Content to Be God’s Servants Full Time
WHILE on a long bus trip a Christian minister engaged a fellow passenger in conversation. From world conditions the conversation led to the hope of God’s kingdom and the wonderful blessings it will bring. The fellow passenger, a lady who had with her a small boy, became so interested that the minister showed her a copy of the Bible-study aid Life Everlasting—in Freedom of the Sons of God. With this the lady’s face fell and she asked, “Are you one of Jehovah’s witnesses?” and then told how she had vowed never to speak to one of Jehovah’s witnesses again, and here she had been engaging in a long conversation with one!
It appeared that she and her husband had been having marital problems, and he wanted to study with one of Jehovah’s witnesses because of the fine change the religion of the Witnesses made in the marriage of his sister. But this issue only caused more arguments, with the result that she packed up and with her boy was now on the way back to her mother. The discussion continued, the Witness showing her the chapters in this Bible-study aid on marriage and man’s and woman’s places in God’s arrangement. By the time the lady had reached her destination she was convinced, not only that she should return to her husband, but that together they should study the Bible with the aid of Jehovah’s witnesses.
Why had this witness of Jehovah engaged her traveling companion in conversation and steered it to the good news of God’s kingdom? Because she was content to be God’s servant full time. Yes, she appreciated that as a truly dedicated Christian she was under obligation to be alert at all times to opportunities for witnessing to God’s name and Kingdom.—Matt. 6:33.
Doing such witnessing at every opportunity is truly one way in which Jehovah’s witnesses show that they are full-time ministers of Jehovah God, even though able to devote comparatively few hours to the house-to-house preaching ministry. Another way in which they show it is by heeding the words of the apostle Paul found at 1 Timothy 6:8: “Having sustenance and covering, we shall be content with these things.”a With the mature Christian attitude they can say with Paul: “I have learned, in whatever circumstances I am, to be self-sufficient.”—Phil. 4:11.
Yes, while all truly dedicated Christians are content with the necessary material things, they keep conscious of their spiritual need. (Matt 5:3; Phil. 4:12) They know the importance of being alert to their spiritual condition, always seeking to improve it by taking in more knowledge, by serving Jehovah God and their neighbors more effectively and more freely, buying out the opportune time for themselves. (Eph. 5:15, 16) Many of them arrange their affairs so that they can serve as full-time preachers, as missionaries or pioneers, or as full-time workers at one of the Watch Tower Society’s institutions. And they encourage others, especially the younger ones, to branch out into such increased privileges of service if at all able to do so.
So, be content to be God’s servants full time as you “let your manner of life be free of the love of money, while you are content with the present things. For [Jehovah] has said: ‘I will by no means leave you nor by any means forsake you.’”—Ps. 34:8; Heb. 13:5.
[Footnotes]
a For details see The Watchtower, February 1, 1967.