YOUTHS-TRAIN YOUR PERCEPTIVE POWERS!

Showing Discernment in Recreation

Let  us now look at how you might use your perceptive powers in some specific situations.  Imagine, for example, that you have been invited to a gathering.  You might even have received a printed flyer advertising the get-together.  You are told that a large number of Witness youths will be there.  But a fee to cover expenses will be charged.  Should you attend?

Well, use  your perceptive powers.  First, get the facts.  How large will this gathering be?  Who will be there?  When will it begin?  When will it end?  What activities are planned?  How will  it be supervised?  Next, do some research, looking up "Social Gatherings,"  and "Entertainment in the Watchtower Publications Index.  What might your research reveal?  For one thing, that Jehovah does not condemn getting together to have a good  time.  In fact, Ecclesiastes 8:15 says that along with working hard, "mankind have nothing better under the sin than to eat, drink and rejoice."  Why, Jesus Christ himself attended special meals and at least one wedding.  (Luke 5:27-28; John 1:2-10)  Kept in balance, socializing can be beneficial.

Nevertheless, badly organized gatherings may spell trouble.   At 1 Corinthians 10:8, we read of how unwise associations led to fornication and the execution of "twenty-three thousand [unfaithful Israelites] in one day."  Another sobering warning is found at Romans 13:13:  "As in the daytime let us walk decently, not in revelries and drunken bouts, not in illicit intercourse and loose conduct, not in strife and jealousy."  (Compare 1 Peter 4:3) True, no fixed number can be set for how  many can attend a gathering.   But experience shows that the larger a gathering is, the harder it is to supervise it.  Smaller, well-managed gatherings are less likely to turn into  "wild parties." -Galatians 5:21,  Byington. 

Your research will no doubt spark further questions such as: Will  some mature adult Christians be at the gathering?  Indeed, who is sponsoring it?  Is the purpose of the gathering to promote wholesome association or make a profit for someone?  At there any restrictions as to who can attend?  If the gathering is during the weekend, will it end at a reasonable time so that those attending can shared in the Christians ministry the next day?  If there is to be music and dancing, will it be consistent with Christian standards?  ( 2 Corinthians 6:3)  Asking such questions may not be easy.  But Proverbs 22:3) warns:  "Shrewd is the one that  has seen the calamity and proceeds to conceal himself, but the inexperienced have passed along and must suffer the penalty."   Yes, you can avoid risky situations by  using your perceptive powers. 

Next time: Discernment in Planning Your Education

Watchtower, 1999