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Spiritual Discernment—an Evidence of Christian MaturityThe Watchtower—1959 | August 1
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of love and not just from a sense of duty. That is the secret of being truly joyful in the ministry.—Heb. 5:12; John 21:15-17.
14, 15. (a) What blessings result from Christian maturity? (b) What must be guarded against? How?
14 Spiritual maturity brings with it untold joys and blessings. His being filled with accurate knowledge and spiritual discernment makes the Christian strong, able to ward off attacks of the enemy, Satan, able to identify his subtle snares of materialism and fear of men and to resist them. He escapes the frustrations, worries and self-inflicted pains that come from unwisely following senseless and hurtful desires and avoids foolish actions that lead to self-reproach and a guilt-heavy conscience.—1 Tim. 6:9, 10.
15 While enjoying the blessings such maturity brings we must guard against overconfidence and always remember that Christian maturity and spiritual discernment do not result from just our own efforts but come about by the operation of Jehovah’s spirit in expression of his loving-kindness to us. So we will continue to look to Jehovah in prayer to help us continue serving him in a mature way, to hold us back from any presumptuous acts, that ‘the sayings of our mouths and the meditations of our hearts may become pleasurable to Jehovah’ at all times.—Ps. 19:13, 14.
16, 17. In what way can each one share in the spirit of joyful optimism of the New World society?
16 The faithful servant of Jehovah moves forward confidently, happy and contented as he works under the direction of the reigning King, Christ Jesus, and the visible theocratic organization that God has established in the earth. His Christian maturity enables him to strengthen and build up his brothers and persons of good will so that they also may attain to full Christian manhood and share the same joy and blessings.
17 The happy, confident outlook demonstrated by the New World society of Jehovah’s witnesses is an evidence of its maturity. Each one can share in that spirit of joyful optimism by reaching out for the goal of Christian maturity, and getting filled with spiritual discernment. By our doing so unnumbered joys and privileges can be our portion both now and in the new world just ahead, “provided, of course, that you continue in the faith, established on the foundation and steadfast and not being shifted away from the hope of that good news which you heard, and which was preached in all creation that is under heaven.”—Col. 1:23.
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“Spiritual Malnutrition”The Watchtower—1959 | August 1
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“Spiritual Malnutrition”
American clergyman and religious writer Roy L. Smith has written about the spiritual food dispensed by Christendom’s churches: “A people that will sell principles for profits, barter character for pleasure, or sacrifice manhood for dividends must be prepared to face the disintegration that inevitably follows. The cause of this collapse is spiritual malnutrition. We have been feeding on much food, but it has not produced strength for the crisis. More than a generation ago Dr. Stephen M. Babcock, of the University of Wisconsin, made the amazing discovery that cattle might be eating prodigious amounts of food and at the same time be starving to death. Extended investigation revealed the fact that life-giving food contains a strange element called vitamins, which furnish the vitality necessary for maintaining life, and that the value of any food depends upon its vitamin content. The spiritual collapse of these last days makes evident the fact that we have been feeding on food that is lacking in spiritual vitamins. . . . We have been abundantly fed but not well fed.”—Treasury of the Christian Faith, p. 267.
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