When God’s Counsel Is Not Heeded

A young Witness in her early 20’s tells of the results of her failing to heed God’s counsel. She writes:

“I made a terrible mistake a couple of years ago. I committed fornication with an unbaptized young man who was studying the Bible at the time. I was baptized. I wanted him to love me. Instead, we both broke Jehovah’s law. . . .

“Now my life is a series of If Onlys. If only as a youth who loved Jehovah I was stronger. If only I paid more attention to God’s requirements. If only I thought about the seriousness of my actions when I did wrong. Now I must reap what I’ve sown. . . . The sleepless nights, the tearful periods of despair are part of the price I must pay for disobeying Jehovah. . . .

“I only wish young people would realize that the elders and Jehovah love them and don’t want to see them hurt. God’s requirements are only for our happiness. Once a mistake is made there’s no going back to undo it. We must always trust Jehovah and be determined to stick to his righteous and loving principles. Our very happiness as youths is involved. We must always consider the future; our relationship with Jehovah. To do that we must choose our courses wisely now, according to Scriptural principles. It’s a lesson I’ve learned, unfortunately, the hard way. Others hopefully will avoid all wrongdoing, trusting in Jehovah.

“I truly love Jehovah. It hurts me that I disobeyed him. But I’m determined to press forward, to work hard, to build a strong and lasting relationship with Jehovah. I’m eagerly looking forward to the time when Jehovah’s gift to his loyal subjects, a new system prevailing in moral brilliance, will be realized and enjoyed by all. Only then will I forget the heartache and pain my sin has caused.”