by Marvin Shilmer 3 Replies latest jw friends
Watchtower — Run ahead?
Today I uploaded an article to my blog addressing two pieces of advice Watchtower teaches. One of these is Watchtower’s counsel that Jehovah’s Witnesses should not “run ahead” of Jehovah. The second piece of advice makes one wonder how the first is possible.
My article is titled Watchtower — Run ahead? and is available at: http://marvinshilmer.blogspot.com/2011/08/watchtower-run-ahead.html
Marvin Shilmer
Well . . . history tells me "Jehovah" ain't going anywhere fast.
The message is more like "take a seat in the WTS cattle truck . . . and don't look out the window."
What's the deal with all the dead people. Does that mean the they were wanting God to kill everyone now instead of waiting on him. Cult thinking. Everybody dies except them. Sick. Totally ADD
*** w00 10/1 p. 32 Are You Discreet? ***Those to whom Jesus Christ has entrusted "all his belongings" are described in God’s Word as "faithful and discreet." (Matthew 24:45-47) They do not immodestly run ahead of Jehovah on an impulsive whim; nor do they lag behind when God’s direction in a matter is clear. They know when it is time to speak and when it is time to wait silently for further clarification. All Christians do well not only to imitate their faith but also to prove themselves discreet, as the slave class does.—Hebrews 13:7.
*** w98 1/15 pp. 13-14 par. 2 Keep On Walking With God ***Not only did they express mental agreement with what God said and did but they acted on everything he required—not just some of it but all of it to the extent possible for them as imperfect humans. Thus Noah, for example, did exactly what God commanded him. (Genesis 6:22) Noah was not running ahead of the directions given to him, and he was not negligently lagging behind.
*** w98 8/15 pp. 14-15 pars. 20-21 Jehovah Should Be Our Confidence ***If we at times tend to put too much confidence in ourselves and too little in Jehovah, let us learn from Moses. When 40 years old, he set out on his own to free the Israelites from Egyptian captivity. His efforts were doubtlessly well meant, but they did not result in Israel’s immediate deliverance, nor in bettering his own situation. In fact, he was forced to flee. Only after undergoing 40 years of arduous training in a foreign land did he qualify to be selected to do what he had wanted to do earlier. This time he could be confident of Jehovah’s backing because now things were being done Jehovah’s way at a time that fitted His timetable.—Exodus 2:11–3:10
Each of us might ask himself: ‘Do I sometimes run ahead of Jehovah and the elders appointed in the congregation, trying to speed things up or do things my own way? Instead of feeling overlooked for certain privileges, do I readily accept my ongoing period of training?’ Basically, have we learned an important lesson from Moses?
*** w97 6/1 pp. 13-14 par. 7 A Secret Christians Dare Not Keep! ***In contrast with humans, who have a limited life span, Jehovah never feels pressured by time to reveal his secrets prematurely. This fact should prevent us from becoming impatient when certain Bible questions cannot presently be explained to our satisfaction. Modesty on the part of the faithful and discreet slave class, commissioned to provide the Christian household with food at the proper time, prevents it from presumptuously running ahead and wildly speculating about things that are still unclear. The slave class strives to avoid being dogmatic. It is not too proud to admit that as of now it cannot answer every question, keeping Proverbs 4:18 clearly in mind.
*** w95 6/15 p. 9 Patience—Why So Rare? ***The Bible tells of a woman who did not wait to consult her husband before making a critical decision. Her name was Eve. Running ahead of Adam, perhaps partly because of impatience, she ate the forbidden fruit. (Genesis 3:1-6) What about her husband? He too may have manifested impatience by following Eve into sin without first approaching his heavenly Father, Jehovah, for help or direction. Their greed, possibly combined with impatience that led to sin, had fatal consequences for all of us. From them we have also received as an inheritance the tendency to commit sins, including those of arrogance and impatience.—Romans 5:12.
*** w88 5/1 p. 13 par. 14 The Challenge of Following in His Footsteps ***Not keeping pace with Christ could mean one of two things. Either we try to go faster, running ahead of "the faithful and discreet slave" that Jesus is using to accomplish Jehovah’s purpose, or we lag behind in following that ‘slave’s’ direction. (Matthew 24:45-47) As an example of the first, some Christians have in times past become impatient about doctrinal or organizational changes or refinements that they felt were necessary and overdue. Becoming disgruntled because they felt things were not moving quickly enough, they withdrew from Jehovah’s people. How foolish and how shortsighted! Often the very thing that upset them was later changed—in Jehovah’s due time.—Proverbs 19:2; Ecclesiastes 7:8, 9.
