furniture or car but the love of house or furniture or car. It is this love for material things that crowds spirituality out of mind and heart, that occupies life and saps strength until no time remains or strength is left to satisfy spiritual needs. It is in this love of money that the ruin of many is rooted: “For we have brought nothing into the world, and neither can we carry anything out. So, having sustenance and covering, we shall be content with these things. However, those who are determined to be rich fall into temptation and a snare and many senseless and hurtful desires which plunge men into destruction and ruin. For the love of money is a root of all sorts of injurious things, and by reaching out for this love some have been led astray from the faith and have stabbed themselves all over with many pains.”—1 Tim. 6:7-10.

MAKE ROOM FOR THE SPIRIT

18. What texts show the conflict between flesh and spirit, and what does each one lead to?

¹⁸ The apostle Paul was not fooled by his fallen flesh: “I know that in me, that is, in my flesh, there resides nothing good; for ability to wish is present with me, but ability to work out what is right is not present. For the good that I wish I do not do, but the bad that I do not wish is what I practice. I really delight in the law of God according to the man I am within, but I behold in my members another law warring against the law of my mind and leading me captive to sin’s law that is in my members.” The flesh means the fallen human creature with its sinful tendencies, inclinations, impulses and desires. This flesh is sold under sin as sin’s slave, with sin as its master driving it against the spiritual law of God that comes into our mind by study of Jehovah’s Word. Sinful flesh opposes the spirit and makes us do things we would avoid: “For the flesh is against the spirit in its desire, and the spirit against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, so that the very things that you would like to do you do not do.” If our spirit or mental disposition is in accord with Jehovah’s spirit and his Word it will direct us in right ways, and the spirit must win out over our opposing flesh if we are to live instead of die: “Those who are in accord with the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those in accord with the spirit on the things of the spirit. For the minding of the flesh means death, but the minding of the spirit means life and peace.”—Rom. 7:18, 19, 22, 23; Gal. 5:17; Rom. 8:5, 6.

19. What must be included when counting the total cost of materialism?

¹⁹ With the help of Jehovah’s spirit and by keeping ours in accord with his we can win out over the fallen flesh. But it means we must make room for the things of the spirit. To seek material things that in themselves are not bad may lead to our ruin by consuming all our time. If you cannot turn its knob when it should be shut off, television will cost more than the price of purchase. It costs you the time to watch it. It may cost you meeting attendance or back-calls or Bible studies. For your expensive car or fine home you may pay over the privilege of teaching someone the truth or of training him to serve Jehovah. Count the total cost of materialism. Count more than the dollars and cents on the price tags. Count the cost in spirituality also. There was nothing wrong with the wealth of the rich young ruler, but it kept him from following Jesus, which was wrong. There was nothing wrong with looking over a purchase of oxen, or being with a new wife, or seeing a piece of property just bought; but if harmless things keep you from serving Jehovah they become harmful. You can let them become thorns that choke out good: “There are still others who are sown among the thorns; these are the ones that have heard the word, but the anxieties of this system of things and the deceptive power of wealth and the desires for the rest of the things make inroads and choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.”—Mark 4:18, 19.

20. What should those trying to give up materialism consider, and what did Paul say on the matter?

²⁰ Root out materialism to make room for the spirit. “Do not put out the fire of the spirit,” Paul cautions. A fire needs air; if too much stuff is heaped on, it will be smothered. Do not smother the fire of the spirit with an overloading of material cares and possessions. With limited time and energy “you cannot be slaves to God and to Riches.” Which will you choose? Is it difficult to decide to give up materialism? Then consider this. You have started Bible studies with persons and then had them quit when they saw the obligations of service. You knew they were wrong, that they should not have worried about such things, for in time as they learned more they would have grown strong and wanted to preach. They could see what they must give up, but were too new to appreciate what they would gain. Well, some witnesses are like this concerning materialism. They see what they are asked to give up, but they do not appreciate what they will spiritually gain. But they can take Paul’s word for it, since he was inspired: “I do indeed also consider all things to be loss on account of the excelling value of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord. On account of him I have taken the loss of all things and I consider them as a lot of refuse, that I may gain Christ.” So look beyond the material loss to see the spiritual gain that makes the loss as nothing.—1 Thess. 5:19; Matt. 6:24; Phil. 3:8.

21. How do some try to justify their materialism, but how does it leave its mark on them?

²¹ Materialism leaves its mark on a person. Watch the man who gravitates toward material things. He now gives more attention to his clothes, living quarters, car, entertainments. He may argue that his position requires him to keep up a front, that the world expects it of him. But wait, Is his position higher than that of Jesus when he was on earth? Did he let the world shape his policies by its materialistic way of viewing things? Did he have the finest steeds to ride or a luxurious place to lay his head? No, he repudiated materialism by both word and deed. He set an example of lowliness by washing the feet of his disciples. Rather than his position calling for a showy front, he felt it called for just the opposite. He was interested in spiritual strength, not display. But note the man that becomes more materialistic. Are his comments quite as good, his talks as upbuilding, his conversation as perceptive spiritually as before? If not, his materialism is showing, whether he has eyes that will see it or not. His brothers can see it, and be assured God can: “Do not be misled: God is not one to be mocked. For whatever a man is sowing, this he will also reap; because he who is sowing with a view to his flesh will reap corruption from his flesh, but he who is sowing with a view to the spirit will reap everlasting life from the spirit. So let us not give up in doing what is right, for in due season we shall reap by not giving out.”—Gal. 6:7-9.

22. What is one great evil of materialism, and what can this evil cost you?

²² Jesus said: “If anyone wants to come after me, let him disown himself.” One great evil of materialism is that its victims do not deny themselves. Unseen, like termites in a timber, it eats away strength and will power. Catering to the flesh gnaws at the moral fiber and robs us of that fruitage of the spirit called self-control. We should daily exercise the ability to say no to ourselves in little things, for without the daily exercise of the faculty of effort we lose the faculty of effort. By denying ourselves small things we develop the strength to say no to ourselves when big issues rise. Being faithful in little, we will be faithful in much. Or failure in little things sets the pattern for failure in big things. Inability to deny yourself can cost you your life: “Really, of what benefit is it for a man to gain the whole world and to forfeit his soul?” Do not lose your head trying to get ahead. You cannot walk with God and run with the world. Money is one of the gods of this modern world and for them money talks. They are deaf when Jehovah speaks, but prick up their ears when money talks. They can hear money whisper in the cellar, but they cannot hear preaching from the house-tops. Money has no voice but it can talk them out of everything, can talk them out of their life, can talk them to death. Better for us to listen to the voiceless heavens proclaim Jehovah’s glory.—Mark 8:34, 36; Ps. 19:1-4.

23. Why should we cultivate simple tastes, and how did Paul train himself?

²³ To be happy, satisfy wants. To satisfy wants, keep them simple. Do not hinge happiness on possessions. Many things thought necessities are not necessities at all. A taste can be cultivated for a drug and the habit is hard to break, but it can be broken and the addict freed. Cultivate materialism and wants expand beyond our power to meet them. “Do not toil to gain riches. Cease from your own understanding.” Cultivate simple tastes that do not enslave us. Paul trained himself to be content in whatever material circumstances he found himself: “I have learned, in whatever circumstances I am, to be self-sufficient. I know indeed how to be low on provisions, I know indeed how to have an abundance. In everything and in all circumstances I have learned the secret of both how to be full and how to hunger, both how to have an abundance and how to be in a shortage.” A lack did not turn him bitter, an abundance did not drop him into the pitfall of materialism. He followed his own advice: “Let your manner of life be free of the love of money, while you are content with the present things.” Paul was content, whether little or much was present. His material needs were simple, his spiritual riches were great.—Prov. 23:4; Phil. 4:11, 12; Heb. 13:5.

24. In what plentiful things can we find pleasure, and what are the more vital things that it takes to make us happy?

²⁴ To be happy, remember how God made you, of the earth, for the earth. The true pleasures are in the things God made: the black dome from which myriads of stars twinkle and shine, the warmth of the sun, the cooling of breezes, the fragrance of flowers, the song of birds, the grace of animals, the hills that roll and the crags that tower, the rushing rivers and lazy streams, lush meadows and dense forests, the glisten of snow in the sun and the patter of rain on a roof, the chirping of a cricket in the cellar, the croak of a frog in the pond and the splash of a fish that sends ripples circling out under the moonlight. Even more pleasure is found in companionable persons, for man was made a social creature. A kind thought, a sympathetic touch, a soft gesture or expression, a warm smile and a loving act, the laughter of a child at play and the gurglings of a baby in its crib, the dignity and wisdom of an old person rich in life’s experiences—these are things that satisfy. It is what we are that counts, not what we appear to be. It is the love we have, not the social position. It is what we can give, not what we can get. It is the treasure in heaven we have, not the hoard of gold on earth. It is contentment with little rather than anxiety with much that matters. It is getting God’s thoughts to make us wise, using this wisdom to channel our power, following his principles to insure justice and copying him in the showing of love that will meet the needs and fill the hungers he put within us. And all this is what it takes to make us happy.

What It Takes to Be Happy Forever

“Wisdom is for a protection [the same as] money is for a protection; but the advantage of knowledge is that wisdom itself preserves alive its owners.—Eccl. 7:12.

1. What shows the inability of riches to bring lasting happiness?

DO YOU now have what it takes to be happy? If you do, will you have it long? Under the best of circumstances life is short. Like the grass that withers and the flower that fades and the shadow that continues not, man is of few days and returns to the dust. When life is gone happiness ends. Riches cannot preserve it. “Even when a person has an abundance his life does not result from the things he possesses,” Jesus said. And the psalmist states: “Not one of them can by any means redeem even a brother, nor give to God a ransom for him; (and the redemption price of their soul is so precious that it has ceased to time indefinite) that he should still live forever [and] not see the pit. Do not be afraid because some man gains riches, because the glory of his house increases, for at his death he cannot take along anything at all; his glory will not go down along with him himself. For during his lifetime he kept blessing his own soul; (and people will laud you because you do well for yourself) it gradually comes only as far as the generation of his forefathers. Nevermore will they see the light. Earthling man, although in honor, who does not understand, is indeed comparable with the beasts that have been destroyed.”—Luke 12:15; Ps. 49:7-9, 16-20.

NO HAPPINESS FOREVER BY IMMORTAL SOUL

2. By means of what teaching do men refuse to face the fact of death, but what does the Bible show?

² Unwilling to face oblivion, men have buried the fact of death in the fiction of immortality. Their religions teach that the human soul is immortal. Thus they will not be completely ground into the dust by the heel of time. The parade of the years marching over them will not trample them into oblivion. The soul will live on after the body molds in the grave. They will have consciousness after death, they say.