“Gird Yourselves with Lowliness of Mind”

“All of you gird yourselves with lowliness of mind toward one another, because God opposes the haughty ones, but he gives undeserved kindness to the humble ones.”​—1 Pet. 5:5.

1. What qualities are Christians encouraged to develop? Why?

DO YOU know people who are proud, haughty, vain, egotistical, conceited? Most of us do. But how much more do we prefer to associate with individuals who are humble, lowly of mind, modest, meek, unassuming! In fact, the qualities of humility and lowliness of mind are qualities that all Christians are encouraged to develop. On one occasion Jesus knew that his disciples had been arguing among themselves as to who was greater, and he told them: “If anyone wants to be first, he must be last of all and minister of all.” Then he went on to show that there was no room for a man to be high-minded, pointing out that if they accepted childlike persons on the basis of his name it would be the same as accepting him as well as his Father Jehovah. So he certainly encouraged his disciples to be lowly of mind. (Mark 9:33-37) Years later Peter wrote: “All of you gird yourselves with lowliness of mind,” and he went on to explain why, saying, “because God opposes the haughty ones, but he gives undeserved kindness to the humble ones.” (1 Pet. 5:5) Not only, then, do we find lowliness of mind a desirable quality, but so does God, and he rewards such with undeserved kindness.

2. Why should we consider Second Kings, chapter five?

² We want to have God’s approval, so we do well to give serious consideration to this matter of humility. Since the Bible says that the things written therein “were written for our instruction,” can we find an account in the Scriptures that will instruct us in humility? (Rom. 15:4) One worthy of consideration in this connection is found in Second Kings, chapter five. There we learn of an individual in ancient times who developed humility, and by reading and analyzing the account we can personally derive benefit as we each seek to gird ourselves with lowliness of mind.

NAAMAN LEARNS HUMILITY

3. What do we learn about the man Naaman?

³ In the tenth century B.C.E., Syria, which lay to the north of Israel, had an army chief named Naaman, who led the Syrians to victory. Unknown to Naaman at the time, it was Jehovah who by him had given salvation to Syria. Naaman “had become a great man before his lord and held in esteem, . . . and the man himself had proved to be a valiant, mighty man.” (2 Ki. 5:1) No doubt because of his position and his military exploits, Naaman was a proud man, but he had contracted leprosy. This loathsome disease did not bar him from holding the position of an army chief in Syria as it would have in Israel, but, in time, it served to humble and benefit him in a most unusual way.​—Lev. 13:46.

4. How did the king of Syria come to learn about Elisha?

⁴ Syrian marauder bands had taken a little Israelite girl captive from the land of Israel, and this girl came to be a maidservant to the wife of Naaman. This girl (not named in the Bible) knew about the prophet of Jehovah named Elisha and the miracles that he had performed. She had faith in Elisha’s God, Jehovah, and bore witness to her faith. On one occasion when she was talking to Naaman’s wife, her mistress, she said: “If only my lord were before the prophet that is in Samaria! In that case he would recover him from his leprosy.” The witness of the Israelite girl in time reached the ears of the king of Syria.​—2 Ki. 5:2-4.

5. How did Naaman come in contact with Elisha?

⁵ The Syrian king, evidently Ben-hadad II, wrote a letter to Jehoram, king of Israel, and sent his army chief Naaman about a hundred miles to deliver it. Along with Naaman he sent valuable gifts. Jehoram received the letter and read: “And now at the same time that this letter comes to you, here I do send to you Naaman my servant, that you may recover him from his leprosy.” Jehoram was dismayed at the letter and feared that the Syrian king was “seeking a quarrel” with him. Elisha, the prophet of the true God, got to hear of this and sent to King Jehoram, saying: “Let him [Naaman] come, please, to me that he may know that there exists a prophet in Israel.” Ah, at last Naaman was going to get personal attention from the man who the little Israelite girl said could cure him!​—2 Ki. 5:5-8.

6. (a) What happened when Naaman arrived at Elisha’s house? (b) What was Elisha not trying to do, and in what was he interested?

⁶ “So Naaman came with his horses and his war chariots and stood at the entrance of the house of Elisha.” How would Elisha react with such a dignitary present? Would he make some special fuss over this celebrated army chief? The account continues: “However, Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying: ‘Going there, you must bathe seven times in the Jordan that your flesh may come back to you; and be clean.’” No, Elisha was not trying to curry favor with individuals of high rank. He was interested in having Jehovah’s continued favor and seeing to it that His will was accomplished.​—2 Ki. 5:9, 10.

7. How did Naaman react to Elisha’s instructions?

⁷ Was Naaman pleased to learn how easy it was for him to get cured from his leprous condition? No; rather, the account continues by saying: “At this Naaman grew indignant and began to go away and say: ‘Here I had said to myself, “To me he will come out all the way and will certainly stand and call upon the name of Jehovah his God and move his hand to and fro over the place and actually give the leper recovery.” Are not the Abaʹnah and the Pharʹpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Can I not bathe in them and certainly be clean?’ With that he turned and went away in a rage.”​—2 Ki. 5:11, 12.

8. What was Naaman’s pride causing him to lose sight of and that his servants helped him to consider?

⁸ It looked as if Naaman’s pride was going to prevent him from being cured. He was not pleased by the poor reception he received nor by such a simple remedy. It seemed as if he was more interested in some pomp and ceremony attached to the cure than in the actual cure itself. Pride was about to interfere with obedience to the instructions of God’s prophet. But Naaman’s servants helped him to get things in their proper perspective. They said: “Had it been a great thing that the prophet himself had spoken to you, would you not do it? How much more, then, since he said to you, ‘Bathe and be clean’?” (2 Ki. 5:13) They had the proper viewpoint. They appreciated that the main thing was for Naaman to be cured of his disease, and their conversation with their master had results.

9. What occurred when Naaman obeyed Elisha’s instructions?

⁹ “At that he went down and began to plunge into the Jordan seven times according to the word of the man of the true God.” Yes, he began to show lowliness of mind; he girded himself with humility and followed through on the recommended procedure. He went to the Jordan and plunged himself into the water, once, twice, on up to six times, but no cure. Then came the seventh plunge, and the result? “His flesh came back like the flesh of a little boy and he became clean.” He was cured!​—2 Ki. 5:14.

10. (a) How did Naaman react on being cured? (b) Why did Elisha refuse Naaman’s offer of a gift?

¹⁰ But how much of a humbling effect did this have on Naaman? Would he now return home, proud of his cleansed condition but lacking appreciation for what had been done? The account goes on to show that he returned to the man of the true God, a distance of perhaps twenty-five miles or more, along with his horses and war chariots. This time Elisha appeared before him, and Naaman said: “Here, now, I certainly know that there is no God anywhere in the earth but in Israel.” What a confession of faith! Gratefully he offered Elisha a blessing gift. Elisha, however, was not interested in making profit from serving Jehovah, and so he said: “As Jehovah before whom I do stand is living, I will not accept it.” In spite of urging on the part of Naaman, Elisha “kept refusing” to accept any gift, for he realized that Jehovah was the Healer and he did not seek to profit from the office that Jehovah had given him.​—2 Ki. 5:15, 16.

11, 12. Naaman now expressed concern about what? In what ways?

¹¹ Finally Naaman said: “If not, please, let there be given to your servant some ground, the load of a pair of mules; because your servant will no more render up a burnt offering or a sacrifice to any other gods but to Jehovah.” Naaman humbly expressed his desire to worship Elisha’s God, but he wanted to do so on Israelite soil even though he had to return to the service of the king of Syria.​—2 Ki. 5:17.

¹² How lowly of mind Naaman had become, not concerned with putting on an outward show or being made prominent himself, but, rather, being interested in pleasing Jehovah, the one he now recognized as the true God! He went on to say to Elisha: “In this thing may Jehovah forgive your servant: When my lord comes into the house of Rimmon [the false god the king of Syria worshiped] to bow down there, and he is supporting himself upon my hand, and I have to bow down at the house of Rimmon, when I bow down at the house of Rimmon may Jehovah, please, forgive your servant in this respect.” No longer would Naaman be worshiping this idol Rimmon, but his bowing would be only mechanical on his part to facilitate his king’s bowing. Elisha believed that Naaman was sincere, and so he said to him, “Go in peace.”​—2 Ki. 5:18, 19.

13. What did Naaman’s ‘girding himself with lowliness of mind’ result in for himself?

¹³ Is it not interesting to see how, in a relatively short time, Naaman learned to ‘gird himself with lowliness of mind’ and as a result came to be a worshiper of Jehovah and gained His favor and blessing? But during this same time, someone else was becoming self-centered, high-minded. Who was this?

GEHAZI MOVED BY GREED

14, 15. How did Gehazi show in what he was really interested?

¹⁴ Elisha had an attendant named Gehazi who was evidently present during Naaman’s discussion with Elisha. Gehazi saw matters differently than Elisha did. He is reported as saying, apparently to himself: “Here my master has spared Naaman this Syrian by not accepting from his hand what he brought. As Jehovah is living, I will run after him and take something from him.” Gehazi was interested in material gain, in profiting from the work of Jehovah’s spirit; so spiritual matters were not the all-important concern in his mind.​—2 Ki. 5:20.

¹⁵ Naaman got off his chariot to meet Gehazi and inquired, “Is all well?” Gehazi answered, “All is well,” and then proceeded to lie to get what he was after. “My master himself has sent me, saying, ‘Look! Just now there have come to me two young men from the mountainous region of Ephraim from the sons of the prophets. Do give them, please, a talent of silver and two changes of garments.’” Gehazi lyingly involved his master Elisha and the sons of the prophets in his evil scheme.​—2 Ki. 5:21, 22.

16. What occurred when Gehazi returned to Elisha?

¹⁶ Naaman still manifested the same generous spirit he had shown Elisha earlier and said, “Go on, take two talents.” Then Naaman “kept urging” Gehazi, and so this greedy man took the two talents of silver and the two changes of garments and proceeded to deposit them in his house. Then, empty-handed, Gehazi returned to Elisha. “Where did you come from, Gehazi?” Elisha inquired. Adding another lie to cover up the ones he told to Naaman, and lyingly to conceal the truth, Gehazi replied, “Your servant did not go anywhere at all.” But, of course, Jehovah knew what Gehazi had been up to and revealed the entire matter to Elisha. And so Elisha said to Gehazi: “Did not my heart itself go along just as the man turned to get down off his chariot to meet you? Is it a time to accept silver or to accept garments or olive groves or vineyards or sheep or cattle or menservants or maidservants?”​—2 Ki. 5:23-26.

17. (a) Why was Elisha rightly disturbed? (b) What happened to Gehazi for his greed?

¹⁷ Can you imagine the horrified feeling that hit Gehazi? Why, his master knew exactly what he had done! Imagine too the righteous indignation that Elisha felt. Here he had served Jehovah’s interests in the curing of Naaman’s leprosy and had refused any financial reward for his part in this miracle. And now his servant, who was not directly involved, had gone and greedily taken something under false pretenses. Elisha, with Jehovah’s obvious backing, went on to say to Gehazi: “So the leprosy of Naaman will stick to you and your offspring to time indefinite.” And the account concludes by saying: “Immediately he went out from before him, a leper white as snow.”​—2 Ki. 5:27.

ATTRIBUTES TO BE IMITATED OR AVOIDED

18. What can we review in connection with Second Kings, chapter five?

¹⁸ Look back on the account in Second Kings chapter five that we have just considered. We certainly note some outstanding characteristics and dispositions of different people. It will be most beneficial to us to review some of these differences.

19. (a) What admirable qualities did the little Israelite girl possess? (b) How can we manifest such characteristics?

¹⁹ Just think of the little Israelite girl. She was taken captive from Israel, but this did not weaken her faith in Jehovah nor in his ability to use one of his faithful servants through whom to perform miracles. Elisha had never cured any lepers in Israel, as Jesus later pointed out. (Luke 4:27) But this little girl had real faith. There was no question about it in her mind; she believed implicitly that if Naaman would go and ask, Jehovah would answer. Although just a maidservant, she had the courage to witness about her faith in Jehovah. She must have done this enthusiastically and convincingly to succeed in getting her message across so that it was acted upon, and not viewed merely as some childish notion. Like this humble, unnamed servant of God who set so outstanding an example of faith, we should fearlessly speak the truth so that all of honest heart can benefit. Never should we hold back from making known Jehovah and his purposes, fearing we are not qualified to speak to someone in a higher station in life than we. We should have full confidence in Jehovah and his ability to direct us.​—Ps. 56:11.

20. How can we imitate Elisha?

²⁰ Then there is Elisha. The Bible tells us quite a lot about this miracle-working servant of Jehovah. He was used by God even to raise someone from the dead. (2 Ki. 4:32-37) But his desire was not to be seen nor to become wealthy but, rather, to help people to grow in appreciation of Jehovah and his purposes. His interest was certainly not in making a name for himself but in magnifying the name of his God, Jehovah. We do well to imitate Elisha in being primarily concerned with Jehovah, putting our love for him first and helping others to call on him for salvation.​—Matt. 22:37, 38; Rom. 10:13.

21, 22. What are some of the things Naaman had to do in humbling himself?

²¹ While Naaman was “a valiant, mighty man” prior to his encounter with Elisha, he learned to gird himself with lowliness of mind. He came to appreciate that he was just another person in the eyes of Jehovah, and not someone worthy of special honors or attention from His servants. What joy he must have felt when he came up out of the Jordan the seventh time to see his skin completely cleansed! How glad he was that he had humbled himself and followed the recommendation of Elisha given through a messenger!

²² Just think too what it must have taken for a man in his position to do what he did. He not only took the word of a little slave girl from an enemy nation; but he had to leave his own gods behind, perhaps thinking he would be risking their displeasure, and go to a country at enmity with his and ask a prophet of a strange God to do something for him. Naaman’s becoming humble meant something of greater worth to him than being cleansed of leprosy. What was that? It led him to become a worshiper of Jehovah, a man desiring to have the approval of the one true God. A fine reward indeed for his clothing himself with humility. As with Naaman, we too can profit immeasurably spiritually if we ‘wrap ourselves in the garment of humility’ and realize that God favors the humble.​—1 Pet. 5:5, New English Bible.

23. Why can we profit from reviewing Gehazi’s course?

²³ The other individual whose activities are brought to our attention in this 2 Ki chapter 5 of the Bible is someone whose example we do well not to copy. Gehazi had been serving with Elisha for some time and had ample opportunity to see how Jehovah was using Elisha and what a privilege he had in being with Elisha. But he came to desire material wealth. His greed got the better of him when he saw his master refuse all the silver and garments offered by Naaman. His desire became fertile and moved him to sin. (Jas. 1:14, 15) He schemed and conjured up a story so as to obtain some of the material things with which Naaman was returning home. He even went so far as to lie to his master, in effect lying to Jehovah, who had appointed Elisha. And what disastrous results came upon him, for he was smitten with leprosy! His greed cost him his health and the privilege he had enjoyed of serving with Elisha. We can profit from this illustration of the disastrous course of being greedy, self-idolizing. We learn that reaching out for personal gain from Jehovah’s service is a very dangerous thing and something we must avoid.​—Compare John 12:4-6.

A PROPHETIC PARALLEL FOR TODAY

24. Whom can Elisha and Naaman be considered as picturing?

²⁴ Elisha was an anointed servant of God. That is, he was specially appointed by Jehovah to do a certain work. So he can be used as a picture or prophetic type of the remaining ones of the bride of Christ yet on earth, the remnant of the 144,000 who will be united with Christ in the heavens. (Rev. 14:1-3) Mankind in general is in much the same position as Naaman was. Instead of being afflicted with leprosy, they are suffering from the death-dealing plague of sin, and in such a condition they, for the most part, fight against the remaining members of Christ’s bride yet on earth and those associated with them.​—Rom. 5:12; Matt. 24:9.

25. How have the Naaman-like “great crowd” been helped?

²⁵ However, through the giving of a Kingdom witness, such as that of the little Israelite maid of Naaman’s wife, many of these have been directed in the right way for healing from their diseased state, spiritually speaking. They have come into contact with the anointed Elisha class and have been told what Jehovah requires for them to be spiritually recovered and to gain a good conscience toward him. Just as was true in Naaman’s case, so too in the case of these people, faith and self-humbling were required. They have been encouraged and have obeyed and have the joy of being cleansed to an acceptable condition in God’s sight. They have now become part of the “great crowd” whose hope is to live forever in a righteous new system on a cleansed earth. (Rev. 7:9) Those of this “great crowd” have come to recognize that there is no God anywhere except among the witnesses of the true God, Jehovah. They appreciate that the spiritual healing is given free, in harmony with Jesus’ instructions.​—Matt. 10:1, 8.

26. How are those viewed who, under a pretense of serving God, exploit others for personal gain?

²⁶ The Elisha class do not desire to exploit the “great crowd” in assisting them to gain spiritual recovery from the plague of sin. They refuse any pay for assisting individuals to spiritual recovery, just as Elisha refused any gift, financial or material, from Naaman. They give of their time freely to assist others who want to study God’s Word. And if any associated with the congregation of God’s people on earth try to make material gain at the expense of the “great crowd,” such ones are exposed as being greedy, guilty of idolizing themselves. Such ones are removed from the organization, harmonizing with the treatment Elisha gave to Gehazi for his covetousness and greed. This conforms to the rule: “Neither fornicators, . . . nor greedy persons, . . . nor extortioners will inherit God’s kingdom.”​—1 Cor. 6:9, 10.

27, 28. What can people do today in identifying themselves as part of the “great crowd”?

²⁷ These who make up the “great crowd” that come into association with God’s anointed servants must also gird themselves with lowliness of mind. Today’s English Version of the Bible, at 1 Peter 5:5, says: “And all of you must put on the apron of humility, to serve one another; for the scripture says, ‘God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.’” An apron makes us think of someone doing serving, caring for the interests of others, preparing food for others. So putting on “the apron of humility” would then involve being humble, lowly of mind, interested in serving others.

²⁸ Are you willing to ‘gird yourself with lowliness of mind,’ to “put on the apron of humility”? Are you willing to accept Jehovah’s way for salvation? In this twentieth century we have an example of humility, of lowliness of mind, that is found world wide. It is in the organization of Jehovah’s witnesses. Why not read on and see how they have humbly conformed to Jehovah’s way for salvation?

Humbly Conform to Jehovah’s Way for Salvation

“The humble people you will save; but your eyes are against the haughty ones.”​—2 Sam. 22:28.

1. What happened in congregations of Jehovah’s witnesses in 1972?

IN September of 1972 a great change took place among the congregations of Jehovah’s witnesses world wide. Since 1932 and up to 1972, in each congregation one man had been viewed as the “congregation overseer,” and in many cases he had served for years in that capacity. But in 1971 it was recalled from the Scriptures that the Christian congregations in the first century had a body of elders or overseers rather than just one. (1 Tim. 4:14; Phil. 1:1) In view of this the Scriptural arrangement was again followed to allow for a body of elders to function in each congregation and for the chairmanship of that body to rotate from year to year in the congregations. Thus, in most of the 28,407 congregations of Jehovah’s witnesses in existence in September of 1972, someone new stepped in as local presiding overseer.

2. How did the change in the organizational arrangement help further to identify God’s people on earth today?

² How did the former “congregation overseers” or “congregation servants” react? Almost every one of them humbly accepted the change and was appreciative that Jehovah had guided His organization into a closer conformity with early Christianity. These individuals willingly stepped down in the sense of becoming part of a body of elders, made up of equals, rather than being the one individual looked to as the overseer of the congregation. Could such a change be made in any worldly organization, that is, taking all those in the key positions and rotating them to other positions, without catastrophic results? Hardly. And yet this was possible among Jehovah’s witnesses, for they are people who do “nothing out of contentiousness or out of egotism, but with lowliness of mind considering that the others are superior.”​—Phil. 2:3.

3. How do Jehovah’s witnesses come to have lowliness of mind and humility?

³ But how do Jehovah’s witnesses come to have such qualities? They are born sinners, possessing the death-dealing disease of sin, like King David and the rest of mankind. (Ps. 51:5) They have learned, however, that conforming to Jehovah’s way in humility can lead to salvation from such condition, just as it led to Naaman’s being saved or cured from leprosy. In Naaman’s case, Jehovah’s way was the only way. God had an arrangement through his prophet Elisha, and He would not change. Once Naaman humbled himself and went along with that arrangement he was blessed with a cure and with learning the truth. So humility is something about which we also need to learn.

4. What significance is attached to the words in Hebrew, Greek and English involved with humility?

⁴ The word translated “humility” in the Hebrew Scriptures comes from a root meaning “to be bowed down.” Humility, meekness, condescension and lowliness are all connected with the meaning of that word. In the Christian Greek Scriptures the word originally used closely connects humility with lowliness of mind. In English, it comes from the Latin word humus, referring to the ground, earth, and means freedom from pride or arrogance.

ACHIEVING HUMILITY

5. What helps us to appreciate the need to cultivate humility?

⁵ Humility is a quality that can be cultivated. First of all, a person must have the desire to be humble. This inclination is certainly enhanced by reading the Bible. In it we learn that “God opposes the haughty ones, but he gives undeserved kindness to the humble ones.” (Jas. 4:6) We come to appreciate that Jehovah wants us “to be humble in walking with” him. (Mic. 6:8, NW, 1960 edition) So our desire to please God makes us want to develop the quality of humility.

6. Why does appreciating our relationship to Jehovah aid us to be humble?

⁶ Closely connected with this is the matter of having a good appreciation of our relationship to Jehovah. We are to have a proper fear of him, that is, an awesome respect, a fear to displease him, knowing that what he requires of us is right. (Ps. 111:10; Prov. 8:13) And Solomon tied in fearing Jehovah with humility when he said: “The result of humility and the fear of Jehovah is riches and glory and life.”​—Prov. 22:4.

7. What does Jehovah’s example in this connection do for us?

⁷ Jehovah’s example of humility too is of assistance to us. (2 Sam. 22:36; Ps. 18:35) He exercises mercy and compassion upon sinners; yes, he even went so far as to provide his Son as a sacrifice for man’s sins. (1 John 4:10) If Jehovah, the greatest personage in the universe, is humble, should not we as insignificant creatures likewise be?

8. How do Jesus’ actions and words aid us in developing humility?

⁸ The pattern Jesus set is also one for us to imitate if we are Christians, followers of Christ. (1 Pet. 2:21) Was it not foretold that he would be “humble” as he entered Jerusalem to present himself as king? (Zech. 9:9; Matt. 21:5) As the Word, God’s firstborn Son in heaven, the one who became Jesus certainly had a lofty position, but “when he found himself in fashion as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient as far as death.” And Paul wisely counseled the Philippian congregation to “keep this mental attitude in you that was also in Christ Jesus,” that mental attitude including the quality of humility. (Phil. 2:5-8) As a man on earth, Jesus spoke of the preciousness of the attribute of humility, encouraging his disciples to be humble like a young child, and reminding them that “whoever humbles himself will be exalted.”​—Matt. 23:12; 18:4.

9. What part does prayer play in becoming lowly in mind?

⁹ Another aid in humbling ourselves is prayer. It serves to remind us of God’s greatness and our insignificance, the fact that there are others desirous of coming into or maintaining a good relationship with “our Father”; and what a marvelous provision Jehovah made through his Son so that we can have our sins forgiven! Prayer assists us to remember that in ourselves we really have nothing of which to be proud.​—Matt. 6:9-12.

10. How does love fit into the discussion on humility?

¹⁰ The quality of love, one of the fruits of God’s spirit, is necessary in developing lowliness of mind. (Gal. 5:22) “Love . . . does not get puffed up.” (1 Cor. 13:4) We learn to appreciate that the most important love is our love for Jehovah, and then, in addition, we are to ‘love our neighbors as ourselves,’ that is, we are to put them on a par with ourselves, not thinking more of ourselves than of them. (Matt. 22:37-39) Jehovah’s witnesses desire to be humble. They know from their study of the Bible that Jehovah requires this of them. They have meditated on the examples of Jehovah and Christ Jesus in this connection. They take advantage of the provision of prayer, and they continue working at manifesting love, which Jesus said would identify his followers and which aids them in cultivating lowliness of mind.​—John 13:34, 35.

HUMILITY NEEDED TODAY

11, 12. How does humility help us in this hate-filled world?

¹¹ Developing the quality of humility assists us to face up to the challenges found in this modern, selfish, hate-filled world. God inspired the apostle Paul to foretell “that in the last days” men would be “lovers of themselves, . . . haughty.” (2 Tim. 3:1, 2) This attitude has taken strong hold of people in all walks of life, and we certainly do not want to let it rub off on us.

¹² The fights between people of various nationalities or different races, people readily admit, are because of nationalistic or racial “pride.” But pride is the opposite of humility, and “pride is before a crash, and a haughty spirit before stumbling.” (Prov. 16:18) Do we want to crash head on with God because of national or racial pride? It would mean our destruction.

13. How does humility help women in this wicked system of things?

¹³ The women’s liberation movement is something of which people the world over have been made aware. Some women associated with it, viewing the Bible as a book produced by men, haughtily claim that the scripture that says man “is God’s image and glory; but the woman is man’s glory,” is nothing more than a male chauvinist’s opinion. (1 Cor. 11:7) The pride of such women has brought them into direct conflict with Jehovah, who inspired the writing of the Bible. Do you women who desire to have God’s approval avoid such lack of humility? The apostle told men in the Christian congregation, “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God.” Do you women not find that your also heeding this Scriptural injunction makes being submissive much easier and makes for a happier life?​—1 Pet. 5:6.

14. How can the ‘head of the house’ be humble?

¹⁴ The idea of male headship, of course, can be carried to extremes. To fulfill his role as father and husband, the male in the household needs to be humble, to see his own faults and work to overcome them, and admit it when he makes mistakes. Humility would result in his having empathy, taking the others in the family into consideration before making major decisions. It would also aid him to be forgiving of others in the family and not to expect perfection from them any more than Jehovah expects it from him. Humility really helps all in the family circle to overcome problems that stem from differences in male and female, young and old. Lowliness of mind aids us to continue “putting up with one another in love.”​—Eph. 4:2.

15. How does humility aid us in connection with preaching and enduring persecution?

¹⁵ Humility serves as an aid to our engaging in the work Jesus said would be done before the end of this wicked system of things came. He foretold a worldwide preaching work, a work of telling others about the Kingdom, God’s government by which he purposes to rule the earth. (Mark 13:10) Lowliness of mind helps us to take into consideration the viewpoint of those to whom we preach; it helps us to understand their position as we converse with them. Jesus also foretold that his followers would be hated, persecuted for following him. (Matt. 24:9) Humility helps us to face such opposition because we recognize that Jehovah is supreme, and so we do not rebel against him for permitting this to happen. We look to the example Jesus set of facing up to persecution, keeping humble before those reviling him and remaining loyal to his Father.​—1 Pet. 2:23.

16. Why does humility assist in the matter of discipline?

¹⁶ The humble person is one who accepts counsel and discipline. “The reproofs of discipline are the way of life.” (Prov. 6:23) Those who are proud resent being counseled; they feel they do not do anything wrong anyway. But those of lowly mind recognize they do make mistakes and appreciate being corrected. “True, no discipline seems for the present to be joyous, but grievous; yet afterward to those who have been trained by it it yields peaceable fruit, namely, righteousness.” (Heb. 12:11) So those who accept counsel and discipline are helped to make fine spiritual progress.

MODERN-DAY EXAMPLES OF HUMILITY

17. How did humbly admitting he was illiterate help one young man?

¹⁷ If you were unable to read, would you be humble enough to admit it and ask for help? A young man in West Africa related this experience: “I felt bad that at the age of nineteen I did not know how to read and write. But one day I heard of the literacy class conducted by Jehovah’s witnesses at their Kingdom Hall. Even though I was not a Witness, they let me enroll. The literacy period was part of one of their congregation meetings, and to show appreciation I would sit in on the remaining part of the program for the evening. I enjoyed those meetings so much and I longed to give a talk as other young men were doing. One of these men started a home Bible study with me. In less than two years I not only learned to read and write, but was able to qualify for field service, symbolize my dedication by being baptized and enjoy the happy privilege of being a pioneer.” This man’s humility enabled him to learn to read and write, come to a knowledge of the truth and become a full-time minister, sharing the truth with others.

18. How did one proud man change? What resulted?

¹⁸ In the same part of the earth there was a man who was not so humble. In fact, he proudly told the minister of Jehovah’s witnesses who met him that he did not need anyone to teach him, a manager in a large firm, as he could study the Bible himself. However, he did accept an invitation to attend one of the congregation meetings. He was much impressed by the Theocratic Ministry School and started to attend regularly. He soon enrolled in the school, and his whole attitude changed as he began accepting and applying the counsel received in the school. He made a request for a Bible study at home and made fine progress. Yes, he humbled himself and is now privileged to serve as a dedicated and baptized servant of Jehovah God.

19. How did a blind clergyman show humility?

¹⁹ On an island not far from Australia a young Witness contacted an old man, and after many calls started a study with a group of five to ten people, spending two or three hours on each visit. An old blind man was always present and showed a deep love for the Bible. He soon began to talk to everyone he met about the truths he was learning. It was later learned that this blind man was the local Lutheran pastor. In a few months this group began attending some of the meetings of Jehovah’s witnesses although they had to walk two and a half to three hours to do so. Soon, the old pastor told the other members of the church that he was leaving because he realized that what he had taught previously was not the truth. Yes, he was humble enough to admit the error of his past course in life and took steps to get in line with Jehovah’s way for salvation.

20. Why did another clergyman resign from his church?

²⁰ Another humble clergyman was contacted in a village on a South Pacific island, and he also agreed to a home Bible study. He quickly discerned the difference between the teachings of his church and the Bible, and after just two studies he resigned from the church. His former associates were perturbed at his resignation and tried to persuade him to remain as their minister. He informed them that he would now uphold only true Christianity. His spiritual progress continued and now he is one of Jehovah’s baptized servants, aiding others to learn the truth.

21. (a) What does the “new personality” involve? (b) What fine commendation was expressed regarding the “new personality” of Jehovah’s witnesses?

²¹ The apostle Paul encourages: “Strip off the old personality with its practices, and clothe yourselves with the new personality, . . . clothe yourselves with the tender affections of compassion, kindness, lowliness of mind, mildness, and long-suffering.” (Col. 3:9-12) So part of the new Christian personality is lowliness of mind, humility. These qualities are manifested by Jehovah’s people, and this serves to attract others. The following letter received at the Philippine branch office of the Watch Tower Society from the manager of a business where two Witnesses are employed illustrates this: “We are in the process of reorganizing our Manufacturing Department and in this connection we would like to know if you would kindly assist us in our search for skilled workers. The strongest reason which prompted us to approach your Society is mainly because our observation, close study and experience have proved that men belonging to your organization could be highly relied upon to perform with unselfish diligence and honesty in any given task, and we are also amazed at their capability to understand and adjust themselves to existing economic and labor problems.”

22. How did one Witness show appreciation for the congregation meetings, and what resulted?

²² Although they do well at their secular work, Jehovah’s witnesses do not forget that Jehovah is the one to whom the credit goes, and they continue to value the privilege of attending meetings of the Christian congregation so as to continue developing the “new personality.” The family of a young female Witness came into need and she had to apply for a secular job to help out financially. When interviewed for the job, she found that she would be required to work during some of the congregation meetings, and the employer refused to make adjustment. She informed him, “I need this job, sir, but I cannot exchange my faith for a job,” and so she refused it. Two days later, however, the manager sent a messenger to the Kingdom Hall to look for her and offer her the job with time off to attend all meetings. Jehovah blessed her for her humble efforts to please him.

23. (a) How did one traveling overseer express a humble attitude? (b) In what are the overseers among Jehovah’s witnesses interested?

²³ Traveling representatives of Jehovah’s witnesses are assigned to visit congregations on a regular basis to build them up spiritually by talks and by sharing in the preaching work with them. Some time back these visits were changed from every four months to every six months, and so some of the ones doing this work, known as circuit overseers, were not needed any longer for this particular service. One such individual serving in New York city humbly commented: “When I heard that a number were being taken off the circuit work I prayed to Jehovah that, if my visits were hindering or not helping the congregations as much as others, I would be one of the ones taken off the traveling work.” What a fine attitude, representative of that shown by the older men or overseers among Jehovah’s witnesses world wide! They are not proudly interested in their position but, rather, in humbly caring for the sheeplike followers of Jesus, recognizing that the “sheep” belong to him.​—John 10:14.

THE PROPER COURSE TO TAKE

24, 25. What must we do if we believe salvation is for the humble?

²⁴ Do you really believe the words of the Bible writer David in his prayer to Jehovah: “The humble people you will save; but your eyes are against the haughty ones”? (2 Sam. 22:28) If you do, then you will want to ferret out of your life any traces of haughtiness, of thinking you are better than others whether because of your race, your nationality, your education or your station in life. We all come from sinner Adam, so in ourselves we really have nothing about which to be proud.​—Acts 17:26.

²⁵ The hope of salvation is ours if we humbly conform to Jehovah’s way. We must appreciate that “everything in the world​—the desire of the flesh and the desire of the eyes and the showy display of one’s means of life—​does not originate with the Father, but originates with the world. Furthermore, the world is passing away and so is its desire, but he that does the will of God remains forever.” (1 John 2:16, 17) Jehovah’s way means that we cannot afford to be wrapped up in the materialistic pursuits of the world. They could well cause us to lose out altogether, as was true in greedy Gehazi’s case.

26. What course of action do we individually want to follow?

²⁶ So, then, the course to follow is to study the Scriptures, to conform your life to Jehovah’s will and to become one of his dedicated, baptized servants, helping others to comply with Jehovah’s way for salvation. For those who have already taken this step, it is necessary to continue going in the right direction. “To what extent we have made progress, let us go on walking orderly in this same routine.” (Phil. 3:16) Never do we want to feel a reaction of discomfort to the words of Paul, “Considering that the others are superior to you,” in our relations with our Christian brothers. (Phil. 2:3) We want to appreciate fully the spirit of humility within the ranks of God’s people and work to contribute to such spirit. We want to have a feeling of well-being, of satisfaction from it. It creates and maintains a pleasant and rewarding atmosphere, this humbly expressing love for the whole association of brothers. Remember, too, that Jehovah’s organization cannot change just to suit individuals.

27. Why would criticizing the work of the body of elders in the congregation be wrong?

²⁷ If we object to something done by the body of elders or criticize the way some matter is handled, we are being disloyal to Jehovah’s organization. Let us remember that the elders are not newly converted men; they have been serving Jehovah for years. (1 Tim. 3:6) And what is it that prompts faultfinding or complaining? Is it not often a desire to elevate ourselves in the eyes of others? In other words, pride is the root of the problem. This course of action actually may involve resisting the holy spirit, because the holy spirit is responsible for the appointments of older men in the congregation. (Acts 20:28) Why, then, should we criticize one of the brothers for handling the Kingdom interests in a way that the holy spirit seems to direct him? And if the brother is wrong in the way he handled something, we should have faith that the holy spirit will correct him.

28. What must we all recognize, for our own everlasting welfare?

²⁸ In a world of bitter rivalries, with each contentious faction fighting for its own individual interests, one organization stands out as different, the genuine followers of Jesus, Jehovah’s Christian witnesses. Some of them, like the little Israelite girl in Naaman’s life, have manifested courageous faith, speaking what they know to be the truth in the hope that others will benefit. They may be viewed as nameless, insignificant individuals, but they have the approval of Jehovah. Others have served in more prominent capacities, as Elisha did, but they too are concerned first of all with having Jehovah’s favor; their desire is not to get gain for themselves. May all of us work with them, recognizing that there is no salvation without humility and a willingness to conform to Jehovah’s way.