A SATISFYING LIFE How to Attain It

Continue with 2. Hints for Living a Satisfying Life

Use of Alcohol:  It is true that "wine itself makes life rejoice," And that drinking alcoholic beverages may let "one remember [his] own trouble no more."  But remember:  "Wine is a ridiculer, intoxicating liquor is boisterous, and every going astray by it is not wise."  Think of the effects of over drinking:  "At its end [wine] bites just like a serpent, and it secretes poison just like viper. Your own eyes will see strange things, and your own heart will speak perverse things. . . .'When shall I wake up?  I shall seek it yet some more.'  The moderate use of alcoholic beverages may be beneficial, but abuse of them must always be shunned. 

Money Management:  In some cases,  money problems can be prevented by managing funds wisely. Listen to his counsel:  "Do not come to be among heavy drinkers of wine, among those who are gluttonous eaters of flesh.  For a drunkard  and a glutton will come to poverty, and drowsiness will clothe one with mere rags."   By avoiding alcohol and drug abuse as well as such habits as gambling, we can use our money to provide for our family in a wholesome way.  Still, may fail to live within their means and end up working hard just to pay off their debts.  Some even obtain a loan to repay the interest on another loan. Keeping in  mind the following words of wisdom will help:  "He that is pursuing valueless things will have his sufficiency of poverty."  We might ask ourselves:  'Do I really need the things that I may want to buy? How many things end up in the closet after  being used just a few times?'  A columnist wrote:   "Man's necessities are few-his wants are, infinite."  Take note of  these words of wisdom:  "We have brought nothing into the world, and neither can we carry anything out.   So, having sustenance and covering, we shall be content with these things. . . .The love money is a root of all sorts of injurious things, and by reaching out for this love . . . have stabbed themselves all over with many pains." 

Diligence goes a long way in solving money problems.  "Go to the ant, you lazy one; see its ways and become wise. . . .A little more sleep, a little more slumbering, a little more folding of the hands in lying down, and your poverty will surely come just like some rover."  Careful planning and a realistic budget can also help:  "Who of you that wants to build a tower does not first sit down and calculate the expense, to see if has enough to complete it?" 

What, though, if we experience poverty through no fault of our own?  For instance, we may end up unemployed even though we are willing to work hard. Or we may dwell in a land where most people live below the poverty line. What then? "Wisdom is for a protection the same as money is for a protection: but the advantage of knowledge is that wisdom itself preserves alive its owners."  Moreover, consider this advice: "Have you beheld a man skillful in  his work?  Before kings is where he will station himself." can we learn skills that will help us in finding work? 

Next time: A SATISFYING LIFE How to Attain It - Continue with Hints for Living a Satisfying Life

From The Watchtower magazine