You Dey Let Jehovah Mold You?

1, 2. Why Daniel be ‘special person’ for God eye, and wetin go help us be like Daniel?

WHEN the Jew people wey come be slave reach Babylon, dem see sey na so so juju Babylon people dey serve. Even as e be, some of the Jew people still get faith. People like Daniel and im three friend, no gree let the kind life wey Babylon people dey live mold dem. (Dan. 1:6, 8, 12; 3:16-18) Daniel and im three friend tell theirself sey na only Jehovah go dey mold dem. And that na wetin dem do! Na Babylon Daniel stay almost all im life but God angel still talk sey Daniel na ‘special person.’—Dan. 10:11, 19.

² For Israel people time, person wey dey mold things fit force clay enter container to get the shape wey e want. For our time, Jehovah people know sey na Jehovah be King for heaven and earth and na only am suppose mold people. (Read Jeremiah 18:6.) Na God suppose still mold us one one. But e know sey we get our own mind, and e want make we use our free mind allow am mold us. Make we talk wetin go help us continue to be like soft clay for God hand. We go learn three things wey go help us: (1) How we go take run from character wey fit make us get strong head? (2) How we go take get character wey go help us dey soft like clay and dey hear word? (3) How papa and mama fit follow wetin God talk when dem dey mold their pikin dem?

RUN FROM CHARACTER WEY FIT MAKE YOU GET STRONG HEAD

3. Which kind character fit make person get strong head? Give example.

³ Proverbs 4:23 talk sey: ‘For everything wey you go protect, protect your mind, because na there wetin dey give life dey.’ We go protect ourself make we no get any character wey fit make us get strong head. Wetin be some of dem? If person dey carry shoulder up, dey open eye do bad things, and no get faith again, e fit come get strong head. (Dan. 5:1, 20; Heb. 3:13, 18, 19) King Uzziah for Judah really carry shoulder up. (Read 2 Chronicles 26:3-5, 16-21.) The time wey Uzziah start to rule, ‘e no stop to do wetin good for Jehovah eye,’ and ‘e no stop to find God.’ But ‘as e see sey e don get power, e begin carry shoulder up,’ e forget sey na God give am power! E want even burn incense for temple—work wey only priest dey do. And when the priest dem talk to am, e come vex! Wetin come happen? God take leprosy disgrace am and the leprosy dey im body till e die.—Prov. 16:18.

4, 5. Wetin fit happen if we begin carry shoulder up? Give example.

⁴ If we dey carry shoulder up, we fit dey think sey we better pass other people. E fit even enter our head sotey we no go want hear advice or warning from Bible. (Rom. 12:3; Prov. 29:1) For example, see wetin happen to Jim wey be elder for one congregation. E no gree with wetin other elders for im congregation talk for one matter. Jim talk wetin happen: “I tell dem sey dem no get love, I come waka leave dem for the meeting.” After six month, Jim come go another congregation, but dem no make am elder. E talk sey: “E pain me well well. I no come dey go study again because I dey think sey I better pass everybody.” Jim no go meeting for ten years. E talk sey: “The way I take carry shoulder up bad sotey I come dey blame Jehovah for wetin happen. For many years, plenty brothers dey come my house and dem try help me but I no gree.”

⁵ Wetin happen to Jim show how person wey dey carry shoulder up fit start to think sey wetin e dey do no bad. This kind thing dey make person get strong head. (Jer. 17:9) Jim still talk sey: “I no fit comot mind for people mistake.” Brother or sister don do wetin pain you before? E get time wey you first be elder, ministerial servant, or pioneer and dem come drop you? If e don happen to you before, wetin you do? You carry shoulder up? Or na to make peace with the brother or sister and still be Jehovah friend dey your mind?—Read Psalm 119:165; Colossians 3:13.

6. Wetin fit happen if we dey open eye do bad things?

⁶ When person dey open eye or dey hide do bad things, e fit still make am no follow Bible advice. And e no go hard am to do bad. One brother talk sey e get where e reach, the bad things wey e dey do no come dey worry am for mind. (Eccl. 8:11) Another brother wey dey like watch film wey dey show naked people, talk sey: “Elders no dey do wetin good for my eye.” Im bad character no come dey make am serve Jehovah well. Small time breeze come blow! Na that time elders come fit help am. Na true sey everybody dey make mistake. But we fit don dey get strong head if we dey see only people mistake, or dey feel sey wetin we do no bad. So, make we beg God to forgive us and help us.

7, 8. (a) How Israel people example show wetin fit happen if person no get faith again? (b) Wetin we learn?

⁷ Wetin happen to Israel people when Jehovah save dem from Egypt, show how person wey no get faith fit come get strong head. The miracle wey God do for dem, mouth no fit talk am finish! But when dem don near the Promise Land, dem no come get faith again. Instead make dem trust Jehovah, dem come dey fear, dey complain about Moses. Dem want even go back to Egypt go be slave again! This thing pain Jehovah well well. E talk sey: ‘Which time this people go begin respect me?’ (Num. 14:1-4, 11; Ps. 78:40, 41) All of dem wey no come get faith and wey get strong head no enter the Promise Land.

⁸ Like that time, paradise don near and we dey get wahala wey fit shake our faith. E good make we dey check if our faith still strong. For example, we fit sitdown think about how we see wetin Jesus talk for Matthew 6:33. Ask yourself this question: ‘The way I dey live my life dey show sey I believe wetin Jesus talk? I go miss meeting and preaching because of my business? Wetin I go do if my work no dey too give me time? I go allow this world mold me, sotey I come stop to serve Jehovah?’

9. Why e good make we ‘dey check’ whether we dey for the faith? And how we go take do am?

⁹ Bible still talk wetin we go do about bad friend, person wey dem disfellowship and wetin we dey watch or read. E fit be sey person no dey quick do wetin Bible talk for this kind matter. Ask yourself, ‘Na so I be?’ If we see sey we don dey get this kind bad mind, make we check our faith quick quick! Bible advise us sey: ‘Make una dey check whether una still dey for the faith; dey show the kind person wey una be.’ (2 Cor. 13:5) Make we dey use wetin we dey learn for Bible dey tell ourself the truth all the time.

NO STOP TO BE LIKE SOFT CLAY

10. Wetin go help us be like soft clay for Jehovah hand?

¹⁰ Jehovah don give us Bible, im Organization and preaching work so that we go continue to be like soft clay. As water dey make clay soft, na so we go be for Jehovah hand if we dey read Bible every day and we dey think about wetin we read. Jehovah command the king dem for Israel sey make dem copy im Law for theirself and dey read am every day. (Deut. 17:18, 19) The apostle know sey dem fit preach well if dem dey read and think about wetin Bible talk. Many times, dem use some verse wey dey Hebrew part for Bible take write Greek part. And dem tell people wey dem preach to make dem dey use Bible. (Acts 17:11) Even today, we see sey na better thing to dey read and think about wetin Bible talk. (1 Tim. 4:15) This one go help us carry ourself down so that Jehovah go fit mold us.

11, 12. How Jehovah fit use im organization mold us as we take need help? Give example.

¹¹ Jehovah dey use im Organization dey mold us one one as we take need help. Jim, wey we don first talk about, come dey change when one elder draw am near body. Jim talk sey: “E no ever blame me for wetin happen to me or even talk sey wetin I do bad. But na good things e talk about me and e show sey e want really help me.” After three month, the elder come sey make Jim follow am go meeting. This na wetin Jim talk: “The brother and sister dem welcome me well, and na their love make me change. I start to see sey no be wetin I want suppose be the main thing. My wife, wey no shake for truth, and the brothers for congregation help me start to dey serve Jehovah well again. Two topic wey help me well well na ‘Jehovah Is Not to Blame’ and ‘Serve Jehovah Loyally,’ wey dey November 15, 1992 Watchtower.’

¹² E no tey before Jim come be elder again. Since that time, e don help other brothers wey get the same problem. At last e talk sey: “Before, I think sey na two leg I take stand for Jehovah side, but I no know sey I don fall reach ground! E pain me sey because I dey carry body up, I no fit know wetin better pass. Na im make other people mistake no gree comot for my mind.”—1 Cor. 10:12.

13. Which kind character this preaching work dey help us get, and wetin be the gain?

¹³ How preaching fit mold us to better person? Preaching dey help us carry body down and get other better character wey holy spirit dey give. (Gal. 5:22, 23) Think about the better better character wey preaching don help you get. Another thing be sey, as we dey do like Jesus, we go make people like wetin we dey preach. This one fit help some of dem change. For example, one brother and sister for Australia no vex when one woman talk to dem anyhow for preaching. But after, the woman regret wetin e do; e come write letter give branch office. E sey make dem forgive am for wetin e do. E talk sey: “E pain me as I take pursue the two people wey dey preach God Word.” If to sey the brother and sister vex for the woman, you think sey e for write this letter? No. The truth be sey, our preaching dey help us and the people wey we dey preach to!

FOLLOW WETIN GOD TALK WHEN YOU DEY MOLD YOUR PIKIN

14. Wetin papa and mama go do to fit mold their pikin well?

¹⁴ Small pikin dey like learn, and dem dey bring theirself down. (Matt. 18:1-4) So, papa and mama wey get sense go try teach their pikin wetin dey Bible and help dem like am well well, as dem still small. (2 Tim. 3:14, 15) The truth be sey, before papa and mama go fit teach their pikin, dem go first sabi and like wetin dey Bible well well and dey do wetin e talk. This one go help the pikin like the truth wey dey Bible. E go still help dem see the correction wey their papa and mama dey give dem as part of the love wey Jehovah get for dem.

15, 16. If dem disfellowship person pikin, how e go show sey e trust Jehovah?

¹⁵ E dey cause pain for family if pikin stop to serve Jehovah or dem disfellowship am, even when papa and mama don try teach am Jehovah way. One sister for South Africa talk sey: “When dem disfellowship my brother e come be like sey e don die. E pain me well well!” Wetin the sister, im papa and mama do? Dem do wetin dey Bible. (Read 1 Corinthians 5:11, 13.) Im papa and mama talk sey: “We tell ourself sey we go follow wetin dey Bible, because we know sey if we do wetin God like things go better. We see disfellowship as wetin Jehovah take dey correct person wey e love; and the correction no dey pass as e suppose be. Na only family matter wey concern our pikin dey make us talk to am.”

¹⁶ How the pikin feel? When e come back, e sey: “I know sey my family no hate me, but dem only do wetin Jehovah and im organization talk.” E still talk sey: “Na when this kind thing don happen, you go know sey you really need Jehovah to help and forgive you.” How you think sey the family go feel when this pikin wey dem first disfellowship come dey serve Jehovah again? True true, if we put God for mind for everything wey we dey do, we dey sure sey things go better for us.—Prov. 3:5, 6; 28:26.

17. Why e good to dey carry ourself down, and wetin we go gain?

¹⁷ Prophet Isaiah talk about the time when the Jew people wey dey Babylon go repent and talk sey: ‘Jehovah, na you be our Papa. We be clay, and na you mold us; we be your hand work.’ Dem come beg sey: ‘Make you no carry our sin for mind forever. Abeg, see us, because all of us na your people.’ (Isa. 64:8, 9) If we do like Israel people wey carry theirself down for Jehovah, and no stop to dey do like that, Jehovah go take us as e take Daniel. Another thing be sey, Jehovah go still dey use Bible, holy spirit and im organization dey mold us. And one day one day we go be ‘God pikin’ wey no get sin again.—Rom. 8:21.