jw broadcasting february 2017 - hfs

Training Our Power of Reason

JW Broadcasting February 2017

Contents

1. Decisions ............................................................................... 1

1.1 Boundaries of choice ....................................................... 2

1.2 Review ............................................................................. 3

1.3 Young children ................................................................. 4

1.4 How to train our “power of reason” .................................. 4

1.5 Guide dog comparison .................................................... 5

2. Three skills to train us ........................................................... 5

2.1 Illustrating ........................................................................ 6

2.1.1 Proverbs 12:18 .......................................................... 6

2.2 Analysing ......................................................................... 7

2.2.1 Colossians 3:5 .......................................................... 7

2.3 Balancing ......................................................................... 9

2.3.1 John 2:9 .................................................................... 9

2.3.2 Ecclesiastes 7:16-18 ............................................... 10

2.3.3 Model bike illustration .............................................. 11

2.4 Review ............................................................................ 11

3. Dramatization (3 videos) ..................................................... 12

3.1 1 Corinthians 15:33 ....................................................... 12

3.1.1 Family Man at Work: ............................................... 13

3.1.2 Sister on Social Media: ........................................... 13

3.1.3 Brother Playing Video Games: ................................ 14

3.1.4 Principle involved .................................................... 14

3.1.5 Family Man at Work: ............................................... 15

3.1.6 Sister on Social Media: ........................................... 16

3.1.7 Brother playing video games: ................................. 16

3.2 Review ........................................................................... 17


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1. Decisions

Have you ever thought that a familiar piece of Bible counsel didn’t apply to your situation? Well, how can analysing such counsel lead to related principles that fit your specific challenge? We’ll see in this encouraging dramatization. You and I make a lot of decisions every day. Now, some have a little impact on our lives; others have a very big impact. And we can appreciate that we can make choices and decisions for ourselves. Think of how life would be if you made no decisions for yourself —someone tells you when to go to bed, they pick out your clothes, and they tell you what to do for work. Well, none of us would like that! Jehovah gave each of us free will, and that’s the precious gift of making choices for ourselves. Now, have you ever thought about why Jehovah gave us this gift? I mean, why trust us with free will when he knew that we could make bad choices or decisions? Well, one powerful reason is love. The only way to give us the gift of love is also to give us the gift of free will. The two are tied together. You really can’t have one without the other. For example, if I programmed my computer to give me a message every day at 2:00 p.m.: “John, I love you. I think you’re a wonderful guy,” I think there’d be a little something wrong with me if I thought: ‘Aw, isn’t that nice? My computer, it loves me.’


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Yeah, love only exists if it comes truly from a free-will expression. Now, did Jehovah place any boundaries on free will? Yes. They were stated in the Law to the nation of Israel. And Jesus later repeated them at Matthew 22:37-40: “He said to him: “‘You must love Jehovah your God with your whole heart and with your whole soul and with your whole mind.’ This is the greatest and first commandment. The second, like it, is this: ‘You must love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments the whole Law hangs, and the Prophets.” So our use of free will has love of God and love of neighbor as its boundaries.

1.1 Boundaries of choice

Notice, for example, what people are doing in this picture, both inside the circle boundary and outside.

See, free will allows us to do any of the things we see in the picture. But love of God and love of neighbour move us to reject what’s outside the circle and choose to do the kinds of things that we see inside the circle. Now, to stay within those boundaries, Jehovah gave us a marvellous brain and a built-in conscience, but he also knows we need more help. And that’s why he also gave us Bible


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principles—basic truths from the Bible that can help us to make good decisions. And it can safely be said that any decision we face can be guided by Bible principles. Now, our Creator, Jehovah, knows what’s best for us. And he also trusts us to make decisions based on Bible principles because he knows that when we do that, then we’re really, truly going to be happy, content, and at peace with him and with others.

1.2 Review

So, in review so far: Jehovah gave us free will—that’s the privilege to make choices for ourselves—and he also gave us Bible principles as the boundaries to our choices. But making difficult decisions requires that we train ourselves to recognize Bible principles and apply them. Now let’s read Romans 12:1, and let’s see how this verse describes the decision-making process. “Therefore, I appeal to you “by the compassions of God, brothers, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, a sacred service with your power of reason.” So, are we using our “power of reason” to understand Bible principles?


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1.3 Young children

For example, young children ask lots of questions. But has a child ever asked you: “What happens when I drop a ball? A pencil? A book?” No, they don’t ask that. They know what happens to anything they drop. It falls down! See, the child doesn’t need rules for every object but has quickly grasped the principle. Anything he drops falls down. Now, what if an 18-year-old asked you, “What’s going to happen when I drop this pen?” Well, it’s obvious he’s not been paying attention to basic principles of life. So by us paying attention to Bible principles, we can very quickly see the pattern of love of God and love of neighbor and know the right thing to do without a long list of rules for every situation.

1.4 How to train our “power of reason”

Well, how can we train our “power of reason”? We train it by paying attention as we read and study the Bible. Now, we don’t need rules for which movies to watch, which songs to listen to, or what clothes we can wear. If we’re paying attention when we’re reading the Bible, we train our conscience with Bible principles so we can make such decisions without needing a long list of rules.


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1.5 Guide dog comparison

You know, we could compare our training of our “power of reason” to a blind person using a guide dog. Now, an untrained dog would be very helpful to a blind person. It would bark when others were around, for example. However, a dog trained in specific skills is amazingly helpful. The dog knows when to stop at curbs and walk around obstacles that the person might run their head into. A guide dog is also taught a skill called “intelligent disobedience.” And even if the blind person encourages the dog forward, it won’t obey, but it’ll pull the person back from danger.

Now, it can take a year or more of training for the dog to learn the amazing skills that are so helpful to a blind person. Likewise, our raw, untrained “power of reason” can help us to a degree. However, it can be amazing if we take the time to train it.

2. Three skills to train us

Now, here are three skills that we can use to train our “power of reason.” They are:

illustrating,

analysing, and;

balancing.


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2.1 Illustrating

Now, to consider our first skill, illustrating, let’s use the general topic of forgiveness. What Bible principles could help with forgiveness? Please think

of as many principles

and scriptures as you can. Now, if it helps, you can pause the program now and write down the principles that come to mind. Now, your list may include principles like these: Matthew 18:22 says to forgive “up to 77 times”; Proverbs 12:18 says: “The tongue of the wise is a healing”; and Colossians 3:13 tells us to ‘forgive one another freely.’ Now, the skill we want to learn is illustrating—creating a mental picture of an idea or principle to see its real meaning and impact. Now, even if we are not skilled artists, all of us can and do create pictures in our minds. When illustrating, pay attention to things that are similar or like the thing you are trying to visualize. For example, if sin is like debt, then forgiveness is like someone cancelling the debt. If a hurtful remark is like a cut, then forgiveness is like seeing it heal. If sin is like a mark on a blackboard, forgiveness is like erasing it.

2.1.1 Proverbs 12:18

Proverbs 12:18 is a great example of using the “like” technique. “Thoughtless speech is like the stabs of a sword, but the tongue of the wise is a healing.”


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Imagine what your skin would look like if you still had every open cut, bruise, or bleeding scratch since childhood. See, Jehovah wonderfully designed our body to heal such minor cuts and bruises. And we can now visualize how the forgiveness of others helps us to heal emotionally. Now, learning to illustrate, or visualize, takes time and practice. However, it can be one of the most powerful skills we use to train our “power of reason,” and it can also be quite enjoyable. You know, try at your family worship to take the principles for a topic and see how many similarities, or “likes,” you can come up with. Now, granted, they all won’t be amazing, but you may be surprised by the insights that come from seeing something from a new perspective.

2.2 Analysing

Well, let’s consider now our second skill: analysing. Now, analysing something means “examining it carefully in detail.” And let’s use the topic of wrong desires.

2.2.1 Colossians 3:5

Now, in this case, let’s say that we’ve already found the principle at Colossians 3:5: “Deaden, therefore, your body members that are on the earth as respects sexual immorality, uncleanness, uncontrolled sexual passion, hurtful desire, and greediness, which is idolatry.” Now, what can we learn from analysing Colossians 3:5 to help when we struggle with wrong desires?


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Again, feel free to pause the program if you want some time to think about it. Look carefully at each step outlined. Did you notice, for example, what appears to be a reverse order of the steps leading to sin? This verse works its way from sexual immorality back to the very roots of the problem. Now, let’s take each phrase starting with the last, “greediness, which is idolatry.” So, sexual immorality starts with selfishness, greedily putting our needs ahead of anything else. Next is “hurtful desire.” Greediness leads to “hurtful desire.” It’s like a person hanging around a bakery, smelling the bread and cakes when he can’t pay for it. Likewise, hanging around immoral entertainment or bad associates can feed “hurtful desire” for what is not ours. Next is listed “uncontrolled sexual passion.” So “hurtful desire” has now turned from an idea into a strong emotion of passion, causing one to look for an opportunity to fulfil the desire. Next, “uncleanness.” The previous steps have now led to inappropriate physical conduct with another person. Finally, “sexual immorality”—serious sin. Sexual immorality has occurred between persons that are not married to one another.


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So analysing Colossians 3:5 can really help us to eliminate, not stimulate, wrong desires. And we can see how important it is to get rid of wrong desires immediately. It’s easier to walk away from sin when we’re still in the early stages, rather than later. So we need to practice the skill of not simply just reading scriptures but analysing them until we’ve learned all that we can. And we can use the many research tools we have to find valuable comments and application.

2.3 Balancing

Now, let’s consider our third and final skill: balancing. And to do that, let’s use a question on the topic of alcohol. What Bible principles could help a couple to decide whether to serve alcohol at their wedding? What principles and scriptures do you think would help them make a balanced decision? Again, you’re welcome to pause the program if you’d like to write down what comes to mind or to research something. Now, your list probably has some of these principles.

2.3.1 John 2:9

At John 2:9, Jesus made wine for a wedding. However, 1 Corinthians 6:10 says that ‘drunkards will not inherit the Kingdom.’ And 1 Corinthians 10:31, 32 says: “Whether you are eating or drinking . . . , do all things for God’s glory” and to “keep from becoming causes for stumbling.” Now, it doesn’t seem that any one principle provides the answer.


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The couple could simply say: “Well, Jesus served wine at a wedding, so we can too.” However, there’s really more to it than that, isn’t there? It’s clear that a balance of all these Bible principles is needed. Will relatives or others be there who might be prone to over drinking? Would serving alcohol bother the conscience of many present because of local customs and feelings about alcohol? It’s often the case when making decisions that we need to balance several Bible principles, not taking any one principle solely on its own merit. Jehovah expects us to use our “power of reason” to balance Bible principles and make good decisions.

2.3.2 Ecclesiastes 7:16-18

Ecclesiastes 7:16-18 gives us good advice about being balanced. “Do not be overly righteous, nor show yourself excessively wise. Why should you bring ruin to yourself? Do not be excessively wicked, nor be foolish. Why should you die before your time? It is best to grasp one warning without letting go of the other; for the one who fears God will heed them both.” How true. Such balance between extremes is often necessary when we apply Bible principles. We need to heed them both, so to speak. We need to balance all the Bible principles so we can come to the decision that would show love of God and love of neighbor.


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2.3.3 Model bike illustration

We could illustrate the balance between different Bible principles and applying them with this model bike.

It was a gift from a brother in Malawi. Now, a bicycle has three basic principles of operation: the brakes, the pedals, and the steering. Now, the brakes are really like principles that slow us down or stop us from doing the wrong thing. And the pedals are really like the principles that move us forward in showing love for Jehovah and our brothers and sisters. And the steering is like our free will to choose a direction in life that pleases Jehovah. So making decisions is like riding a bicycle. We have to balance several Bible principles.

2.4 Review

So, in review, Jehovah gave us free will to use within the boundaries of love of God and love of neighbour and many other fine Bible principles. Making difficult decisions requires that we train our “power of reason” to recognize Bible principles and apply them.


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And we discussed how to train our power of reason with the three skills: illustrating, analysing, and balancing. So no matter what decisions you are faced with, we encourage you: “Let Bible principles guide you.”

3. Dramatization (3 videos)

Let’s use the following dramatization to practice the skills we’ve just discussed. In this video, three Witnesses all hear the same familiar Bible counsel at a Christian meeting. And at first, it doesn’t seem to apply to anything they’re currently experiencing, but it does. Maybe that’s happened to you. As you listen to their reasoning, what do you think they could do to let Bible principles guide them to making a good decision? Video Transcript:

At the Meeting: “We must know Jehovah well. That means knowing his thinking on matters. We should welcome such an examination and make any necessary changes.

3.1 1 Corinthians 15:33

For example, let’s read 1 Corinthians 15:33 together. Here we read: “Do not be misled. Bad associations spoil useful habits.” As familiar as that principle is, can you think of an area in your life where it’s difficult to apply?”


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3.1.1 Family Man at Work:

Hey, John. Hey. I know it’s not your usual, but there’s no one to entertain those clients tonight. So can you do it? Thanks. But I have. . Great. Until then, it wasn’t my usual thing. But I need to support my family. And these aren’t really my friends. I can handle it. I think.

At the Meeting: “we’re faced with bad associations in subtle ways. This may require us to ask additional questions of ourselves. Are we letting in bad association through social media? Perhaps we can think of another way bad association. ….. .”

3.1.2 Sister on Social Media:

I don’t think so—except for some friends from my old congregation. Wow! They’re not doing so well spiritually. But if I stay connected and see what they’re doing, maybe I can help them.


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At the Meeting: “. . . can affect us.” Maybe it’s something very specific. Or maybe bad association is coming from a place we never expected.

3.1.3 Brother Playing Video Games:

I only join games with Witness friends I know. But sometimes they connect with people I don’t know who pick games I’m not sure we should play. But maybe my friends know them, so they’re probably OK. At the Meeting: “It is vital that we avoid bad associations. Now, as we resume in Psalm 26. . .”

3.1.4 Principle involved

The basic principle in this story is one we all know: “Bad associations spoil useful habits.” But do our three friends find themselves in the same situation, where they can simply apply 1 Corinthians 15:33 in exactly the same way? No. The family head is concerned about supporting his family. Our sister wants to stay in touch with her friends in hopes of helping them spiritually. And our young brother didn’t know exactly who his associates were. Are you already thinking of additional principles that would apply to each person’s problem?


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How would you illustrate, analyse, or balance those principles if you were in their position? If you want to, pause the program here. Take the time to write down what you’re thinking. Then watch how they each search for Bible principles and train their “power of reason.” Video Transcript:

3.1.5 Family Man at Work:

I thought that talk didn’t apply to me. But can I really handle bad association? If I take a stand, I may lose my job. But that’s being anxious about tomorrow. Jesus said: “So never be anxious and say, “‘What are we to eat?’ or, “‘What are we to drink?’ or, ‘What are we to wear?’” Jehovah knows I need a job. And I need to set a good example for when my children face bad association.


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3.1.6 Sister on Social Media:

1 Corinthians 15:33. My friends’ posts are getting worse—their pictures and comments. Hmm, 2 Timothy 2:16. “But reject empty speeches that violate what is holy, for they will lead to more and more ungodliness.” I’m letting them share “empty speeches” with me online. I will try to help them while I still can, but following their posts is not the way to do it.

3.1.7 Brother playing video games:

I told Mom what’s been happening when I game with my friends. She gave me good ideas on what to look for in the Research Guide. “Christian Life.”

“Association.” “Is Your Recreation Beneficial?” “Who Are My Companions?”

It says, “Who are the ones I want to share my leisure time with?” Does he have the same Bible-based values and morals that I have?” Good question. I don’t even know who they are sometimes. Psalm 119:63 says: “I am a friend of all who fear you and of those who keep your orders.” But if I only know them online, I can’t know if they fear Jehovah.


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At the Meeting: “Let’s turn in our Bibles to the book of 1 Timothy 1:5 and notice how it reads: “Really, the objective of this instruction is love out of a clean heart and out of a good conscience and out of faith without hypocrisy.” We train our conscience with Bible principles that reveal Jehovah’s thinking. There may be several principles needed for our unique problem. But when we find and apply them, we’ll enjoy a clean heart and a good conscience.”

How did their Bible principles and meditation compare to what you were thinking? Now, you may not have come up with the same scriptures and thoughts, but that’s OK.

3.2 Review

The important thing is that by training our “power of reason,” we’re aligning our thoughts with Jehovah’s thoughts. Did you see the three skills in use? The young brother was able to visualize his potential friends. He couldn’t see them literally, but knowing they didn’t fear Jehovah or keep His orders painted a picture of the kind of associates they might prove to be. When our sister analysed 2 Timothy 2:16, she saw the social media comments were similar to “empty speeches” that could weaken her faith. And the family head balanced his family responsibilities by applying the principle at Matthew 6:31, where Jesus said not to be anxious over material things. And we can imagine him trying to work the matter out with his boss while trusting Jehovah to care for him and his family, no matter what might happen to his job.

jw broadcasting february 2017 - hfs

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