GUIDE YOUR STEPS BY GODLY PRINCIPLES - Good Motive Is Needed

Good Motive Is Needed

Knowing and applying principles also protects us from the snare of empty, formal worship.  There is a difference between following principles and legalistically obeying rules.  Jesus clearly showed this in the Sermon on the Mount.  (Matthew 5:17-48)  Remember that Jesus' listeners were Jews, so their conduct should have been governed by the Mosaic Law.  But in reality they had   a distorted view of the Law.  They had come to stress the letter of the Law rather than its spirit.  And they emphasized their traditions, putting such above the teaching of God.  (Matthew 12:9-12; 15:1-9) As a consequence, the people in general were not taught to think in terms of principles.

In contrast, Jesus included in the Sermon on the Mount principles in five areas of morality:  anger, marriage and divorce, promises, revenge, and love and hate.  In each case, Jesus showed the benefit of following a principle.  Thus Jesus raised the moral standard of adultery, he gave us a principle that guards not only our acts but also our thoughts and desires: "Everyone that keeps on looking at a woman so as to have a passion for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart." -Matthew 5:28.

This example illustrates that we should never lose sight of the intent and spirit of Jehovah's principles. We should certainly not try to earn God's favor through moral formalism. Jesus exposed the fallacy of such an attitude by pointing to God's mercy and love.  (Matthew 12:7; Luke 6:1-11)  Following Bible principles, we will avoid trying to live (or demand others to live) by an extensive and rigid set of do's and don't's that go beyond the teachings of the Bible.  We will be more concerned about principles of love and obedience toward God than about the outside appearance of worship. -Luke 11:42.

Next time: GUIDE YOUR STEPS BY GODLY PRINCIPLE - Happy Results

The Watchtower, 2002