Make a Good Name with God

“A good name is better than precious ointment; and the day of death than the day of one’s birth.”​—Eccl. 7:1, Authorized Version.

1. What does everyone make for himself, and sometimes give to others?

EVERYONE makes something additional to what he does, even the one who does nothing. A man makes fine furniture, and, additionally, makes a name as a skilled craftsman. A woman makes delicious meals, and thus makes a name as a good cook. A third person does nothing, and makes a name for laziness. Everyone makes a name for himself. And sometimes we give names to others. Saul and his associates by their slander gave David a bad name. David by his psalms gave God a good name. Jehovah enabled David to make a good name for himself. Some who claim to represent God give him a bad name through their religious lies and immoral deeds. True worshipers by their words and their deeds give God a good name, and in so doing they make a good name for themselves with Jehovah God.​—Ps. 64:1-6; 1 Chron. 17:8; Ezek. 36:20-23.

2. What seemingly strange statement is made in Ecclesiastes, and what counsel follows it?

² There is a verse in the Bible book of Ecclesiastes that may seem to be a very strange statement to some readers: “A good name is better than precious ointment; and the day of death than the day of one’s birth.” How can this be? How can death be better than life? If you had a choice, would you not prefer to be beginning your life rather than to be coming to its end? Let us read this verse again, along with the verses that follow it:

“A good name is better than precious ointment; and the day of death than the day of one’s birth. It is better to go to the house of mourning, than to go to the house of feasting: for that is the end of all men; and the living will lay it to his heart. Sorrow is better than laughter: for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better. The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning; but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth. It is better to hear the rebuke of the wise, than for a man to hear the song of fools. For as the crackling of thorns under a pot, so is the laughter of the fool: this also is vanity.”​—Eccl. 7:1-6, “Authorized Version.”

3. (a) What ancient custom in Israel is here discussed, and what is the most consoling thought for such a time? (b) How do we know that the name here mentioned is a good one?

³ Does this clarify the strange statement that the day of your death is better than the day of your birth? It does if you know the occasion and the background of those words. They concern a custom in ancient Israel. When a household lost a loved one in death, their dwelling became a house of mourning. It was the custom for friends and neighbors to come and offer condolences. The most consoling thought would be that the day of the death of this loved one would be better than the day of his birth​—if he had made a good name with God. It is true that in the original Hebrew, verse one of this passage merely says “a name” rather than “a good name.”a However, it is to be understood that the name is a good one. A similar case is Proverbs 22:1: “A name is to be chosen rather than abundant riches.” Some translations supply the adjective “good” to show the kind of name meant.b Necessarily the name is a good one, in both the proverb and in Ecclesiastes 7:1; otherwise, neither of the statements would make sense.

4. What may we have at death that we did not have at birth, and why?

⁴ As we live, we make names for ourselves​—good names or bad names. If we act wisely in God’s eyes, we make a good name for ourselves with God. But it takes time. On the day of our birth we have not lived long enough to make any kind of name at all. Furthermore, we are born under Adamic sin and condemned to death. (Rom. 5:12) Hence, if years later, on the day of our death, we have made a good name with God, we have something that we did not possess on the day of our birth. We have a name that God will remember when he resurrects the dead to life under Christ’s kingdom. “The remembrance of the righteous one is due for a blessing, but the very name of the wicked ones will rot.”​—Prov. 10:7.

THE MOURNERS BENEFITED

5. What may the mourner ponder as he sits in a house of mourning?

⁵ But when an ancient Israelite went to a house of mourning to comfort the bereaved ones, there was benefit for him also. Consider this as we reread some of the verses. “It is better to go to the house of mourning, than to go to the house of feasting: for that is the end of all men; and the living will lay it to his heart.” (Eccl. 7:2, AV) Not only does he show a kindly sympathy for the survivors, rather than callously pursuing his own pleasures, but also he ponders the fact that in this house a person has died, that it is not anything unusual, that death comes to every man, and that it will come to him also. When it does, will that day of his death be better than the day of his birth? Will he have acted wisely during his lifetime, so that by the day of his death he will have made a good name with God? The living must lay it to heart, while there is time to change, for a good name cannot be made in the few minutes of a deathbed repentance.

6. Why, in this instance, is sorrow better than laughter?

⁶ “Sorrow is better than laughter,” the account continues, “for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better.” (Eccl. 7:3, AV) Rather than consume time in frivolous merriment, it is better to examine your life, face mistakes made in the past and be saddened by wrongs committed. It will improve your heart and move you to change your ways and start acting wisely, rather than laughing and giggling your way through life like an irresponsible fool. “The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning; but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.”​—Eccl. 7:4, AV.

7. (a) In what frame of mind may this put the mourner? (b) Why is the laughter of fools likened to the sound of thorns under a pot?

⁷ Furthermore, “it is better to hear the rebuke of the wise, than for a man to hear the song of fools.” (Eccl. 7:5, AV) Contact with death, as at a funeral, is a sobering experience and should cause a person to reflect on his own course in life. It may also put him in a frame of mind to listen to wise counselors. Criticism, even when kindly given, is difficult to endure, but it is better than listening to the song or the “praise of fools.” (The New English Bible) To hear and to heed the wise rebukes found in the pages of the Bible will enable us to make a good name with God. To fritter away our time listening to foolish flattery is vanity: “For as the crackling of thorns under a pot, so is the laughter of the fool: this also is vanity.” (Eccl. 7:6, AV) To use thorns as fuel under a cooking pot accomplishes nothing. The flame shoots up with noisy crackling, but soon dies down as the thorns turn to ashes. There is not enough substance to the thorns to make a fire last until the meat is cooked. The noisy display is as useless as the stupid one’s laughter. Neither accomplishes anything of lasting value.

AN EVEN STRANGER STATEMENT

8. With deeper understanding, what lesson is now discerned?

⁸ So now, with this deeper understanding, we go back to the statement that ‘the day of death is better than the day of birth.’ We see that it is no longer strange but is a powerful lesson on how we should live our lives in order to make a good name with God. Then the day of our death will be better than the day of our birth. That is, of course, if the day of our death ever comes. ‘What is that?’ some exclaim. ‘If the day of our death ever comes? You mean it may not? Why, that is an even stranger statement than the one about death being better than birth!’

9. What conditions do your eyes see, and what should they really see?

⁹ Again, it is a matter of understanding the times in which we live. Do you have eyes that see, really see? Certainly you see that the times are critical and hard to deal with, that many people are self-centered and haughty, that marriages collapse and families disintegrate, that cheating and lying and crimes of violence are everywhere, and that even many of those claiming to be Christians are proving to be hypocrites. But do your eyes see what these things signify? Second Timothy 3:1-5, 13 tells us what they mean:

“But know this, that in the last days critical times hard to deal with will be here. For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, self-assuming, haughty, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, disloyal, having no natural affection, not open to any agreement, slanderers, without self-control, fierce, without love of goodness, betrayers, headstrong, puffed up with pride, lovers of pleasures rather than lovers of God, having a form of godly devotion but proving false to its power; and from these turn away. But wicked men and impostors will advance from bad to worse, misleading and being misled.”

10. What do your ears hear, and what should they further realize?

¹⁰ Do you have ears that hear, really hear? Certainly you have heard about the wars, famines, earthquakes and pestilences that have plagued the world since 1914. You know of the moral collapse that afflicts the whole world. And you have heard of the worldwide preaching of the good news of Christ’s kingdom by Jehovah’s Witnesses, and of the waves of persecution that have rolled over them for declaring that this millennial kingdom is at hand. But do your ears hear the significance of these things? Do they register the truth that these things were foretold by Jesus as a sign of the end, when he was asked by his disciples, “Tell us, When will these things be, and what will be the sign of your presence and of the conclusion of the system of things?”​—Matt. 24:3.

11. What do scoffers say, and thereby provide what?

¹¹ Is your heart sensitive to what all of this means, or is it thickened with calluses that cause you to say, “All these things have happened before”? Those who scoff are providing another part of the sign that we are in “the last days.” Their presence was foretold at 2 Peter 3:3, 4: “In the last days there will come ridiculers with their ridicule, proceeding according to their own desires and saying: ‘Where is this promised presence of his? Why, from the day our forefathers fell asleep in death, all things are continuing exactly as from creation’s beginning.’”

SOMETHING NEW

12. What now is new in world history?

¹² However, surely your heart is sensitive to the fact that when you consider the earth-wide pollution of our planet you discern that ‘all things are NOT continuing exactly as from creation’s beginning.’ Never before have men had the power to destroy the earth as a habitable planet. They have that power now and they are using it now to do that very thing! The men of science have given industrialists a technology that was to be a blessing to all mankind, but that blessing has turned into a curse, as it pollutes the environment, and deadly diseases stalk the earth. The air we breathe is poisoned, the soil that grows our food is toxic, many rivers and lakes that supply our drinking water are dying, and the oceans are becoming international cesspools!

13. About what feature of the sign are scoffers unable to say, “It has happened before”?

¹³ Is your heart aware that the earth’s ability to sustain life is in danger, that this has never happened before, and that scoffers cannot dismiss this as history repeating itself? They might like to, for this ruining of the earth was also foretold as a part of the sign of “the last days.” The Bible book of Revelation revealed this almost 19 centuries ago, in Re chapter 11, verse 18: “The nations became wrathful, and your own wrath came, and the appointed time for the dead to be judged, and to give their reward . . . to those fearing your name, . . . and to bring to ruin those ruining the earth.”

14. Why did the majority in Jesus’ day, and now the majority of our day, fall to heed the warning?

¹⁴ If your eyes really see, and your ears really hear, and your heart is not calloused, you will understand that we are living in “the last days” and that the end of this wicked system of things draws near. But the majority of mankind do not understand this, just as the majority in Jesus’ day did not grasp his warning message. What he said to them then, quoting the prophecy of Isaiah, applies to mankind today:

“Looking, they look in vain, and hearing, they hear in vain, neither do they get the sense of it; and toward them the prophecy of Isaiah is having fulfillment, which says, ‘By hearing, you will hear but by no means get the sense of it; and, looking, you will look but by no means see. For the heart of this people has grown unreceptive, and with their ears they have heard without response, and they have shut their eyes; that they might never see with their eyes and hear with their ears and get the sense of it with their hearts and turn back, and I heal them.’”​—Matt. 13:13-15.

15. Who can now rejoice, and with what hope in view?

¹⁵ In the next verse Mt 13:16 Jesus adds these words for his followers: “However, happy are your eyes because they behold, and your ears because they hear.” Those today who have eyes and ears and hearts that see and hear and understand that we are living in “the last days” can be truly happy. “As these things start to occur,” they are told, “raise yourselves erect and lift your heads up, because your deliverance is getting near.” (Luke 21:28) Some of those living in “the last days” may never have to face the day of their death. Jesus compared this time to the days of Noah. Just as Noah and his family were preserved through the flood that destroyed that wicked world, so today those who act wisely and make a good name with God will not see death when Jehovah God destroys this evil system of things at his war of Armageddon. So it is not voicing the impossible to say that some may never see the day of their death. Rather, it is expressing a hope from God.

16, 17. What are people reluctant to face, and what is crucial for us now?

¹⁶ In ancient Israel, a man might reason that he had the rest of his natural life to make a good name with God. A man hides from the fact that he may die tomorrow. He knows others will, but not he. Others younger than he is will die, but not he. He always sees a few years remaining for him to live. To reason thus is a human mistake, a dangerous one. It would have been so even for a man in ancient Israel, but it is a much more dangerous mistake for us today. We are not living in normal times, when we might expect to live out a normal life-span of threescore and ten or even fourscore years. We are in “the last days.” The death of a system of things draws near. It is crucial for us to heed the words of Ephesians 5:15-17: “So keep strict watch that how you walk is not as unwise but as wise persons, buying out the opportune time for yourselves, because the days are wicked. On this account cease becoming unreasonable, but go on perceiving what the will of Jehovah is.”

¹⁷ Now is the time, while you have life, before the day of your death, to make a good name with God.

[Footnotes]

Make Your Good Name Now!

“All that your hand finds to do, do with your very power, for there is no work nor devising nor knowledge nor wisdom in Sheol, the place to which you are going.”​—Eccl. 9:10.

1. At what time must we make a good name with God?

WHAT if some say, ‘But what if the end does not come in my lifetime? Down through the centuries people have thought that the end was going to come in their lifetime and it did not’? Notwithstanding the fact that their expectations failed to materialize, the lifetime of many of these was still their time for making a good name with God, for exercising faith in the Son of God, that they might be resurrected to everlasting life “at the last day.” (John 6:40; 11:24) Long before these present “last days” the apostle Paul could say: “From this time on there is reserved for me the crown of righteousness.” At whatever time a person lives, that is his time for making a good name, whether the world’s end is near or far off.​—2 Tim. 4:8; Heb. 11:4-38.

2. (a) Is there anything, materially or otherwise, that can be taken along when we die? (b) What admonition is therefore appropriate?

² “Just as one has come forth from his mother’s belly, naked will one go away again, just as one came; and nothing at all can one carry away for his hard work, which he can take along with his hand.” (Eccl. 5:15) Materially speaking, there is nothing the dead man “can take along with his hand.” However, he can take along the only thing of lasting value that this life is good for​—a good name with God. While each one of us is living, that is our time to make a good name with God. Make use of that time! Redeem it! Buy it out! “All that your hand finds to do, do with your very power, for there is no work nor devising nor knowledge nor wisdom in Sheol, the place to which you are going.” Especially now, at the end of this system of things, when many of those living may never see death, it is the time for us to do with our might what our hands find to do in Christian activity.​—Eccl. 9:10.

3. What accurate knowledge is vital, and what can it accomplish?

³ If we are going to make a good name with God we must concern ourselves with two categories: what is wrong and what is right. We must stop doing what is wrong and start doing what is right. How do we go about it? The mind must become involved. “Quit being fashioned after this system of things,” Paul said,“but be transformed by making your mind over.” (Rom. 12:2) He repeats the formula at Ephesians 4:23: “You should be made new in the force actuating your mind.” And that force is identified at Colossians 3:9, 10: “Strip off the old personality with its practices, and clothe yourselves with the new personality, which through accurate knowledge is being made new according to the image of the One who created it.” The force that actuates your mind, makes your mind over and leads you to God’s favor is the accurate knowledge of his Word the Bible.

4. Why is it not enough to stop wrongdoing, and what else must be done?

⁴ To grit your teeth and grimly set about stopping the forbidden things does not always work. What if you do succeed in stopping them for a time? You are still not safe. Jesus showed this by an illustration. An unclean spirit left a man, its “house,” and later returned. Finding the house unoccupied, it moved in with seven other spirits, “and the final circumstances of that man become worse than the first.” (Matt. 12:43-45) It was not enough for the house to be emptied of the wicked spirit; it needed to be filled with good so that the wicked spirits could not reenter. It is not enough to stop the doing of what is wrong and leave a vacuum​—we must start the doing of what is right. Crowd out the wrongdoing by occupying yourself with the doing of good. “Oppose the Devil,” James said, “and he will flee from you. Draw close to God, and he will draw close to you.” (Jas. 4:7, 8) Idleness is an invitation to Satan; filling the mind with truths is a protection.​—Phil. 4:8, 9.

THE NEED FOR GUIDANCE

5. Why is reading the Bible difficult for many, and how was the problem solved for a man 19 centuries ago?

⁵ Today in the worlds of religion and philosophy there is a maze of conflicting opinions of rights and wrongs. In their search, some try to read the Bible but find it difficult. They are not the first ones to experience this. Nineteen centuries ago an Ethiopian man was riding in his chariot, reading from the book of Isaiah. “Philip [the evangelizer] ran alongside and heard him reading aloud Isaiah the prophet, and he said: ‘Do you actually know what you are reading?’ He said: ‘Really, how could I ever do so, unless someone guided me?’” Philip got into the chariot and rode along and guided him.​—Acts 8:26-35; 21:8.

6. Where might we expect to find modern-day ‘Phillips,’ and where not?

⁶ Where are the ‘Philips’ of today qualified to guide others in determining from the Bible the course that gains a good name with God? Not in the established, respected, orthodox religions of Christendom, as one might expect. Philip was not a distinguished scribe or Pharisee, but was one of the spurned, maligned, persecuted Christians. The lessons of history teach us that the established, accepted religious systems often fall prey to human philosophies and are guilty of adulterating the words of God.

7. (a) In what way did ancient Israel adulterate God’s Word? (b) To what degree do some modern churches and church members in Christendom copy Israel, in violation of what scriptures?

⁷ The nation of Israel had Jehovah’s law, but they adulterated their worship by adding to it the lewd idolatries of Baal sex worship, practiced in the groves and high places. Second Chronicles 33:17 alludes to this mixture, saying: “The people were still sacrificing upon the high places; only it was to Jehovah their God.” This mixing of the true and the false was what Elijah challenged Israel about: “How long will you be limping upon two different opinions? If Jehovah is the true God, go following him; but if Baal is, go following him.” (1 Ki. 18:21) Many churches and church members today are permissive of pornography, illicit sex movies, premarital sex, adultery and homosexuality​—even to the point of condoning and practicing these things prohibited by God.​—Rom. 1:26, 27, 32; 1 Cor. 6:9, 10; Rev. 21:8.

8. Upon returning from Babylonish captivity, in what new way did the nations of Judah adulterate and make void God’s Word?

⁸ For such obscenities Judah went into captivity to Babylon. Upon her return, she again adulterated God’s Word​—not by idolatrous sex worship this time, but by adding human traditions and philosophies. Jesus condemned their religious establishment, the scribes and Pharisees, for this, declaring: “Why is it you also overstep the commandment of God because of your tradition? You hypocrites, Isaiah aptly prophesied about you, when he said, ‘This people honors me with their lips, yet their heart is far removed from me. It is in vain that they keep worshiping me, because they teach commands of men as doctrines.’”​—Matt. 15:3, 7-9.

9. In what forceful way did Paul compare deceitful wine merchants and unfaithful religionists?

⁹ Paul was denouncing the contamination of God’s Word with human philosophies when he said: “We have renounced the underhanded things of which to be ashamed, not walking with cunning, neither adulterating the word of God.” Cheating wine merchants in those days would add cheap liquors or even water to their wine to make it go farther and bring in more money. Similarly, some religionists added human traditions and philosophies to God’s Word to make it more palatable to worldly people. But not Paul! “We are not peddlers of the word of God as many men are,” he declared, “but as out of sincerity, yes, as sent from God, under God’s view, in company with Christ, we are speaking.”​—2 Cor. 4:2; 2:17.

10. What warning did the apostle Paul give, and how has it proved to be no false alarm?

¹⁰ Paul warned that Christianity would become apostate, and in the fourth century C.E. it was flagrantly adulterated through Roman Emperor Constantine. (Acts 20:29, 30) As a result there was a fusion of Christianity with demonistic doctrines that originated in Egypt and Babylon​—Trinity, immortal soul, hellfire, purgatory, prayers for the dead, use of rosaries and others. These doctrines are not in the Bible, but they were incorporated into the creeds of so-called Christian churches. They remain there to this day. Moreover, today’s modern churches of Christendom adulterate God’s Word even farther: they have added the higher criticism that tries to undermine the Bible’s authenticity, and the unscientific theory of evolution that denies that God is Creator of heaven and earth and life!

11. What different qualities and convictions mark modern-day ‘Phillips’ as safe guides?

¹¹ Who, then, are the modern-day ‘Philips’ that are safe guides? Those who believe the Bible is the inspired Word of God; who take it as a lamp to their feet and a light to their path; who neither add to it nor take away from it; who let God and his Word be true though they make ‘every man a liar’; and who expend themselves in publicly ‘preaching this good news of the kingdom in all the earth as a witness.’ (2 Tim. 3:16; Ps. 119:105; Deut. 4:2; Rom. 3:4; Matt. 24:14) They use the Bible as their authority, and encourage their hearers to check up on them, not taking their word for it, but taking only God’s Word for it. (Acts 17:11) For you to make a name with God, you should aim to be such a faithful guide, “always ready to make a defense before everyone that demands of you a reason for the hope in you, but doing so together with a mild temper and deep respect.” Or, as Paul said: “Know how you ought to give an answer to each one.”​—1 Pet. 3:15; Col. 4:6.

THE PERSONS WE OUGHT TO BE

12. What means more to you than just studying God’s Word and preaching it to others?

¹² To make a good name with God it is not enough to study and learn answers. We must apply this knowledge to ourselves first. To benefit personally we must take it personally. Like the man in ancient Israel in the house of mourning, we must ‘lay it to heart.’ (Eccl. 7:2, AV) “Do you, however, the one teaching someone else, not teach yourself? You, the one preaching ‘Do not steal,’ do you steal? You, the one saying ‘Do not commit adultery,’ do you commit adultery?” Even the apostle Paul declared: “I pummel my body and lead it as a slave, that, after I have preached to others, I myself should not become disapproved somehow.” (Rom. 2:21, 22; 1 Cor. 9:27) It is more basic than what we are doing. It is, What are we? What is “the secret person of the heart”? “What sort of persons ought you to be?”​—1 Pet. 3:4; 2 Pet. 3:11.

13. How did Jehovah adjust Samuel’s thinking about judging people?

¹³ What we are is not determined by what we appear to be. The prophet Samuel was sent to Jesse to anoint one of his sons to be king of Israel. Samuel was impressed with the stalwart firstborn son, but Jehovah said to Samuel: “Do not look at his appearance and at the height of his stature, for I have rejected him. For not the way man sees is the way God sees, because mere man sees what appears to the eyes; but as for Jehovah, he sees what the heart is.”​—1 Sam. 16:7.

14. What further evidences are given showing that appearances may be deceptive, and what is the vital thing?

¹⁴ Appearances are deceptive. Jesus said the scribes and Pharisees appeared righteous outwardly, but were corrupt inwardly. (Matt. 23:3, 27, 28) The Jews in Paul’s day thought the outward sign of circumcision would save them, but Paul said: “He is not a Jew who is one on the outside, nor is circumcision that which is on the outside upon the flesh. But he is a Jew who is one on the inside, and his circumcision is that of the heart.” (Rom. 2:28, 29) And Paul listed great things that he might accomplish, and then added, “But [if I] do not have love, I am not profited at all.” Whatever we do to make a good name with God should be motivated by love from the heart. “I, Jehovah, am searching the heart.”​—1 Cor. 13:1-3; Jer. 17:10.

15. What sort of persons ought we to be?

¹⁵ What sort of persons, then, ought we to be? The apostle Paul gives this rather formidable listing of things commanded and things forbidden:

“Let your love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is wicked, cling to what is good. In brotherly love have tender affection for one another. In showing honor to one another take the lead. Do not loiter at your business. Be aglow with the spirit. Slave for Jehovah. Rejoice in the hope. Endure under tribulation. Persevere in prayer. Share with the holy ones according to their needs. Follow the course of hospitality. Keep on blessing those who persecute; be blessing and do not be cursing. Rejoice with people who rejoice; weep with people who weep. Be minded the same way toward others as to yourselves; do not be minding lofty things, but be led along with the lowly things. Do not become discreet in your own eyes. Return evil for evil to no one. Provide fine things in the sight of all men. If possible, as far as it depends upon you, be peaceable with all men. Do not avenge yourselves, beloved, but yield place to the wrath; for it is written: ‘Vengeance is mine; I will repay, says Jehovah.’ Do not let yourself be conquered by the evil, but keep conquering the evil with the good.”​—Rom. 12:9-19, 21.

16. What should we avoid, and what should we seek?

¹⁶ That is the sort of persons we ought to be! It would be frightening if God’s mercy were not available where we in our weakness fall short. Here is a big source of help: associate with persons who have the same goals. “He that is walking with wise persons will become wise, but he that is having dealings with the stupid ones will fare badly.” “Do not be misled. Bad associations spoil useful habits.” Shun the adulterous world empire of false religion that adulterates God’s Word. “Get out of her, my people, if you do not want to share with her in her sins.” Her conscience is seared beyond feeling guilt, though her sins mount up to heaven. As it is with the literal harlot, so it is with her: “Here is the way of an adulterous woman: she has eaten and has wiped her mouth and she has said: ‘I have committed no wrong.’” Hence, it is vital to gain strength by associating with those seeking to make a good name with God, “not forsaking the gathering of ourselves together, as some have the custom.”​—Prov. 13:20; 1 Cor. 15:33; Rev. 18:4; Prov. 30:20; Heb. 10:25.

NOW IS YOUR TIME!

17, 18. What should we concentrate on now, and why must this not be postponed?

¹⁷ As the end of Satan’s wicked system draws near, let us concentrate on ‘what sort of persons we ought to be,’ on making our minds over, on stripping off the old personality and putting on the new, and on making a good name with God ‘so that the day of our death will be better than the day of our birth.’ (Eccl. 7:1) Or, in the case of those hoping to inherit an earthly paradise, that the day of death may never come at all!

¹⁸ But perhaps you think the end should have come by now. Do you think the Lord has delayed his coming? Do you begin to slack your hand from the vital work of proclaiming God’s kingdom, or even drift into misconduct? Regardless of when the end comes, this is the time your hand should do what it finds to do in making a good name. Any one of us may be gone tomorrow. We are like the flower that fades, the mist that vanishes, the shadow that passes. (Job 14:1, 2; Jas. 4:14) Ecclesiastes 9:12 warns: “Man also does not know his time. Just like fishes that are being taken in an evil net, and like birds that are being taken in a trap, so the sons of men themselves are being ensnared at a calamitous time, when it falls upon them suddenly.”

19, 20. (a) In addition to living a morally clean life now, what else is required? (b) Why is it urgent to act now?

¹⁹ We must do more than the young man who came to Jesus asking how he could gain everlasting life. Apparently, he was living a morally clean life, but that was not enough. In addition, Jesus said to him: “Come be my follower.” Jesus is the model. (Matt. 19:16-22; 1 Pet. 2:21) He not only practiced God’s precepts of conduct in his personal life; he also proclaimed “the good news of the kingdom” to others. “Repent, you people,” he declared, “for the kingdom of the heavens has drawn near.” He “set out on a tour of all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and preaching the good news of the kingdom.” (Matt. 4:17; 9:35) When crowds wanted him to stay with them longer and tried to detain him, he said: “To other cities I must declare the good news of the kingdom of God, because for this I was sent forth.” When he saw the crowds that had been spiritually “skinned and thrown about,” he was “moved with pity for them, because they were as sheep without a shepherd. And he started to teach them many things.” (Luke 4:43; Matt. 9:36; Mark 6:34) He sent out his apostles to preach, instructing them: “As you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of the heavens has drawn near.’”​—Matt. 10:7, 8.

²⁰ We now live in the critical last days of this satanic system. “The time left is reduced.” It is urgent for us to declare the “good news.” (1 Cor. 7:29; 9:16) Now is the time foretold for ‘this good news of the kingdom to be preached in all the inhabited earth for a witness, before the end comes.’ (Matt. 24:14) Whatever may be Jehovah’s time to bring the end to this wicked system, never forget this: NOW while you are living; NOW before unpredictable death may take you; NOW is your time to share in preaching the “good news” and to make a good name with God!