What Do We Owe Our Neighbor?

In order to have a  proper attitude toward our ministry, we must have the right motive. Why do we preach?  The main reason is seen in the words of the psalmist:  "Your loyal ones will bless you  [Jehovah].  About the glory of your kingship they will talk, and about your mightiness they will speak, to make known to the sons of men his mighty acts and the glory of the splendor of his kingship." (Psalm 145:10-12) Yes, we preach in order to  praise Jehovah publicly and to sanctify his name before all mankind.  Even when few listen to us, our faithfully proclaiming the message of salvation brings praise to Jehovah.  

We also preach out of love for people and in order to avoid bloodguilt.  (Ezekiel 33:8; Mark 6:34) Related to this are the words of Paul when speaking to  those outside the Christian congregation:   "Both to Greeks and to Barbarians, bot to wise and to senseless ones I am a debtor." (Romans 1:14)  Paul felt that he owed it to people to declare the good news to them, since it is God's will that "all sorts of men should be saved." (1 Timothy 2:4)  Today, we feel the same love for and obligation toward our neighbor.  Jehovah's love for mankind moved him to send his Son to earth to die for them. (John 3:16) That was a great sacrifice. We imitate Jehovah's love when we expend time and effort telling others about the good news of salvation based on Jesus' sacrifice.  

Jehovah's Witnesses view fellow humans as potential members of the Christian brotherhood. We must preach with boldness, yet our boldness is not confrontational. For a fact, the Bible does use strong terms when speaking of the word in general. The word  "world" itself is used in a negative sense by Paul when  he speaks  of "the wisdom of this world" and "worldly desires." (1 Corinthians 3:19; Titus 2:12)  Paul also reminded Ephesian Christians that when they walked "according to the system of this world," they were "dead" spiritually.  (Ephesians 2:1-3)  These statements and others like them are in harmony with the apostle John's words:  "The whole world is lying in the power of the wicked one." -1 John 5:19.

Next time: Conclusion of: What Do We Owe Our Neighbor?

From the Watchtower magazine, 2000