You Benefit from Jehovah’s Wisdom
“NO MAN has seen God at any time.” (John 1:18) That statement, made nearly nineteen centuries ago, preserves an undeniable truth. Jehovah God is invisible to human eyes.
The qualities of this invisible God, however, are “clearly seen from the world’s creation onward, because they are perceived by the things made.” (Rom. 1:20) One of these qualities is wisdom, for Jehovah God is “wise alone,” that is, wise in the absolute sense. (Rom. 16:27) This being the case, you should be able to see evidence of Jehovah’s wisdom. In fact, you are benefiting from his wisdom. Did you know that?
The very fact that you are alive proves that you are benefiting from God’s wisdom as reflected in his creative works. Conditions on this earth are just right for life to flourish. Light and heat are supplied by an adequate, constant and dependable source. The speed of earth’s rotation on its axis and the speed of its movement in its orbit around the sun are such that solar energy is distributed to the planet’s surface in the best way possible. By gravity, earth’s vital atmosphere, consisting of just the right mixture of gases, is kept from escaping. The gravitational pull, however, is not so strong as to hamper our freedom of movement. There are also vast supplies of water with properties that are absolutely essential for life to continue on earth. The soil, in turn, is filled with nourishment that readily combines with water and can easily be assimilated by plants.
Consider: Was it blind chance that placed an adequate source of heat and light at just the right distance from the earth? Was it chance that caused the earth to rotate on its axis and to move around the sun at just the right speed? Was it chance that provided the earth with a permanent atmosphere having the right mixture of gases? Was it by chance that the earth came to have the food and water supplies needed for life to continue? Obviously not. It was the source of unlimited wisdom, Jehovah God, who put into operation all the cycles necessary for life to continue.
It is indeed amazing that life is possible under such a great variety of circumstances. We humans can make our home in high altitudes, tropical lowlands or cold Arctic regions. If in reasonably good health, we can adjust readily to seasonal changes or to completely different climates in other parts of the earth.
There is a generous “margin” in which life can continue to exist comfortably. Though man’s unwise and unclean ways have brought death to millions, life has, nevertheless, continued for millenniums. Today poisonous fumes are polluting the air. Harmful wastes are pouring into streams, rivers, lakes and oceans. Large land areas are being ruined through human carelessness, greed and ignorance. Yet life is able to continue.
True, man’s failures are bringing him ever closer to disaster, to the edge of the generous margin in which life can survive. Nevertheless, Jehovah God has both the wisdom and power to cope with this. He has purposed to “bring to ruin those ruining the earth” and to preserve it as a home for obedient mankind.—Rev. 11:18; 21:3-5.
GOD’S WISDOM SEEN IN HUMAN CONSCIENCE AND THE BIBLE
To continue to benefit from God’s wisdom after the destruction of all ruiners of the earth, we must prove ourselves to be people who desire to be guided by the wise commands set forth in his Word, the Bible. We read: “The world is passing away and so is its desire, but he that does the will of God remains forever.” (1 John 2:17) Are you acquainting yourself with God’s will and doing it?
Many people today feel that leading a good life is enough and that one does not need the Bible to do that. They may say that a person does not have to know the Bible to use good judgment in handling his affairs, to treat his neighbors decently and to be a law-abiding citizen. That there are people who lead comparatively ‘good’ lives though lacking Bible knowledge should come as no surprise. Why not? Because humans have the God-given faculty of conscience, an inward realization or sense of right and wrong. It is just as the Bible says: “Whenever people of the nations that do not have law do by nature the things of the law, these people, although not having law, are a law to themselves. They are the very ones who demonstrate the matter of the law to be written in their hearts, while their conscience is bearing witness with them and, between their own thoughts, they are being accused or even excused.”—Rom. 2:14, 15.
Were it not for God’s wisdom in endowing man with the faculty of conscience, then crime and lawlessness doubtless would have long ago reached such proportions as to make human life virtually impossible. Happily the faculty of conscience is so strong that, even in this twentieth century of increasing crime and violence, it moves many people to act in a generally decent way and to contribute in some measure at least to the welfare and happiness of fellow humans. If inherited conscience can do that, should not adherence to God’s commands as set forth in his Word produce even better results? Certainly!
Another reason for wanting the direction of the Bible is that training and environment can affect one’s conscience unfavorably and make it an unreliable guide. In this century, for example, men have justified the torture and brutal murder of men, women and children by saying that those doing so were acting under the orders of superiors. Should we, therefore, not want to benefit from the wisdom set forth in God’s Word so that we do not begin to justify wrong acts, bringing harm to ourselves and others?
Jehovah’s Christian witnesses have found that living in harmony with the Bible has made their life purposeful and given safe direction to their conscience. Their applying God’s Word in their daily life has made them better husbands, fathers, mothers, wives, sons and daughters. When problems arise, they confidently turn to God’s Word for a dependable solution. The next time they call on you, why not let them show you how they have benefited from the wisdom found in the Bible? They will be happy to conduct a weekly free home Bible study with you so that you might benefit more fully from God’s wisdom now and in the future.