abroad, did Urijah stand fast and fearless in the strength of his God? Did he display the same indomitable courage as Jeremiah? No. He wavered. He permitted fear of man to sap his integrity. He fled to Egypt. And even there he was not safe, for his enemies had him extradited and then put him to a miserable death. Fear today can have the same effect on creatures who serve in their own strength and fail to don the suit of armor that God provides for their safety.—Jer. 26:20-24.

30. What value is there in the record of Judas and his end?

³⁰ Judas was another striking example of those who receive all the good things of Jehovah God—in his case the precious privilege of association with the Lord Jesus—and yet prove to be not only thankless, but, what is far worse, traitorous toward the One who is altogether kind and merciful. Without doubt Satan fanned into a flame of hate every selfish propensity of Judas, so that thereby he might get at the foremost One of Jehovah’s men of integrity. His dismal end, all hope extinguished, stands on record as a powerful warning to “guard your heart with all vigilance, for thence are the well-springs of life.”—Prov. 4:23, AT; Matt. 27:3-10.

Aids to Prevent Loss of Integrity

1. How important is God’s Word as an aid to avoiding loss of integrity?

WHY these irremediable failures? Well, in Saul’s case it is quite evident that he failed to keep strictly to God’s instructions to kings, as recorded at Deuteronomy 17:18, 19 (NW): “When he takes his seat on the throne of his kingdom he must write in a book for himself a copy of this law from that which is in the charge of the priests, the Levites. And it must continue with him and he must read in it all the days of his life.” That brings home to us the importance of prayerfully considering a portion of God’s Word of truth every day, even if it is only the text for the day with its comment in the Yearbook. That will guard us against losing our appreciation of and our fear of Jehovah. It will keep us humble, always reminded of our own limitations and our complete dependence upon our heavenly Father for everything.