"Look Out That No One Takes You Captive"! - SATAN'S TACTICS TODAY

Human philosophy ignores or contradicts  Jehovah's righteous standards. It does not nurture the fruitage of God's spirit but, rather, "the works of the flesh." (Galatians 5:19-23)  It generates pride and arrogance and the result is that people become "lovers of themselves." (2 Timothy 3:2-4) These qualities are the opposite of the meek, humble spirit that God's servants are encouraged to have.  (2 Samuel 22:28) Some Christians who have pursued  university education have had their minds molded by human thinking rather than by God's thinking. Let us consider just one example of what can happen.

A sister who has been in full-time service for over 15 years says:  "As a baptized Witness, I had read and heard about the dangers of pursuing university education, but I dismissed such warnings. I thought that the counsel did not apply to me."  What challenges did she face?  She admits:  "Studying for my courses took so much time and effort that I was too busy to linger in prayer to Jehovah the way I used to, too exhausted to enjoy Bible discussion with others, and too tired to prepare well for the meetings. Thankfully, once I realized that being immersed in higher education was damaging my relationship with Jehovah, I knew that I had to stop. And I did."

What effect did higher education have on the sister's thinking? She answers:  "I am ashamed to admit that the education I pursued taught me to be critical of others, especially by brothers and sisters, to expect too much of them, and to isolate myself from them.  It took me a long time to unlearn these lessons. That time in my life showed me just how dangerous it is to ignore the warnings given by our heavenly Father through is organization.  Jehovah knew me better than I knew myself.  If only I had listened!"

Be determined never to be taken captive "by means of the philosophy and empty deception" of Satan's world.  Continually guard against Satan's tactics.  (1 Corinthians 3:18; 2 Corinthians 2:11)  Never allow him to blur your view of Jehovah.  Live by Jehovah's high moral standards.  And do not let Satan trick you into ignoring Jehovah's advice. But what if you detect that you have already been affected by the thinking of this world?  The next article will show how God's Word can help us overturn even "strongly entrenched thoughts and habits. - 2 CORINTHIANS 10:4, 5.

Next time: Overturn Every Reasoning That Against the Knowledge of God!

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