Jehovah’s People Love Righteousness

 1. What test did Joseph face, and how did he react?

JACOB’S son Joseph faced a difficult test. “Lie down with me,” a woman said to him. She was the wife of his master, Potiphar. Joseph refused her offer. Someone today might wonder, ‘Why did Joseph resist this temptation?’ Potiphar was away. Moreover, Joseph was a slave in the household; this woman could surely have made his life miserable for turning her down. Yet, Joseph kept refusing her persistent advances. Why? He said: “How could I commit this great badness and actually sin against God?”​—Gen. 39:7-12.

 2. How did Joseph know that adultery was a sin against God?

² How did Joseph know that his God would consider adultery as an act of “great badness”? The Mosaic Law, which included the clear command “You must not commit adultery,” would not be written down for another two hundred years. (Ex. 20:14) Still, Joseph knew Jehovah well enough to perceive how He would feel about immoral conduct. For example, Joseph surely knew that Jehovah designed marriage to be between one man and one woman. And he would have heard how Jehovah on two occasions intervened to protect the honor of his great-grandmother Sarah when she was in danger of being violated. In a similar way, God intervened to protect Isaac’s wife, Rebekah. (Gen. 2:24; 12:14-20; 20:2-7; 26:6-11) As Joseph reasoned on such matters, he discerned what was right and what was wrong in God’s eyes. Because Joseph loved his God, he also loved Jehovah’s standards of righteousness, and he was determined to uphold them.

 3. What will we consider in this discussion?

³ Do you love righteousness? No doubt you do. But we all are imperfect, and if we are not careful, the world’s view of righteousness can easily affect us. (Isa. 5:20; Rom. 12:2) So we will consider what righteousness is and how we benefit from loving it. Then we will discuss three steps we can take to help us strengthen our love for Jehovah’s standards.

 4. What wrong idea do many have about righteousness?

⁴ When people think of a righteous person, many may think of someone who is smug, judgmental, or self-righteous. But God does not like those qualities at all. When Jesus was on earth, he strongly criticized the religious leaders of his day for setting up their own standards of righteousness. (Eccl. 7:16; Luke 16:15) Genuine righteousness is not in any way like self-righteousness.

 5. According to the Bible, what is righteousness? Give examples.

⁵ Righteousness is a beautiful quality. Simply put, it means doing what is right in the eyes of Jehovah God. In the Bible, the words for “righteousness” convey the idea of living by the highest of standards​—Jehovah’s standards. For example, Jehovah decreed that merchants should use an “honest weight.” (Deut. 25:15) The original Hebrew word translated “honest” can also be translated “righteous.” Thus, a Christian who wants to be righteous in God’s eyes will be completely honest in all his business dealings. A righteous man also loves justice​—he hates to see someone treated unfairly. And “in order to please [Jehovah] fully,” a person who is truly righteous considers how He will view the decisions he makes.​—Col. 1:10.

 6. Why can we have confidence in Jehovah’s standards of right and wrong? (Isaiah 55:8, 9)

⁶ The Bible describes Jehovah as the Source of righteousness. For that reason, he is called “the dwelling place of righteousness.” (Jer. 50:7) As the Creator, Jehovah is the only one who can properly set the standards for what is right and what is wrong. Because Jehovah is perfect, his sense of what is right and what is wrong is far above our own view, which is often influenced by our imperfection and sin. (Prov. 14:12; read Isaiah 55:8, 9.) However, because we are made in God’s image, we are able to live by his standards of righteousness. (Gen. 1:27) And we love to do so. Our love for our Father moves us to imitate him to the best of our ability.​—Eph. 5:1.

 7. Why do we need reliable standards? Illustrate.

⁷ We benefit by adhering to Jehovah’s standards of right and wrong. Can you see why? Imagine what would happen if every bank came up with its own standards for determining the value of currency or if each construction company followed its own standards of measurements. The result would be chaos. And if medical personnel failed to adhere to consistent standards of care, some patients might die. Certainly, reliable standards are a protection. Likewise, God’s standards of right and wrong protect us.

 8. What blessings await those who love to do what is right?

⁸ Jehovah blesses those who try to live by his standards. He promises: “The righteous will possess the earth, and they will live forever on it.” (Ps. 37:29) Can you imagine how united, peaceful, and happy mankind will be when everyone follows Jehovah’s standards? Jehovah wants you to enjoy that kind of life. Surely, each one of us has good reasons to love righteousness! How can we strengthen our love of this quality? Let us consider three steps we can take.

 9. What will help us to love righteousness?

⁹ Step 1: Love the Person who sets the standards. In order to love righteousness, we need to grow in our love for the One who sets the standards of right and wrong. The more we love Jehovah, the more we will want to live by his righteous standards. To illustrate: If Adam and Eve had loved Jehovah, they would never have disobeyed his just law.​—Gen. 3:1-6, 16-19.

10. How did Abraham grow in his understanding of Jehovah?

¹⁰ We certainly do not want to make the same mistake that Adam and Eve made. We can avoid that outcome if we keep learning about Jehovah, appreciating his qualities, and trying to understand his way of thinking. As we do, our love for Jehovah is sure to grow. Consider Abraham. He truly loved Jehovah. Even when he found it hard to grasp Jehovah’s decisions, Abraham did not rebel. Instead, he tried to get to know Jehovah better. For example, when he learned of Jehovah’s decision to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah, Abraham was at first afraid that “the Judge of all the earth” would sweep away the righteous along with the wicked. To Abraham, that seemed unthinkable, so he humbly asked Jehovah a series of questions. Jehovah patiently answered him. Finally, Abraham came to realize that Jehovah examines the heart of every human and that He never punishes the innocent along with the guilty.​—Gen. 18:20-32.

11. How did Abraham show that he loved Jehovah and trusted in Him?

¹¹ Abraham was deeply affected by the conversation he had with Jehovah about the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. He no doubt came to love and respect his Father even more than he did before. Years later, Abraham’s ability to trust in Jehovah was severely put to the test. Jehovah asked him to sacrifice his own beloved son Isaac. But Abraham was now better acquainted with his God, so this time he had no questions for Him. Abraham simply set out to do what Jehovah asked of him. Still, imagine how heart-wrenching it was for him as he prepared for the task! Abraham must have thought deeply about what he had learned regarding Jehovah. He knew that Jehovah would never do anything unrighteous or unloving. According to the apostle Paul, Abraham reasoned that Jehovah would be able to resurrect his dear son Isaac. (Heb. 11:17-19) After all, Jehovah had promised that Isaac would father a nation, and at that point, Isaac had no children. Abraham loved Jehovah, so he trusted that his Father would act with righteousness. In faith he obeyed, difficult though it was.​—Gen. 22:1-12.

12. How can we imitate Abraham? (Psalm 73:28)

¹² How can we imitate Abraham? Like him, we need to keep learning about Jehovah. As we do, we will draw closer to him and love him even more. (Read Psalm 73:28.) Our conscience will be trained to reflect God’s thinking. (Heb. 5:14) As a result, when someone tries to tempt us to do something wrong, we will refuse. We will hate the very idea of doing anything that would bring pain to our Father and would damage our relationship with him. How else, though, can we show that we love righteousness?

13. How can we pursue righteousness? (Proverbs 15:9)

¹³ Step 2: Work at developing love for righteousness day by day. We can develop love for Jehovah’s standards of righteousness in much the same way that we strengthen a muscle​—through regular, steady effort. This is work that you can do on a daily basis. Jehovah is reasonable, and he never expects us to do more than what we can. (Ps. 103:14) He assures us that “he loves the one who pursues righteousness.” (Prov. 15:9) If we are pursuing a specific goal in Jehovah’s service, we keep putting forth effort to reach it. The same is true when we pursue righteousness. And Jehovah will patiently help us to make progress, to improve steadily over time.​—Ps. 84:5, 7.

14. What is “the breastplate of righteousness,” and why do we need it?

¹⁴ Jehovah lovingly reminds us that righteousness is not a burden. (1 John 5:3) On the contrary, it is a protection, something we need every day. Remember the spiritual suit of armor that the apostle Paul described. (Eph. 6:14-18) Which part protected the soldier’s heart? It was “the breastplate of righteousness,” which represents Jehovah’s righteous standards. Just as a breastplate protects the literal heart, so Jehovah’s righteous standards can protect your figurative heart, the person you are on the inside. By all means, then, make sure that your suit of armor includes the breastplate of righteousness!​—Prov. 4:23.

15. How can you put on the breastplate of righteousness?

¹⁵ How can you put on the breastplate of righteousness? You can do so by taking into account God’s standards in the choices you make every day. When deciding what to talk about, what music to listen to, what entertainment to watch, or what books to read, first ask yourself: ‘What would I be feeding my heart? Would this material meet with Jehovah’s approval? Or does it promote immorality, violence, greed, selfishness​—things that Jehovah views as unrighteous?’ (Phil. 4:8) If the decisions you make are in harmony with Jehovah’s will, you will be allowing his righteous standards to protect your heart.

16-17. How does Isaiah 48:18 assure us that we can live by Jehovah’s standards forever?

¹⁶ Do you ever worry about whether you can continue living by Jehovah’s righteous standards day after day, year after year? Consider an illustration that Jehovah uses, found at Isaiah 48:18. (Read.) Jehovah promises that our righteousness can be “like the waves of the sea.” Imagine that you are standing on the shore of a wide sea, watching the waves roll in endlessly, one after another. In that peaceful setting, would you worry that one day those waves might simply stop? No! You know that waves have been breaking on that beach for thousands of years, and they will surely keep on coming.

¹⁷ Your righteousness can be just like the waves of the sea! How? When you have a decision to make, first consider what Jehovah would want you to do. Then follow through. No matter how difficult the decision might be, your loving Father will always be there to help you to remain constant and steady and to live your life day after day according to His righteous standards.​—Isa. 40:29-31.

18. Why must we avoid judging others by our own standards?

¹⁸ Step 3: Leave the judging to Jehovah. While we try hard to live by Jehovah’s righteous standards, we must avoid judging others and becoming self-righteous. Rather than look down on others as if we had the right to judge them based on our own standards, we keep in mind that Jehovah is “the Judge of all the earth.” (Gen. 18:25) Jehovah has not entrusted such judging to us. In fact, Jesus commands: “Stop judging that you may not be judged.”​—Matt. 7:1.b

19. How did Joseph show that he trusted in Jehovah’s judgment?

¹⁹ Let us again consider the example of the righteous man Joseph. He avoided judging others, even those who treated him badly. His own brothers assaulted him, sold him into slavery, and convinced their father that Joseph was dead. Years later, Joseph was reunited with his family. Now a powerful head of state, Joseph could have judged his brothers harshly and sought vengeance. Joseph’s brothers were afraid he might do exactly that, even though they were sincerely sorry for what they had done. But Joseph assured them: “Do not be afraid. Am I in the place of God?” (Gen. 37:18-20, 27, 28, 31-35; 50:15-21) Joseph humbly left the judging to Jehovah.

20-21. How can we avoid being self-righteous?

²⁰ Like Joseph, we leave the judging to Jehovah. For example, we do not presume to know what motivates our brothers and sisters to act as they do. We cannot read hearts; only “Jehovah examines the motives.” (Prov. 16:2) He loves all kinds of people, from all different backgrounds and cultures. And Jehovah encourages us to “open [our] hearts wide.” (2 Cor. 6:13) We seek to love all in our spiritual family, not to judge them.

²¹ This also means that we are not to judge those outside the congregation. (1 Tim. 2:3, 4) Would you ever judge a relative who does not share your faith, saying, “That man will never come into the truth”? No, that would be presumptuous, self-righteous. Jehovah is still giving “all people everywhere” an opportunity to repent. (Acts 17:30) Always remember that self-righteousness is a form of unrighteousness.

22. Why are you resolved to love righteousness?

²² May our love for Jehovah’s standards of righteousness promote joy and inspire others, helping them to draw closer to us and to our God. May we never stop “hungering and thirsting for righteousness.” (Matt. 5:6) Be assured that Jehovah takes note of your efforts and that he is always pleased with your progress. As this world plunges deeper and deeper into unrighteousness, take comfort! Always remember that “Jehovah loves the righteous.”​—Ps. 146:8.