radio and the printed page every day? The Devil! (Rev. 16:13-16) Be on guard against this arch deceiver! (Rev. 12:9) Many of his schemes appear ever so innocent, but they may accomplish his purpose of consuming your time and controlling your mind. His design is to keep people so busy watching trite comedy programs, western movies, and reading newspapers, comics and immoral novels that they do not have time to learn about Armageddon, where he is leading them! Do not let him deceive you. Do not feed your mind on his propaganda! It will only undermine your faith, not build your pattern of integrity-keeping. Do not permit your mind to be fed on the wrong motives of killing, fighting, grudges and revenge, which are glorified in the ever-popular western movies. Do not feed your mind on the disgusting wrestling and boxing matches that television offers! Do you think that men will abuse their bodies in that fashion in God’s new world? Do you think that it was God’s will at creation for man’s body to be punched, jabbed, hooked, gouged and headlocked? Of course not!—Phil. 4:8.

¹⁷ So if you want to progress toward maturity, you must begin by not feeding your mind on the wrong motives. Spend your time mastering your Bible study lessons for the week or for the next written review in the theocratic ministry school. This will build your faith, not destroy it. You see, Jehovah too has a feeding program designed to keep people busy in these last days. The point is, we individually must stay awake and continually, daily analyze and make the choice between that which will build our faith and that which will tear it down, between Jehovah’s feeding program and the Devil’s propaganda. There is plenty of material from either Jehovah God or Satan to control your thinking and occupy your time. You must make the choice every day as to whom you will permit to permeate your life.—Rev. 16:15.

18. Why should a person learn to be dependable?

¹⁸ Learning to be dependable will also aid growth to maturity. It is so disappointing when people are given assignments and do not perform. For example, a person might be given the job of counting attendance at congregation meetings, but when he is asked for the report he may say that he forgot to take care of his assignment. Another person may volunteer to clean the congregation meeting place, but when the congregation assembles for a meeting it is discovered that he did only a halfhearted job. Such people are not dependable. Others call up the congregation overseer at the last minute and advise him that it will be impossible to care for their part on the program that evening. How inconsiderate! How immature! Others are assigned to work together in a training program; but when asked how they are progressing, they report that they have not even worked together. What a disappointment! What a dim view of Christian privileges! Others make excuses when given the opportunity of working with an experienced minister, such as a circuit servant, for the purpose of receiving expert training in the ministry. The mature attitude would be to work with him at every opportunity. The more a Christian is able to receive expert instruction in the art of preaching and teaching, the quicker he will progress toward maturity and become expert himself. Take advantage of every such opportunity, yes, even seek out such opportunities. Learn to be dependable.—Matt. 25:14-30.

19. How should we have perspective about our work?

¹⁹ Mature persons have perspective about their work. They never forget that they must work with a purpose, that service to God is not just a matter of putting in so many hours. For example, when doing house-to-house preaching in rural districts, mature ministers organize matters so that there is a minimum of time spent in traveling and waiting, and a maximum of time actually spent in preaching and teaching. They will not avoid the more populous areas, but will recognize that there is where the most productive witnessing can be done.

20. How can one show the proper mental attitude?

²⁰ Another way to progress toward maturity is to develop a proper mental attitude. Paul had the right attitude as expressed at Philippians 3:14, 15: “I am pursuing down toward the goal for the prize of the calling above and which God extends in Christ Jesus. Let us, then, as many of us as are mature, be of this mental attitude; and if you are mentally inclined otherwise in any respect, God will reveal the above attitude to you.” Can you honestly say that you are pursuing the goal of everlasting life? Or are you pursuing the things of the old-world society? (1 John 2:16) What is your immediate goal? To buy a new automobile, or to buy out opportunities to serve Jehovah? (Eph. 5:16) To spend money on an expensive vacation, seeing the sights of the dying old world, or to become a vacation pioneer, locating new friends, yes, everlasting acquaintances to join with you in the New World society? To retire and settle down in a place where there is a ratio of one witness of Jehovah to less than one thousand of the population, or to serve where the need for Kingdom witnesses is really great? If you are really pursuing everlasting life, then your record of field ministry should indicate that. Do you spend at least ten hours each month preaching and teaching the Bible truth to others? Can you imagine Paul being contented with less than ten hours a month even when he found it necessary to work full time making tents? What do you suppose he was doing on weekends, evenings? Studying God’s Word, doing God’s work, or attending a contest between the gladiators in the local coliseum, saying he had no time for the ministry?—Acts 18:3, 4.

21. What view should those in the New World society take of displays of pride and bad manners?

²¹ Another indication of maturity is to forsake pride and looking after just your own interests. A proud person shows immaturity. A person that pushes his way past others, who makes disturbances when others are assembled for Christian instruction, or one who refuses to acquire the habit of good manners is a most inconsiderate person. It is to be expected, however, that some persons associated with the New World society will be proud, ill-mannered and inconsiderate, because this is an expanding society. Every year scores of thousands of persons are coming into the New World society from the old-world society where such practices are part of the daily routine. But the point is that such new persons and the rest of us will recognize that they are spiritual babes, immature, and that in time, as they progress toward maturity, they will abandon the practices and attitudes of the old world and progressively ‘make their minds over’ for New World living. (Rom. 12:1, 2) Rather than being stumbled by immature persons, help them to progress toward maturity. You have so many fine examples of Christian living. Think of the many overseers, traveling servants, and others who are mature, who do set the right example in Christian living for the whole congregation. Follow them as they follow Christ.—1 Cor. 13:4-6; 11:1.

22. Why will those in the New World society not become involved in foolish questionings?

²² A mature person does not fight with words over senseless questions. If by research the answer can be obtained, he will make a reasonable effort to find it, but he will not get himself involved trying to find the solution to every problem, such as, ‘When is Armageddon coming?’ or, ‘Do you think man will ever live on Mars?’ Paul said at Second Timothy 2:23: “Further, turn down foolish and speculative questionings, knowing they produce fights.”

23, 24. How is maturity shown in connection with settling disputes and accepting responsibility?

²³ Immature people carry grudges, but a mature person will progress to the point that he will be quick about settling disputes. Paul advised: “Be angry, and yet do not sin; let the sun not set with you in a provoked state.”—Eph. 4:26.

²⁴ Show your progress toward maturity by accepting responsibility. Have you dedicated yourself to Jehovah? Then do not hold back when you are asked to take responsibility. Do not be like Jonah, who tried to flee to Tarshish rather than accepting the responsibility of going to Nineveh, his God-given assignment.—Jonah 1:1-3.

REWARDS

25-27. What are the rewards of maturity?

²⁵ The rewards of maturity are indeed rich. A deep and accurate knowledge brings inner satisfaction that money cannot buy. Such deep knowledge enables you to be an effective teacher. Were you happy when you came to an accurate knowledge of Bible truth? You will be much happier when you will have progressed to maturity and are regularly bringing others this precious truth. Those who have had this experience can testify that there is greater happiness in giving the truth than in receiving it.—Col. 2:2; Acts 20:35.

²⁶ Another reward of maturity is that productivity brings the blessing of Jehovah. Paul said: “I planted, Apollos watered, but God kept making it grow.” (1 Cor. 3:6) Imagine the exhilarating satisfaction in knowing that you are God’s fellow worker, as if God needed you! So when you see the work of your hands, yes, someone that you have taught taking his stand in the New World society, you will know that God is pleased with you and is working with you. Jesus said, as recorded at John 6:44: “No man can come to me unless the Father, who sent me, draws him.”

²⁷ Finally, maturity qualifies one for expanded opportunities of service. Prepare yourself to take on such expanded privileges. Do not dodge the responsibility, but thank God for his undeserved kindness, accept the responsibility, and keep on growing in that undeserved kindness and never miss its purpose. Yes, keep on progressing toward greater maturity.—2 Pet. 3:18.

Frowns and Obstruction

After resigning from the Church of England, cleric Wilkinson-Fox of Lincolnshire Village of Wragly explained why to a reporter for Australia’s Sydney Morning Herald: “The Church will not allow me to do the work I joined it to do. . . . The clergy are merely fighting themselves, rushing around madly trying to justify their existence by doing myriad little jobs. . . . The mothers’ meetings, the bazaars, the endless committees! Time and again I have begged to be allowed to get on with the job but my pleas have brought not only frowns but downright obstruction. Several years ago on a curate’s salary of £350 a year I bought an old car on time-payment. I toured about the country, collecting candidates for confirmation, bringing the word of God to people in isolated houses. I got results but when the car broke down the Church considered the cost of a pair of springs too high a price to pay for doing God’s work.”