Can You Find the Right Religion?
RONALD—mentioned in the preceding article—thought he should give up his search for a religion that could give him practical help and guidance. But he decided to give himself a last chance. “If there really was a God, I wanted him to know that I was honestly searching for him,” he said. So one night Ronald prayed: “If you really are a loving God, you find me because for years I have looked for you and found nothing.”
A few days later at his job, Ronald was assigned to work on a shift with one of Jehovah’s Witnesses. He began to ask her questions about the Bible. The answers triggered his curiosity. Soon he began to study the Bible regularly. He also went to meetings of the local congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses.
Six months later Ronald was convinced that he had found a religion that gave him the incentive to adjust his life in a most practical way. After three years of association with Jehovah’s Witnesses, he explained in a letter to the Watchtower magazine some benefits he had derived from this association.
“Killer Instinct” Done Away With
Ronald writes: “The first benefit from learning the truth [the Bible’s teaching] was being better able to control my temper. For a long time I was involved in the martial arts. . . . I used to train from six to eight hours a day, and it was always instilled in me to develop a killer instinct.”
Fighting and killing are not effective ways to solve conflicts with one’s fellowman. Therefore, a useful religion is a force for peace. The Bible says at Romans 12:18: “Be peaceable with all men.” Jehovah’s Witnesses do not train their bodies for fighting, nor do they seek to protect themselves by learning to handle guns. They are known around the globe for their peaceful, neutral stand in time of war.
Seeing the practical force or potential of such a religion, a Roman Catholic nun wrote in an Italian church magazine: “How different the world would be if we all woke up one morning firmly decided not to take up arms again, . . . just like Jehovah’s Witnesses!”
This peaceable attitude among the Witnesses has contributed to the forming of a worldwide brotherhood of more than three million people in 208 lands. They treat one another as true friends, whatever their nationality, race, or social rank. This is most practical in a hostile world, especially when help is needed. Eva, a young Swedish woman who is one of Jehovah’s Witnesses, experienced this.
While visiting Greece, Eva contracted meningitis. Unconscious, and with blood poisoning and internal bleeding, she was rushed to a hospital in Athens, where she knew no one. Her father in Sweden was informed by phone. He called an elder in the local congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses. This elder called Witnesses he knew in Athens. Eva was quickly contacted by Greek fellow believers she had never met before.
This calls to mind an illustration that the apostle Paul used, showing how oneness and compassion belong together. He said at 1 Corinthians 12:25, 26: “There should be no division in the body, but . . . its members should have the same care for one another. And if one member suffers, all the other members suffer with it.”
This is what Eva experienced in Greece. For almost three weeks her new friends did not leave her unattended. She recovered and returned to her home. She says: “I really experienced the benefits of a loving brotherhood.”
Not Desiring “That Extra Dollar”
Let us go back to Ronald’s letter. After telling how his new belief helped him to control his temper, get rid of that “killer instinct,” and become more peaceable, he says that the Bible’s teaching gave him a balanced view of work and money. “I was my employer’s number one computer operator,” Ronald says, “and I used to skip being with my family and friends just to work overtime. I worked nights for over seven years. I always wanted that extra dollar.”
Such desire for “that extra dollar” can, in the long run, be harmful, fatally harmful. “To some, money means security. To some it means power. To others it means they’re going to be able to buy love, and to a fourth group it means competition and winning the game,” says psychiatrist Jay Rohrlich, whose clients are mostly financial executives from New York’s Wall Street district.
Commenting on this statement, a report in the magazine Science Digest says: “The belief that money can produce these things . . . often leads to impotence, insomnia, heart attacks and problems with a spouse or children.” The Bible’s advice is: “Let your manner of life be free of the love of money.” Ronald learned that and applied it. He found it most beneficial.—Hebrews 13:5.
Proper View of Work
The quest for money often induces people to force themselves up the career ladder. This can cause the healthiest people severe stress and emotional conflict—even to the point of suicide. “One man, who came into work one morning to find that his desk had been moved, climbed up to the top of the building and jumped off.” Dr. Douglas LaBier related that in a U.S.News & World Report interview dealing with the link between careers and emotional problems.
“What is needed,” says Dr. LaBier, “is a more developed life, one that is not so centered around a career. In addition to such things as adequate diet, rest and exercise, people who want more balanced lives need to think about doing more with their families and developing noncareer competencies that give them pleasure.”
Jehovah’s Witnesses learn from the Bible to be balanced as to work and money. Ecclesiastes 4:4, 6 speaks about hard work that involves “rivalry of one toward another” and says: “Better is a handful of rest than a double handful of hard work and striving after the wind.” Ronald found this to be practical wisdom. He cut down on his secular work so as to have more time for his spiritual interests and for his family and friends.
A Happier Family Life
Ronald then says in his letter that the Bible’s counsel on marriage and family life has helped him to deal more wisely with family situations. This is essential now when family life seems to be on the way out in many places. Industrialized countries report fewer marriages, more divorces, and a falling birth rate.
This trend is alarming because the family circle is where some of the most basic human needs are satisfied. In a survey, the Australian Sydney Morning Herald asked 2,000 people which of the following gave them greatest satisfaction: work, family, friends, leisure activities, possessions, or religion. The overwhelming majority gave “family” the first place.
Jehovah’s Witnesses are interested in keeping their families strong. For example, over just the last five years, their two magazines The Watchtower and Awake! (combined circulation of some 22 million copies in over 100 languages) have carried some 60 practical articles about handling different situations in family life. Without a doubt, a Bible-based religion that helps people to take care of their families in a wise and loving way is practical.
The Big “Why?” Answered
Ronald concludes his letter by saying: “There is one thing that often comes to mind when I read the newspaper, watch the news, converse with workmates, or tell others about my faith. It is that being one of Jehovah’s Witnesses gives me the answer to one of the most widely asked questions in the world—‘Why?’ Why all the crime, violence, war, immorality, disease, turmoil, besides all the everyday problems? Knowing that this system and its problems are only temporary has lifted a heavy weight from my shoulders.”
The Bible reveals what is behind today’s perplexing world situation. It explains why the Creator’s original purpose to make this earth a paradise home for mankind has not yet become a reality. It explains how God will remove all disturbing influences from the earth and establish a permanent paradise for people to enjoy forever.—2 Peter 3:9-13.
For a religion to be of practical value, it must bear good fruit. It must produce better people. It must be able to explain why things are as they are on earth today. And it should instill a sure hope for the future in people’s minds and hearts. Ronald searched for such a religion, and he found it. The same opportunity is still open for you.—Matthew 7:17-20.
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Real Christians treat one another as true friends