Honoring Jehovah with Our Valuable Things
“Your contribution prospects” aids to that end
TODAY, more than ever before, men are honoring and rendering “sacred service to the creation rather than the One who created.” How foolish, for only Jehovah God is deserving of our honor and sacred service!—Rom. 1:25.
Why so? Because Jehovah God alone is the Most High, the Almighty, the Supreme Sovereign. He alone is “from time indefinite to time indefinite”; only with him “is the source of life.” He is the source of all true wisdom, flawless in justice and the personification of love. “Every good gift and every perfect present,” past, present and future, originates with him. As the apostle Paul so well expressed it to the philosophers on Mars’ Hill: “By him we have life and move and exist.”—Pss. 90:2; 36:9; Jas. 1:17; Acts 17:28.
And more than all others do dedicated Christians have reason for honoring Jehovah, for we both have a better appreciation of our Creator and have received more of his undeserved kindness. We have been brought “out of darkness into his wonderful light.” ‘The truth has set us free’; free from superstition and false religion, from the fear of man and from bondage to human organizations and from slavery to sin and selfishness. We have been brought together into a clean and beautiful New World society that is motivated by righteous principles. And ours is the hope of God’s kingdom, which will soon end all wickedness and evil and restore Paradise to earth.—1 Pet. 2:9; John 8:32; 2 Pet. 3:13.
In view of who Jehovah God is and what he has done, is doing and will yet do for us—according to his sure promises—how fitting that we should heed his command: “Honor Jehovah with your valuable things and with the first fruits of all your produce”! And not only does a sense of justice require that we thus honor him, but to do so is also the course of wisdom, for he promises that “those honoring me I shall honor.” With that honor also comes prosperity: “Then your stores of supply will be filled with plenty, and with new wine your own press vats will overflow.” If not literally, at least spiritually that promise holds true today.—Prov. 3:9; 1 Sam. 2:30; Prov. 3:10.
But above all, appreciative and grateful love should prompt us to honor Jehovah with our valuable things; his expressions of love to us should in turn awaken love in us for him. To do so also brings its rewards, for “there is more happiness in giving than there is in receiving.”—Acts 20:35.
OUR VALUABLE THINGS
What are the valuable things with which we are to honor Jehovah? Among such are our affections, our devotion, which belongs to him exclusively, our heart. Also included are our time, our strength, our vital force. To be able to honor Jehovah with these we must budget them wisely, for there are so many things today that make claims upon our time and strength. If we thoughtlessly squander these we will have very little left with which to honor Jehovah; mere residues, hardly to be termed “valuable things,” and certainly not “first fruits,” which in olden times stood for the very best part of the harvest. That means we must set aside time for study and meditation, for congregational meetings and for the various features of the Christian ministry.
To that end we must be on the guard against the ever-present snares of materialism. Man’s ingenuity has devised many pleasant and time-consuming devices and amusements. If kept under control they can give us the necessary relaxation we need, but if we allow them to run away with us, these will consume all our valuable things, leaving nothing with which to honor Jehovah. And such things are time- and energy-consuming not only in their enjoyment, but also in your making provision for them.
Yes, such things also consume our material assets, especially our money, which also are among the valuable things we can use to honor Jehovah. We may have room in our home for housing a full-time minister or couple, or for entertaining a special representative of the Watch Tower Society. An automobile is another valuable thing with which we can honor Jehovah, using it to bring others as well as ourselves to congregational meetings, to assist all to get into the field ministry and to bring as many as possible to assemblies and conventions.
And as far as money itself is concerned, there are so many ways in which we can use our money wisely to the honoring of Jehovah. For one thing, we can contribute to the upkeep of the local Kingdom Hall, a privilege which is ours regardless of how little we may be able to give.
When we give assistance to our needy brothers, especially such as may be in the full-time ministry, we also are honoring Jehovah with our valuable things. How so? Because thereby not only are our brothers enabled to serve Jehovah better but their expressions of appreciation to Jehovah for such gifts also honor him, even as Paul observes: “The ministry of this public service is not only to supply abundantly the wants of the holy ones but also to be rich with many expressions of thanks to God.”—2 Cor. 9:12.
And additionally, we have the privilege of honoring Jehovah with our valuable things by sending contributions regularly to the Watch Tower Society, the channel that Jehovah is using today to make known his name and kingdom and to feed his people. It arranges for various assemblies, such as the great international assembly to be held this summer, July 27 to August 3, inclusive, at Yankee Stadium and the Polo Grounds.
How great a preaching work in fulfillment of Matthew 24:14 is being done under the direction of this Society is to be seen from the reports published in the 1958 Yearbook of Jehovah’s Witnesses as well as in the January 1, 1958, issue of this journal. These reports showed that this work is being carried on in 164 lands and islands of the seas by a peak of 716,901 Christian ministers who devoted over a hundred million hours during 1957 to preaching the good news, doing so in some 120 languages. They also held 442,265 public meetings and conducted each month an average of 413,049 Bible studies in the homes of the people.
So that this Society can properly plan its activity for the coming year and so that we may be practical and consistent in our supporting this work by financial contributions, there is the provision known as “Your Contribution Prospects.” Cooperating therewith, we advise the Society once each year, in May, by card or letter, as to how much we will be able to contribute during the coming year. In each case these should be sent to the branch office of the country in which you are living, there being upward of eighty such throughout the world. Those living in the United States should address their card or letter to the Watch Tower Society, Treasurer’s Office, 124 Columbia Heights, Brooklyn 1, N. Y.
In it you might state something like this: “It is my hope that during the next twelve months I shall be able to donate to the work of preaching the good news of God’s kingdom the amount of $————, which contribution I shall make in such amounts and at such times as prove convenient to me and as I am prospered by the undeserved kindness of Jehovah through Jesus Christ.” [Signed] On page 258 of this issue of The Watchtower is a list of English-speaking branch offices. A complete list of all branch offices is found in the back of most of the Society’s bound books and booklets.
So let us honor Jehovah with our valuable things, the first fruits, our best, of all we have, and then enjoy the spiritual prosperity he promises to those who do.