“We love, because he first loved us.”—1 John 4:19
[From ws 2/20 p.8 April 13 – April 19]
In the box entitled “Does Jehovah notice me?” it says:
“Have you ever asked yourself, ‘Of all the billions of people alive on earth, why would Jehovah take notice of me?’ If so, you are in good company. King David wrote: “O Jehovah, what is man that you should notice him, the son of mortal man that you should pay attention to him?” (Ps. 144:3) David was confident that Jehovah knew him well. (1 Chron. 17:16-18) And through his Word and his organization, Jehovah reassures you that he notices the love you show for him. Consider some statements in God’s Word that can help you be certain of that fact:
- Jehovah noticed you even before you were born. —Ps. 139:16.
- Jehovah knows what is in your heart, and he knows what you are thinking. —1 Chron. 28:9.
- Jehovah personally listens to each one of your prayers. —Ps. 65:2.
- Your actions affect Jehovah’s feelings. —Prov. 27:11.
- Jehovah has personally drawn you to him. —John 6:44.
- If you die, Jehovah knows you so well that he will be able to resurrect you. He will reconstruct your body and restore your mind along with your memories and other unique aspects of your personality. —John 11:21-26, 39-44; Acts 24:15”.
(Bold ours)
They are all good scriptural points, with one exception. That is exception is that we need to mentally strip out the unsubstantiated, and unsubstantiatable insertion of “and his Organization” which we highlighted in bold to draw attention to its insertion.
Paragraph 4 suggests “We also listen to him by paying close attention at Christian meetings”. Think about this question. Would you go to someone other than your father to get your fathers instructions? Not usually. You would go direct to him if at all possible, then to any written instructions he left you. Only as a last resort would you go to someone who claims to have his instructions, and surely it would be only sensible to be sceptical if any instructions which you never heard from him and never saw in his written instructions.
The meetings suggested in Hebrews 10:24-25 were always about “And let us consider one another to incite to love and fine works, not forsaking the gathering of ourselves together, as some have the custom, but encouraging one another”. Is there any mention here of being expected to listen to instructions from another person claiming to represent God? No, it was always about what we as an individual could do to encourage others. It was never about passively listening to a limited number is self-appointed men.
Paragraph 5 mentions that “We do well to ask ourselves this question: ‘Do my prayers tend to be like superficial, reprinted messages, or are they like heartfelt, handwritten letters?”.
They could easily become superficial if we end up striving and, in the process, struggling, to fulfill the artificial demands put upon us by the Organization. What we do want to ensure is that we take time to do is what is suggested in paragraph 6. Although, quite how the Organization expects most Witnesses to find time for it I do not know. The suggestion is “To stay close to our heavenly Father, we must maintain a grateful attitude. We agree with the psalmist who wrote: “How many things you have done, O Jehovah my God, your wonderful works and your thoughts toward us. None can compare to you; if I were to try to tell and speak of them, they would be too numerous to recount!” (Ps. 40:5)”.
Yes, we need to take time to enjoy watching, and growing our appreciation for the creation Jehovah made for our enjoyment. For instance:
- Have you stroked a bumble bee?
- Have you watched dragonflies darting around a pond or garden ridding the area of mosquitos and other small insects?
- Or the ants scurrying around with their huge loads and all co-ordinated?
- Or a butterfly or bee going from flower to flower collecting nectar and pollen?
Doing these things will help build our appreciation for what God has done for us and show that care for what he has done.
The words of paragraph 7 are accurate when it says “How pleasant it is to be part of a family of brothers and sisters who are “kind to one another, tenderly compassionate”! —Ephesians 4:32”. But ask yourself this question, are most Witnesses that you know like that? If not, why not? Ponder over the following points for a moment.
- How many of the meetings in the last year really encouraged you to, and taught you how to, manifest a fruit of the spirit in a better way to anyone you come in contact with?
- Reflect for a moment on what Jesus said would identify true Christians. Was it not “love among yourselves”? (John 13:35). Do you really see this in your congregation as a whole or just on the part of a handful of individuals?
- Most families want to spend time together, but do you find that most Witnesses just want to leave the meetings asap and rarely socialise?
True, some congregations may still be loving, but these are very rare today. The one we attend was loving to some extent at one time but has not been so for some time. Other local congregations we know well have not been like that for many, many years now.
Paragraphs 8-11 are under the heading “Show your Love by being Obedient”.
While this statement is true, we do show are love of God by being obedient to his instructions, we need to ensure we are being obedient to Jehovah’s instructions, not those claiming to be passing on God’s instructions.
For example, would you obey the following?
“our survival of coming events will depend on our obedience to Jehovah’s instructions. (Isaiah 30:21) Such instructions come to us through the congregation arrangement. Therefore, we want to develop heartfelt obedience to the guidance we are receiving.(1 John 5:3)” (Gods Kingdom Rules Chapter 21 para 20)
“(3) At that time, the life-saving direction that we receive from Jehovah’s organization may not appear practical from a human standpoint. All of us must be ready to obey any instructions we may receive, whether these appear sound from a strategic or human standpoint or not.” (Watchtower November 15, 2013 page 20 para 17).
Are these God’s instructions?
No, there is no scripture in the entire Bible that tells us that God would appoint an Organization to relay his instructions, normal or strange. These statements are based on interpretation of little-known Bible prophecies which the Organization applies to Armageddon and to themselves without any justification whatsoever.
The instructions given to the Christians in the first century, while they may have sounded strange, were given long in advance by Jesus himself. They were not given at the time of Jerusalem’s destruction by the apostles. There is therefore no precedence for such instructions being required or provided, now or when Armageddon does come.
Paragraph 12-14 has the heading “Help Others to Love Our Father”. This is the usual plug for the preaching work as defined by the Organization. But if you are proud of your father and want others to love and respect him, what is the best thing you can do? Is it not to be like your father? To be kind and loving and respectful to others? Then, when others see us, they will automatically think what a good father you have. If you just tell others you have a good father, will they just believe you, because you said so? Highly unlikely.
John 14:9 records Jesus saying, “He that has seen me has seen the Father also”. Later, in John 14:21, Jesus told his listeners “He that has my commandments and observes them, that one is he who loves me. In turn he that loves me will be loved by my Father”.
In Conclusion
On balance, a beneficial Watchtower Study, provided we watch out for the subtle propaganda of the Organization.
Archived Comments
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Comment by Bernardbooks on 2020-04-18 14:32:34
w13 11/1 p.6
“LIES THAT MAKE GOD SEEM UNLOVABLE
Cruelty does not endear us to God; it repels us.”
The organization often points out the truth of those words quoted above regarding the teaching of eternal torment in hellfire but they have also spread lies that repel ones from God and makes God seem unlovable.
w61 3/15 p.167
“If you are a married man and your wife is not in this covenant for the Kingdom, you must ask yourself: Am I prepared to die with the consciousness that I am leaving her never to join her again on earth, but to join Jesus Christ and leave her on this earth? Or if you are a wife and mother you must ask yourself: Am I prepared to leave my children behind and never mother them any more and never associate with them throughout all eternity?”
Where in the scriptures has God ever said such things?
Ezekiel’s prophetic words seem very appropriate for the organization in this and other areas.
Ezekiel 13:22
“For you have disheartened the righteous one with your falsehood when I was not causing him distress”
Comment by truthrooster on 2020-04-12 11:56:13
"All of us must be ready to obey any instructions we may receive, whether these appear sound from a strategic or human standpoint or not.” When I first heard that on a broadcast it immediately gave me chills and alarm bells.
On one hand the organization says they are not inspired, but on the other hand it suggests its direction and decisions must not be questioned and come from a non-human origin. Are they saying that the instructions don't make sense to them either sometimes? Where does this insight come from? Are they not human?
A lot of this could easily be clarified if they shared with everyone a 5 year plan (or longer) and stuck to it. We were all behind building giant printing presses...a few years later print is fazed out. Need for thousands more new halls in 2015. A couple years later, closings. Now we have crammed larger groups into less halls, yet the obvious reality is that it is unsafe for spreading of disease. The broadcast in March brags that they saw this disease coming, however that goes against the closing of halls. If ZOOM meetings were the plan, why didn't JWs have their own video sharing app in place already?
The wording without spin should read: OBEY US. Even if your instincts and logic say otherwise. Do not lean upon your own understanding. Lean upon OUR understanding.
Comment by Chet on 2020-04-12 12:09:57
When I first was baptized, there was a sense of unity in the congregations. This was in the very early ‘70s and the 1975 folly was in full swing. Even those of us whom were skeptical about the Society’s ability to predict Armageddon were affected to some degree. It was all but pervasive and the voices that spoke out against this teaching were usually seen as killjoys.
Flash forward to the late ‘70s and the mood had changed dramatically. 1975 had passed without Armageddon occurring and at least some people were casting about, searching for something else they could attach their hopes to. Many began to place exceptional trust in the Organization, in spite of the fact that this very organization had hinted strongly that the end would come in 1975 and used the resulting excitement to the Organization’s advantage.
One rapid side effect from this misplaced trust was the phenomenon of running to the elders every time there was a minor problem or a complaint. The fact that this was in absolute opposition to Jesus’ instructions regarding such matters was usually ignored and congregation elders were able to consolidate a great deal of influence. I can think of no period in my lifetime when politics were not part of the Witness congregations, but after the institution of the Elder Arrangement (in 1972) and in the ennui which followed the disappointment on 1975, the level of political intrigue within the congregations reached new heights. Many times, during those years, I found myself being told of private matters by one person or another, sometimes even elders, in an attempt to recruit me for political purposes.
My refusal to “play ball” in these matters kept me on the sidelines, which was fine by me. After having seen the political machinations at work and having seen the very real costs in human terms, I had developed an aversion to any “privileges” in the the congregation. The last thing I wanted would have been to be inadvertently dragged into someone’s palace intrigue and to be part of stumbling someone in their journey.
Comment by CW117 on 2020-04-12 12:26:09
The word Organization always bothered me when used in the term of God’s Organization.Until that time I did not know that God needed a company on earth to run things by mostly uneducated people who’s goal was to see “this system of things “come to a brutal end for all non JWS so they could score nice homes,but many of the so called loving congregation I was in felt like that.Since leaving,they have all but vanished into thin air now that I am no longer a member,even the ones that I thought would listen to reason have never called or contacted me,but vice versa,I was very angry when a found out this religion was just a cult and another phony money collecting monster.
Comment by Victor Wole on 2020-04-12 20:28:43
Hardly can we say that an organisation that promotes destruction of families through shunning exhibits kindness and tender compassion. Neither is it for an organisation that has leaders who opined that little children are by nature greedy!
Comment by katrina on 2020-04-14 00:59:00
but he is not most of JW father until after the thousand years, why do they keep contradicting themselves? only the anointed can call Jehovah their father now, the GC have to wait, so why don't they pray our Friend in the heavens.
Comment by chicho on 2020-04-14 04:29:56
Llevo 15 años en la Org y siempre dicen que somos Amigos de Dios, aqui dicen que es nuestroPadre, emtonces somos sus hijos o No??! Que pasa? Entonces si Dios es nuestro Padre, pprque nos pohiben tomar de los emblemas??? Contradictorio como siempre