HEZEKIAH KEPT DOING WHAT WAS RIGHT

14, 15. How did Hezekiah show complete reliance on God?

¹⁴ To become known as a king who “held fast to Jehovah,” Hezekiah, unlike Jehoshaphat, had to overcome the bad influence of an idolatrous father. Hezekiah “removed the high places, smashed the sacred pillars, and cut down the sacred pole. He also crushed the copper serpent that Moses had made,” which by then had been misused for idolatrous purposes. He was fully devoted to Jehovah, for “he continued to keep the commandments that Jehovah had given to Moses.”​—2 Ki. 18:1-6.

¹⁷ Meditating on the example of Hezekiah, we may see a need to remove something that is hindering our relationship with God or diverting our attention from true worship. Clearly, we do not want to imitate those in the world who, using social media, treat humans as if they were idols. Of course, some Christians may find pleasure in communicating with family or close friends by such means. But many in the world use social media excessively, following men or women whom they do not even know. Or they spend a great deal of time looking at pictures of or reading about such individuals. There is the danger of becoming consumed with what amounts to trivia. A Christian could even become puffed up with pride over how many like his postings, even taking offense if they cease to follow him. Can we imagine the apostle Paul or Aquila and Priscilla occupying themselves each day posting images or following someone outside of the brotherhood? We read that Paul was “intensely occupied with the word.” And Priscilla and Aquila used their time to explain “the way of God more accurately” to others. (Acts 18:4, 5, 26) We can ask ourselves, ‘Do I avoid idolizing humans or using a great deal of valuable time on inconsequential matters?’​—Read Ephesians 5:15, 16.