Do we hoard any of these desires in our mind and heart? The desire of the flesh, the desire of the eyes, or the showy display of our means of life? If we do, it is dangerous. Get rid of them. Paul explained how we could, when he said, “Finally, brothers, whatever things are true, whatever things are of serious concern, whatever things are righteous, whatever things are chaste, whatever things are lovable, whatever things are well spoken of, whatever virtue there is and whatever praiseworthy thing there is, continue considering these things.” (Phil. 4:8) Paul’s recommendation is to think on the good things that are found in God’s Word. The goodness of God, the Kingdom, the blessings of the new world and our privileges of the ministry—these are the things that should occupy our minds and hearts.

RESULTS FROM MAINTAINING PERSONAL INTEGRITY

23. Who must maintain integrity, and what blessings will result from doing so?

²³ Maintaining our integrity requires constant attention on the part of every dedicated servant, young or old. It is a full-time job. Consider the wonderful blessings that result from following this faithful course. It is pleasing to Jehovah God to have strong witnesses serving him, able to withstand any opposition or pressure that may come from the inside or from outside the organization. It means closely knit, happy families, recognizing theocratic headship, assisting one another in their worship to Jehovah. These happy families will rejoice in Christian association at their Kingdom Halls, contributing toward healthy congregations. It will mean a clean New World society of Christians, actively praising Jehovah, standing blameless before him on a worldwide scale.

24. What is the hope of those maintaining integrity to Jehovah God?

²⁴ We will be people of integrity if we peer daily into the perfect law and pray sincerely from the heart as David did when he said: “Judge me, O Jehovah, for I myself have walked in my own integrity.” If our determination to maintain personal integrity equals David’s, we can truly hope in Jehovah and entertain a sure expectation of living forever in his new world with a host of like-minded men of integrity, all a part of the universal family of the pure and holy God, Jehovah.

“Fastest in Growth”

● The Windsor Star recently published some information from the latest census. In a column written by Maurice Jefferies from Ottawa, Canada, the newspaper carried the headline “Jehovah’s Witnesses Fastest in Growth.” The brief note said: “CENSUS NOTE: The latest report on religious denominations shows that Jehovah’s Witnesses make up the fastest-growing denomination in Canada. They doubled in numbers from 34,596 to 68,018 in the last decade.” In view of the way census takers count religious adherents, that figure would include all children in families and likely many persons who are studying with Jehovah’s witnesses and who name the Witnesses as the religious group with which they associate. Since that is the way most religious organizations count their membership, the census department looked at the Witnesses the way they look at others. The Witnesses themselves, however, count only those who are active ministers, and even of these there were 40,121 in Canada in 1962.