Jesus illustrated the foolishness of storing up money without being “rich toward God.” (Luke 12:16-21) No one knows what tomorrow will bring. (Prov. 23:4, 5; Jas. 4:13-15) We face a particular challenge as followers of Christ. Jesus said that we must be ready to “give up” all our belongings to be his disciples. (Luke 14:33, ftn.) First-century Christians in Judea accepted such a loss with joy. (Heb. 10:34) In modern times, many brothers have had to sacrifice their financial security because of refusing to give allegiance to a political system. (Rev. 13:16, 17) What has helped them to do that? They have absolute confidence in Jehovah’s promise: “I will never leave you, and I will never abandon you.” (Heb. 13:5) We do our best to plan for our future needs, and if unexpected events befall us, we trust in Jehovah’s support. w25.03 29 ¶13-14

Jehovah does not expect us to grow to maturity on our own. Those who serve as shepherds and teachers in the Christian congregation are prepared to help us in becoming “full-grown” in a spiritual sense, “attaining the measure of stature that belongs to the fullness of the Christ.” (Eph. 4:11-13) Jehovah also provides his holy spirit to help us have “the mind of Christ.” (1 Cor. 2:14-16) Further, God inspired the writing of the four Gospels to show us how Jesus thought, spoke, and acted during his earthly ministry. By imitating Jesus’ way of thinking and acting, you can reach your goal of Christian maturity. But in order to advance to maturity, we must also move “beyond the primary doctrine about the Christ,” that is, basic Christian teachings. w24.04 4-5 ¶11-12

Every day we need to make decisions. Some are relatively easy to make, such as what to have for breakfast or when to go to bed. Other matters are more difficult to decide. They may affect our health, our happiness, our loved ones, or our worship. We want our decisions to benefit us and our family. Above all, we hope that our decisions will please Jehovah. (Rom. 12:1, 2) An important step toward making a good decision is to get the facts. Why is this important? Imagine that a patient consults a doctor regarding a serious medical problem. Would the doctor make a decision about a course of treatment without first examining the patient or asking him questions? Certainly not. You too will make better decisions if you first consider the facts that have a bearing on the situation at hand. w25.01 14 ¶1-3