Panayiota experienced a turning point in her life when she accepted an invitation to attend meetings at a Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses. She did not see any outward display of righteousness to impress others. She says: “There I saw real love and genuine interest for fellow man being displayed, something I had not seen all the years that I had been active in politics.”

Panayiota started to study the Bible and progressed to the point of baptism. That was 30 years ago. She now says: “I found true meaning in life, not when I was going from house to house promoting the political party, but when I began preaching about God’s Kingdom​—the only way we can have a just world.”

Daniel made good progress in the Christian congregation and was given certain responsibilities. A few years later, he made an error in judgment and his conscience started to trouble him. “With memories of the hypocrisy I had seen in the church years before,” he said, “I felt no alternative but to give up my privileges of service. I couldn’t live with allowing fellow Christians to believe I was something that I was not.”

Happily, after a period of readjustment, Daniel felt he could resume his privileges of service with a good conscience, and he gladly accepted responsibilities in the congregation once again. This refreshing honesty is typical of those who serve God without hypocrisy. They learn to “remove the rafter” from their own eye before offering to “remove the straw” from their brother’s eye.

Jeffery, who spent his life in the business world, said: “As I progressed in Bible knowledge, I realized that I could no longer be the slick, fast-talking salesman who was prepared to say anything to get the contract. My conscience had been affected by Bible verses such as Proverbs 11:1, which tells us that ‘dishonest scales are detestable to Jehovah.’” Yes, unlike those who posed the tax question to Jesus, Jeffery learned to act without hidden motives in his dealings with both fellow Christians and nonbelievers.