"Run the Race to the Finish"

FOLLOW THE RIGHT COURSE

To qualify for the prize in a literal race, the runners must follow the course laid out by the organizers of the event.  Similary, if we want to receive the prize of everlasting life, we must  follow the Christian course, or way of life.  (Acts 20:24; 1 Peter 2:21)  However, Satan and thsoe who follow the example want us to make a different choice; they want us to "continue running with them." (1 Peter 4:4)  They ridicule the  course of life we follow and calaim that the path they are on is better.  But their claim is false. - 2 PETER 2:19.

Any who run with those influenced by Satan's world soon discover that the path they chosen does not lead to freedom; it leads to slavery.  (Romans 6:16)  Consider the examplle of Brian.  His parents encouraged him to follow the Christian course of life.  But when when he was in his teens, he questioned whether  that path would make him happy.  Brian decided to run with those who lived by Satan's standards.  "Little did I realize the so-called freedom I desired would lead me into  the clutches of addiction," he says.  "In time, I was abusing drugs and alcohol and living immorally.  Over the next several years, I progressivly experimented with harder drugs and became a slave to many of them. . .I began selling drugs to support my lifestyle."  Eventually, Brian decided to live by Jehovah's standards. He changed paths and got baptized  in 2001.  He is genuinely happy now that he is following the Christian course of life." 

How important it is that we choose the right road to follow!  Satan wants all uf to stop running on the cramped road that is "leading off into life" and cross over to the spacious road that most people in the world are on. That road is popular and is easier to travel. But it is "leading off into destruction."  (Read Matthew 7:13, 14)  To remain on the right road and not be sidetraced, we must trust Jehovah  and listen to him.

Next time: "Run the Race to the Finish" - STAY FOCUSED AND AVOID STUMBLING

From  the jw. org publications