official sources are used, without a doubt this gives peace of mind to the people who read our publications, because what they read It is accurate information, and attached to the truth.

I am very impressed by the fact that they confirm each piece of information first-hand, and also by the importance they give to the context. The research work they carry out requires a lot of work and effort, which is something very admirable and worthy of trust.

ANALYSIS OF OTHER ADDITIONAL POINTS OF THE VIDEO.

Much of the information presented by the media today is often tinged with sensationalism and personal opinions.

But Jehovah's Witnesses are determined to continue sticking to the Bible to determine what is true, just as Jesus said in John 17:17 "Your word is truth."

The wide variety of topics in our publications is carefully researched. In the research section of the writing department, methods similar to those used by Biblical writers of historical accounts, such as Luke and Jeremiah, are followed, since reliable and official sources are used.

We do not rely solely on the opinions or beliefs that a person has on a topic. For example, we cannot trust information that reflects political and social prejudices, we use objective information.

We deal with topics of all kinds, from history, science and geography, to flora, fauna and the universe. So before the text is written we provide all the researched information and follow the project until the end, to ensure that everything that is said and shown is based on facts and is well documented.

Much more is researched than what the reader will ultimately see or read. For example, in a one-page article about the otter, there may be a dozen references to support each idea. And something that seems as simple as the height of Mont Blanc, because when we investigated it we found that it was 4807 meters, then another source said that it was 4810 meters, and then another said that it was 4808. Which one to believe? Well, we had to consult the Institute of Geographical and Forestry Information of France.

One of our main research tools is our libraries, we have about 65,000 books and other reference works. If we are documenting something related to ancient history or archaeology, we consult specialized encyclopedias such as some on archaeological discoveries.

 Museum websites usually show photographs of the pieces they are looking for. We send those images to the production teams and tell them, look, this is what a lamp looked like in the first century. There are things that we might think are true because they are supposedly well known, but they may not be completely accurate.

Appointments must be confirmed, we try to go to the original source for first-hand information, on the one hand. Context is also important, so we make sure to use them in the appropriate context.

When Gandhi met with Lord Erwin he told him when your country and mine follow the teachings that Christ gave in the Sermon on the Mount we will have solved the problems of our countries and the entire world, well, we investigated it and we could not confirm that those men They would have met, it's a great quote, but we can't use it anymore, anyway that doesn't mean Gandhi never talked about Jesus or the Sermon on the Mount.

The research work we do sometimes takes a lot of time and effort. Sometimes we don't find what we are looking for, but it is very rewarding because we collaborate in transmitting accurate information that readers can trust. Reliable information helps you make informed decisions.

Anyone who reads our magazines and watches the videos we make can rest assured that everything has been thoroughly researched. He will find facts, he will find the truth. So when you look at the printed publications of Jehovah's Witnesses or consult the jw.org site, you can be sure that the information has been well researched and accurate. Why? Because Jehovah's Witnesses respect the truth and We value it very much.