'Disown Yourself'

How did Jesus  react?  The account says:  "He turned, looked at his disciples and rebuked Peter, and said:  "Get thee behind me, Satan, because you think, not God's thoughts, but those of men.' "  Jesus then called the crowd to him with his disciples and said:  "If anyone wants to come after me, let him disown himself and pick up his torture stake and follow me continually." -Mark 8:33, 34.

Some thirty years after he gave this advice to Jesus, Peter showed that by then he understood the meaning of self-sacrifice.  He did not encourage fellow believers to take it easy and be kind to themselves. Instead, Peter exhorted them to brace up their minds for activities and quit being fashioned according to their former worldly desires. Despite trials, they were to put God's will first in their lives. -1 Peter 1:6, 13, 14; 4:1, 2. v

The most rewarding course any of us can pursue is to give ownership of ourselves to Jehovah, following Jesus Christ faithfully and letting God direct our activities. In this regard,m Paul set a fine example. His sense of urgency and his gratitude to Jehovah moved him to relinquish worldly aspirations or prospects that could have side-tracked him from doing God's will.  "For my part," he said,  "I will most gladly spend and be completely spent" in serving the interests of others.  (2 Corinthians  12:15) Paul used his abilities to further divine interests, not his own. -Acts 20:24; Philippians 3:8. 

How might we examine ourselves to see if we have an outlook like that of the apostle Paul?  We might ask ourselves questions like these: How do I use my time, my energy, my abilities, and my resources?  Do I use these and other precious gifts simply  to further my own  interests,m or do I use them to help others?  Have I considered sharing more fully in the lifesaving work of declaring the good news, perhaps  as a full-time Kingdom proclaimer? Could I get more fully involved  in such activities  as building or maintaining Kingdom Halls? Am I seizing opportunities to assist needy ones?  Do I give Jehovah my best? -Proverbs 3:9. 

Next time: "More Happiness in Giving" 

From the Watchtower magazine, 2000