take it upon themselves to set up God’s kingdom and bring in a new order is abortive and ends in miscarriage, to the disappointment of all those who put their hope in it. Let all who truly love righteousness hear what God says in his Word, the Bible, and learn of his kingdom and the stability and permanence of his new order based, not on an uncertain, uncomfortable coexistence, but on real righteousness. Let them forsake all image worship and dedicate themselves to Jehovah God through Jesus Christ and have their names written in Jehovah’s scroll of life.

Avoid the Snare of “Saving Face”

If you were told to redeem your honor by committing harakiri, how would you respond? Of course, you would not go along with the idea. And yet, it is not so long since this ‘face-saving’ practice was an everyday occurrence in the Orient. This kind of suicide may be out of fashion nowadays, but “saving face” continues to be practiced extensively in many ways, both in the Orient and in Western countries. It is ungodly and unscriptural, and, if practiced in the Christian congregation, it brings disturbance, disunity and, in the case of the individual, even spiritual suicide.

According to Webster’s New International Dictionary, “to save one’s face” means “to conceal one’s defeat, discomfiture, or loss of prestige, by some pretense.” It therefore amounts to a lie. Its basis is pride, a fear of having one’s ego hurt. It refuses to acknowledge a fault or to face up to an issue. It denies the need for correction or discipline. Self is right, no matter what the circumstances. ‘Face saving’ is rooted in emotion, not principle, and it often causes its victim to withdraw into himself or to shun association with the very friends who could really help in the hour of need. How may we avoid this snare of “saving face”?

“DO NOT CONTINUE RUNNING WITH THEM”

To Christians who had turned from the thoughts and way of life of their pagan neighbors, the apostle Peter wrote: “Because you do not continue running with them in this course to the same low sink of debauchery, they are puzzled and go on speaking abusively of you.” (1 Pet. 4:4) ‘Running with the crowd’ is the custom today, also, and many will go to any dishonest ends in order to maintain an outward appearance of respectability in the community. They must “save face” and “keep face” with their neighbors at all costs.

However, what of the Christian who has been delivered “from the present wicked system of things”? He should have put away “the old personality,” which conforms to his former course of conduct. And now he is to live, think and act