Hear Jehovah's Voice Wherever You Are - REJECT PRIDE AND GREED

We must recognize that our heart can lead us away from Jehovah.  For example, we could become proud or greedy.  These qualities can cause us to make serious mistakes.  A proud person may think that he is special and that he can do whatever  he wants. He may feel that no one can tell him what to do, including is fellow Christians, the elders, or even the organization. He may get so far away from Jehovah that he can barely hear His voice.

Jehovah appointed Moses and Aaron to lead Israel through the desert.  But Korah, Dathan, and Abiram rebelled because they were proud and wanted to worship Jehovah in their own way.  How did Jehovah respond?  He killed the rebels.  (Numbers 26:8-10) We learn an important lesson from this example.  Rebellion against Jehovah leads to disaster,  The Bible says that "pride is before a crash." - PROVERBS 16:18; ISAIAH 13:11.

Greed is also dangerous. A greedy person often feels that Jehovah's direction  does not apply to him. He may think he can take things that are not his.  Naaman,  A Syrian army chief, had leprosy, and God's prophet Elisha healed him. Naaman was so grateful that he offered Elisha gifts of money and clothing, which he refused.  But Elisha has as a servant named Gehazi who wanted those gifts for himself. Gehazi became greedy.  Without telling Elisha, he ran after Naaman and told him lies so that Naaman would give the gifts to him. What happened to greedy Gehazi? He was struck with leprosy! - 2 KINGS 5:20-27.

If we allow it too, greed can quickly grow from a small desire to something that can ruin our life. This is clear in the Bible account of Achan.  He said: "When I saw among the spoil a good-looking official garment from Shinar and 200 shekels of silver and one gold bar weighing 50 shekels, I desired them, so I took them." Achan should have rejected his wrong desire.  But instead he stole the goods and hid them in his tent. Jehovah made Achan's  sin known to everyone, and that same day the thief and his family were stoned to death.  (Joshua 7:11, 21, 24, 25) Any one of us could become greedy like Achan. That is why we must "guard against every sort of greed." (Luke 12:15)  Immorality is also a type of greed.  Even though we may occasionally have a bad thought, it is vital that we control our mind so that wrong desires do not cause us to sin. - JAMES 1:14, 15.

Yes, both pride and greed can lead to disaster.  Thinking about the effects of doing something wrong will help us to keep hearing Jehovah's voice. (Deuteronomy 32:29) In the Bible, Jehovah tells us about both the benefits of doing the right  and the effects of doing the wrong thing. If we are tempted to do something wrong  because of pride or greed, It would be wise to think about how it would affect us, our loved ones, and our relationship with Jehovah. 

Next time: Hear Jehovah's Voice Wherever You Are - MAINTAIN CLOSE COMMUNICATION WITH JEHOVAH

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