Making the Right Choice 8 When Moses exhorted Israel to choose life, he pointed out three steps that they should take: “By loving Jehovah your God, by listening to his voice and by sticking to him.” (Deuteronomy 30:20) Let us examine each of these so that we may make the right choice. 9 By loving Jehovah our God: We choose to serve Jehovah because we love him. Heeding the warning examples from Israel’s day, we resist all temptations to commit immorality and we shun lifestyles that may cause us to sink into the world’s morass of materialism. (1 Corinthians 10:11; 1 Timothy 6:6-10) We cleave to Jehovah and keep his regulations. (Joshua 23:8; Psalm 119:5, 8) Before the Israelites entered the Promised Land, Moses exhorted them: “See, I have taught you regulations and judicial decisions, just as Jehovah my God has commanded me, for you to do that way in the midst of the land to which you are going to take possession of it. And you must keep and do them, because this is wisdom on your part and understanding on your part before the eyes of the peoples who will hear of all these regulations.” (Deuteronomy 4:5, 6) Now is the time to demonstrate our love for Jehovah by putting Jehovah’s will first in our life. We will surely be blessed if we choose to do so.—Matthew 6:33. 10 By listening to God’s voice: Noah was “a preacher of righteousness.” (2 Peter 2:5) Virtually all the people of the pre-Flood world were distracted and “took no note” of Noah’s warnings. The consequence? “The flood came and swept them all away.” Jesus warned that our day, during “the presence of the Son of man,” would be similar. What happened in Noah’s day serves as a stark warning for people today who choose not to heed God’s message.—Matthew 24:39. 11 Those who ridicule the divine warnings sounded by God’s modern-day servants should realize what failure to heed the warnings will mean. Of such ridiculers, the apostle Peter stated: “According to their wish, this fact escapes their notice, that there were heavens from of old and an earth standing compactly out of water and in the midst of water by the word of God; and by those means the world of that time suffered destruction when it was deluged with water. But by the same word the heavens and the earth that are now are stored up for fire and are being reserved to the day of judgment and of destruction of the ungodly men.”—2 Peter 3:3-7. 12 Contrast this with the choice Noah and his household made. “By faith Noah, after being given divine warning of things not yet beheld, showed godly fear and constructed an ark.” His heeding the warning brought salvation to his household. (Hebrews 11:7) May we prove to be swift about hearing God’s message and then obediently heed it.—James 1:19, 22-25. 13 By sticking to Jehovah: To ‘choose life and keep alive,’ not only must we love Jehovah and listen to him but we must also ‘stick to Jehovah,’ that is, persist in doing his will. “By endurance on your part you will acquire your souls,” said Jesus. (Luke 21:19) Actually, the choice we make in this regard reveals what is in our heart. “Happy is the man that is feeling dread constantly, but he that is hardening his heart will fall into calamity,” observes Proverbs 28:14. Pharaoh of ancient Egypt was an example of this. As each of the Ten Plagues befell Egypt, Pharaoh hardened his heart rather than displayed godly fear. Jehovah did not force Pharaoh into a course of disobedience but allowed that proud ruler to choose. In any case, Jehovah’s will was accomplished, as the apostle Paul explained regarding Jehovah’s view of Pharaoh: “For this very cause I have let you remain, that in connection with you I may show my power, and that my name may be declared in all the earth.”—Romans 9:17. 14 Centuries after Israel’s deliverance from Pharaoh’s control, the prophet Isaiah declared: “O Jehovah, you are our Father. We are the clay, and you are our Potter; and all of us are the work of your hand.” (Isaiah 64:8) As we allow Jehovah to mold us through our personal study and application of his Word, we gradually put on the new personality. We become more meek and malleable, making it easier for us to stick loyally to Jehovah because we sincerely want to please him.—Ephesians 4:23, 24; Colossians 3:8-10.
Posted on: Thu, 07 Nov 2013 02:24:05 +0000
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