Maintain Your Neutrality in a Divided World - BE "CAUTIOUS" YET "INNOCENT"

 A second way to remain neutral is to be "cautious as serpents and yet innocent as doves." (Read Matthew 10:16, 17) We are "cautious" when we think of difficulties ahead of time. And we remain "innocent" when we stay neutral in those difficult situations.  Let us discuss some of those situations and what we can do to remain neutral.

Conversations.  We must be very careful when people start discussing political issues.  For example, when we are talking with someone about God's Kingdom, we would not say that we  agree or disagree with the ideas or opinions of a particular group or leader. Instead of discussing what humans want to do to solve problems. show from the Bible how God's Kingdo will permanently fix them.  If people want to argue about a topic, such as same-sex marriage or abortion, tell them what God's Word says and how to you try to follow it in your life.  If someone says that certain laws  should be removed or changed, we do not take sides, and we do not insist that  the person change his opinion. 

The media.  Sometimes a news story is told in a way that strongly supporrts  one side of an issue.  This is especially true in countries where the news is controlled by the government. If news organizations or reporters take sides, we must be careful nto start thinking the way they do.  For example, ask yourself, 'Do I enjoy listening to a certain reporteer because I agree with what he says about politics?  To help you remian neutral, avoid watching or reading many reports that take sides in political issues. Instead, try to find reports that do not take sides. and always compare what you hear with "the standard wholesome words" found in the Bible. - 2 TIMOTHY 1:13. 

Materialism. When money and the things we own are very important to us, we may find it hard to stay neutral. After 1970 many Witnesses in Malawi had to give up everything  they owned because they refused to join a political group.  Sadly, some would not give up their comfortable life.  A sister named Ruth remembers:  "Some went into exile with us but later joined the political party and returned home because they did not want to put up with the discomforts of life in the refugee camp." But most of God's people are not like that.  They remain neutral, even if as a  result they have less money or lost everything they own. -HEBREWS 10:34.

Pride.  It is common for people to be proud and boast about their race, tribe, culture, city or country. But Jehovah does not think that the one person or group of people is better than the another.  To him, we are all equal. Of  course, Jehovcah made us all different from one another, and we can enjoy and admire this variety.  He does not want us to give up our culture.  But he also does not want us to think that we are better than others. -ROMANS 10:12.

We should never be so proud of our country or nation that we think it is better than any other. If we feel that way, it may become very difficult for us to stay neutral.  This happened in the first century.  Some Hebrew brothers did not treat the Greek widows fairly.  (Acts 6:1)  How can we tell if we are starting to develop  that kind of pride?  If a brotehrs or a sister from another place givers you a suggestion, do you immediately think,  'We do things better here,'  and then reject it?  If so, remember this important counsel: "With humility consider others superior to you." - PHILIPPIANS 2:3. 

Next time: Maintain Your Neutrality in a Divided World - JEHOVAH WILL HELP YOU

From the jw.org publications