the work that God has committed into his care. Let us keep making our minds over to think as God thinks, in his new system of things, and then gain happiness by giving.

SOURCES OF HAPPINESS

22. Why is Jehovah the “happy God”, and so what should we want to be?

²² Jehovah’s servants are happy today because they have faith in God’s Word and in Jehovah himself. They do not expect any miracles to be performed in their behalf in these days nor any outward sign to help keep them in Jehovah’s organization. Jehovah’s Word is sufficient for his people to follow. It has made us free from the Devil’s organization, and we propose to remain free. Paul was happy in his work because he had ‘the glorious good news of the happy God, with which he was entrusted’. (1 Tim. 1:11, NW) Our God is a happy God, and since we are made in his image and likeness there is no reason why we should not be happy also. His happiness came through giving, and he has given us so much that we have plenty to give to others. All normal creatures want to live. We love life, and we want to get the best out of it. The one thing we want most from life is happiness, for life without happiness would be dull and uninteresting.

23. How do some seek happiness, but what contributes the greatest happiness to us?

²³ Today men seek for happiness in many ways. Some receive it from their family or close friends, others by visiting the seashore or the woods or by playing with their children. But the greatest happiness comes from giving to others rather than from just receiving pleasure. While we take great delight in receiving things from our earthly friends and in giving to those we love, our greatest friends are Jehovah God and Christ Jesus. They have given us so much in knowledge and understanding that we can give of this in abundance to others. “This means everlasting life [to those others], their taking in knowledge of you, the only true God, and of the one whom you sent forth, Jesus Christ.”—John 17:3, NW.

24. Why should we never come to the point of not wanting to give the truth out to others?

²⁴ Never let it happen that we come to the point where we no longer want to give to others the truth that we have received. If we ever come to such a state of mind where we do not want to tell someone else about the glorious provisions that Jehovah God has made through his Son Christ Jesus and we become ashamed of the true religion, then Jehovah God will become ashamed of us. There will be no place in Jehovah’s organization for such a person. Also never let us be deceived into thinking that we have done enough now in Jehovah’s service. We should not think that because we have been in the truth for forty or fifty years or even longer we can retire from service. As long as we have breath we must praise Jehovah. Remember that we expect to live thousands of years, yes, on into the millions of years, even into time indefinite, right in Jehovah’s organization. It will be a pure and clean organization and every one in it will be worshiping Jehovah. So why should we now think of stopping our worship and service because we are sixty or seventy years of age?

25. How can the youthful ones early attain happiness?

²⁵ What a joy it is now for a young girl or a young boy to start serving Jehovah, to begin making the mind over in youth, to begin thinking as God thinks, to study his Word and to be filled with it, to have these fine qualities that a Christian must possess of love, devotion, patience and kindness! With all this and with the spirit of giving, what happiness can be theirs for all eternity!

26. Rather than the world’s riches and poverty, what do we want and how do we strive to get it?

²⁶ Let us all be content with what Jehovah God has given us and look well to the responsibilities that have been placed upon us. Let us serve our brothers with joy and gladness. It was the writer of the Proverbs who said, “Remove far from me falsehood and lies; give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is needful for me: lest I be full, and deny thee, and say, Who is Jehovah? Or lest I be poor, and steal, and use profanely the name of my God.” (Prov. 30:8, 9, AS) Jehovah’s witnesses today do not want the riches of this world, nor do they want the poverty. Instead we ask as Jesus taught his disciples to pray: “Give us today our bread for this day.” All we need are the necessities of life: shelter, food and clothing. With these and with godly devotion we should be content. God has promised all the necessary things to keep us alive and active in his service, and we put forth daily effort to obtain these for ourselves and our family. But more than that, we do not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from out of the mouth of God.—Deut. 8:3; Matt. 4:4.

27. So in what do we want to be rich, and how shall we continue to be the happiest people on earth?

²⁷ So then it is in the abundance of knowledge that we want to be rich. We want to be removed far from falsehoods and lies. We never want to deny our God Jehovah. Because they do not take Jehovah’s name in vain, Jehovah’s witnesses are the happiest people in the world. They do not have the burden or the responsibility of trying to patch up this old world and hold it together. However, they do have the answer for today’s problems and the most comforting, cheerful and optimistic message anyone can hear and the one with the most far-reaching effects. They have the message of the kingdom of God which will bring blessings of prosperity and happiness to all those who love righteousness. They will keep on giving this message, for they know there is more happiness in giving than in receiving. So whether you are a company publisher, a pioneer, a circuit servant, a district servant, a missionary, a worker in a branch or anywhere else in Jehovah’s organization, hold to your position faithfully. Continue to give out the good news, worshiping Jehovah in holy array.

Words That Mean Life

THE spoken word of Jehovah God carries greater power than that at the disposal of all this world’s atom-smashing scientists and far greater efficacy than anything concocted by modern medicine’s wizards of healing. Jehovah spoke into existence the depths of the fathomless universe, molding it to his will. When our primitive earth was swathed in darkness, “God said—Light be. And light was.”—Gen. 1:3, Ro.

Think, therefore, of the force and power behind the message contained in the Bible, God’s Word. Some presumptuous men set themselves up as the Bible’s critics, hastily overlooking the long period of divine inspiration during which God’s spirit rested upon the many varied men from diverse walks of life to compose one harmonious book pointing up one all-absorbing purpose, God’s sovereignty and its vindication by his kingdom. Critics have brushed aside