"I Will Walk in Your Truth" - HOW CAN WE AVOID SELLING THE TRUTH?

To walk in the truth, we must accept and obey all of Jehovah's Laws, commandments, statutes, and Bible principles-what Jehovah says, we are to do in order to walk in the truth.  We must give the truth priority in our lives and live according to Bible principles etc. In prayer to Jehovah, King David declared: "I will walk in your truth."  (Psalms 86:11)  David was determined.  We too must be firmly resolved to keep walking in God's truth.  If we are not, we could have second thoughts about what we paid for the truth and perhaps be tempted to begin taking back part of the payment.  Rather, we carefully hold on to the complete truth. We recognized that we cannot pick which truths to accept and which to ignore. After all, we must walk in "all the truth." (John 16:13)  Let us reflect on five things that we may have paid for the truth.  Doing so will strengthen our resolve not to be lured into taking back even part of our payment. - Matthew 6:19.

Time.  To avoid drifting away from the truth, we must make wise use of our time. If we are not careful, we might start to spend excessive amounts of time on recreation, hobbies, browsing the Internet, or  watching television.  Although these things are not wrong in themselves, the time we spend on them cam begin to encroach on time previously spent in personal study and other spiritual activities.  Consider what happened to a Christian sister named Emma.  From the time of her youth, Emma had a passion for horses.  Whenever she had the chance, she went horseback riding.  After a while, she began to fill uneasy about all the time she spent on her hobby.  She made adjustments  and eventually succeeded on keeping recreation in its proper place. She was also encouraged by the experience of Cory Wells, a former rodeo trick rider.  Emma now enjoys spending more time in spiritual activities and with her Christian family and friends.  She feels closer to Jehovah and is at peace, knowing that she  is using her time wisely.

Material advantages.  If we are to continue walking in the truth, we must keep material things in their proper place.  When we learned the truth, our interest in material things became secondary to our spiritual pursuits.  We were happy to make material sacrifices in order to walk in the truth.  Over time, however, we may see others buying the latest electronic devices or enjoying other material advantages.  We could begin to feel that we are losing out.  No longer content with the necessities, we might put spiritual pursuits aside in favor of accumulating  material possessions.  Such a course reminds us of Demas.  His love for "the present system of things" led him to abandon a life of service with the apostle Paul.  (2 Timothy 4:10) Why did Demas leave Paul?  Whether he loved material things more than spiritual activities or he was no longer willing to make personal sacrifices in order to serve with Paul, the Bible does not say.  We surely do not want to rekindle a desire for material things and let those attractions crowd out our love for the truth.

Personal relationships.  To continue walking in the truth, we must not give in to pressure from others.  When we started to walk in the truth, our relationship with non-Witnesses associates and family members changed.  Some were tolerant; others became downright opposers.  (1 Peter 4:4) Although we endeavor to have good relations with family members and treat them kindly, we must be careful not to compromise the truth to please them.  We will continue to try to get along well with family members. In view of the clear warning at 1 Corinthians 15:33 we will have closer friendships only  with those who love Jehovah. 

Next time: "I Will Walk in Your Truth" - Conclusion of HOW CAN WE AVOID SELLING THE TRUTH?

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