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Babylonish Religion Brings Violence and National RuinThe Watchtower—1964 | November 1
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than Judah did, if its religious systems follow the practices of Babylonish worship.
But Jesus Christ gave encouraging direction to honest individuals among the nations by his words: “This means everlasting life, their taking in knowledge of you, the only true God, and of the one whom you sent forth, Jesus Christ.” (John 17:3) Taking in the true knowledge of Jehovah God and his Son and associating with those who worship God with spirit and truth will not develop confusion or the superstitious fear of purgatory or hellfire. Neither will it promote wrong sexual appetite or the desire to do violence to property or to our fellowman. It will prevent us from going down the degraded road to destruction that the nations are traveling. It will make us clean and bring us peace and the favor of God, with an assurance of life in his new order of righteousness.—John 4:23, 24.
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Be Honest in EverythingThe Watchtower—1964 | November 1
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Be Honest in Everything
THOSE who want to please God take to heart the Christian standard of honesty. They realize that “the devious person is a detestable thing to Jehovah, but His intimacy is with the upright ones.”—Prov. 3:32.
At first glance, honesty may appear to be no problem to many. They may feel that they do not deliberately scheme and practice dishonest things such as lying, cheating or stealing. However, there is more to it than that. A person may feel he is living up to high Christian standards of honesty, but at the same time may be engaged in activities that are really not honest at all. Hence, it would be well for each one to reexamine his position in this matter, in the light of what follows, to determine whether his thinking and acting need adjusting to harmonize with Christian honesty.
HONESTY TOWARD GOVERNMENTS
Some kinds of dishonesty are more obvious, such as outright stealing or lying. But others are more subtle and must be guarded against even more carefully.
One such area for caution is in regard to the relationship a Christian has with civil authorities. He must honestly render the government its dues, even though that same government may not be honest with him. Jesus Christ said to “pay back, therefore, Caesar’s things to Caesar.” (Matt. 22:21) Does the government assess its citizenry with various taxes? Then the Christian should not cheat the civil authority out of these taxes. For example, he should not falsify his income tax by claiming more deductions than he is entitled to, or by saying he has contributed to a charitable organization when he has not, or by inflating the volume of such contributions beyond what he has actually donated.
One might try to justify cheating on taxes by saying the government takes too much anyway, but this is not the Christian’s right. Caesar violates none of God’s laws by asking for just taxes. If governments overtax, or misuse the taxes they collect, then they will answer to God for it. But the Christian is not the judge in these matters. He is under obligation, not just to the government, but to God, to pay exactly what is required. The Christian apostle Paul said: “Let every soul be in subjection to the superior authorities . . . Render to all their dues, to him who calls for the tax, the tax; to him who calls for the tribute, the tribute.”—Rom. 13:1, 7.
Related to this is the practice of smuggling, buying things in a neighboring country and then sneaking them across the border to avoid paying import tax or duty. While this may be a common practice in some lands, it should not be practiced by Christians, because it denies the government what it lawfully requires. The civil authority is entitled to set up duties if it wants. Since their doing so does not conflict with God’s laws, it must be complied with. The Christian who smuggles is acting dishonestly and can be held accountable, not only by the police, but also by the Christian congregation.
Some may not consider themselves smugglers, but from time to time when they do make a trip abroad and return, do they fill out the customs declaration in an honest way? Do they declare everything that is required by law, or do they try to figure out how to get things in free when they should be paying duty on them? It does not matter whether the item is small or large, or whether the person considers it insignificant. The only consideration where honesty is concerned is, Does the government tell me that I should pay duty on this item? If so, the Christian must pay that duty. To avoid doing so is being dishonest.
Governments also lay down rules for traffic to promote public safety. In many countries a red light means to come to a full stop, as does a stop sign. But does one slow down at stop signals only to check to be sure no policeman is in sight, and then drive on? And what about the speed limits? Are they exceeded just because no one is watching? These things are dishonest practices. Why? Because they are not obeying the “superior authorities.” One may scoff at traffic rules not to his liking, but “foolish are those who make a derision of guilt.” (Prov. 14:9) It is Caesar’s right to determine what the traffic laws will be, and it is for the protection of the people. Since this regulating does not break God’s laws, the Christian must obey as unto God.
AT WORK
Business firms, too, have regulations. A person may feel he would never steal money or merchandise from his employer, because that would be dishonest. But does he take company postage stamps, stationery and other goods for personal use? Yes, even taking a pencil or paper clips would be dishonest if it is not authorized by the company, since these things are company property.
Also, there is the matter of using company telephones for personal calls. When the company rules against it, then to do so is dishonest, regardless of how many others may do it. The Christian is obligated to pay for personal calls he makes, since he is using facilities not his own. A similar dishonest practice involves the use, in any one of a number of ways, of telephone services without paying for them. But this amounts to stealing, because a person withholds the money he would normally be required to pay for the telephone call. And if you think dodging payment for a telephone call is not really dishonest, then test your theory by asking the telephone company how they feel about it!
At times, stores allow their employees to purchase goods at reduced rates for personal use only. Some employees feel they
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