Wisdom to Guide Our Lives - A BALANCED VIEW OF OURSELVES

 When he was a faithful worshipper of Jehovahg, Solomon has a balanced view of himself. As a young man, he modesly acknowledged his limitations and asked Jehovah for guidance.  (1 Kings 3:7-9)  Early in his reign, Solomon was aware of the danger of becoming prideful. He wrote:  "Pride before a crash, and a haughty spirit stumbling." (Proverbs 16:18) Sadly, Solomon later failed to apply his own advice.  Some time into his kingship, he proudly began to ignore God's requirements.  For example, one of the laws stated that a Hebrew king should not "take many wives for himself, so that his heart may not go astray." (Deuteronomy 17:17) Solomon disgregarded that law and acquired 700 wives and 300 concubines, many of whom were pagan!  (1 Kings 11:1-3) Perhaps Solomon felt that he had "everything under control."  Whatever the case, in time, Solomon suffered the consequences of his drawing away from Jehovah. - 1 KINGS 11:9-13.

Jesus maintained a balanced and  humble view of himself. In his prehuman existence, Jesus built  up a marvelous  record in Jehovah's service.  By means of Jesus,  "all other things were created in the heavens and on the earth." (Colossians 1:16) At his baptism, Jesus evidently recalled things he had accomplished whe he was with his Father.  (Matthew 3:16; John 17:5)  But that  knowledge did not cause Jesus to become prideful.  On the contrary, he never exalted himself above anyone. He told his disciples  that he has come to the earth, "not to be ministered to,but to minister and to give his life as a ransom in exchange for many." (Matthew 20:28) He also admitted modestly tha the could not do a single t hing of his own initiative.  (John 5:19)  What humility Jesus displayed!  Jesus provided an excellent example for us to follow.

Jesus taught his followers to have  a proper view of themselves.  On one occasion, Jesus assure them: "The hairs of your head are all numbered." (Matthew 10:30)  That statement is very comforting to us, especially if we tend to have a negative view of ourselves. It means that our heavenly Fater is deeply  interested in us-that we have value in his eyes. We would never want to call into questio Jehovah's judgment by concluding that we are unworthy of being his worshippers and of receiving life in his new world. 

Some 15 years ago, The Watchtower recommended that we develop this balanced view of ourselves:  "Certainly, we would not want to think too highly of ourselves to the point of becoming conceited; nor would we  want to go to the other extreme and think nothing of ourselves. Rather, our aim should be to cultivate  a reasonable view of ourselves, one that takes into consideration our strengths as well as our limitations.  A Christian woman put it this way: 'I'm not the epitome of evil; nor am I God's gift to others.  I have both good points and bad points, and so does everyone else.'"  Can you see how beneficial it would be for us to cultivate a balanced view of ourselves?

Through his Word, Jehovah gives us wise guidance.  He loves us, and he wants us to be happy. (Isaiah 48:17, 18) The wise course-the course that brings the greatest happiness-is to put Jehovah's interests first in our life.  When we do, we will avoid many of hte problems experienced by those who focus too much on money, secular work, or themselves. May each of us be determined to be wise and make Jehovah's heart rejoice! - PROVERBS 23:15.

Next time: Parents - Help Your Children to Love Jehovah

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