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00:00:01 Well, here is a question: 00:00:03 Do you see people as Jehovah sees them? 00:00:07 Now, that’s a very practical question 00:00:10 that comes up when we read in the Scriptures 00:00:12 that they describe Noah 00:00:15 as being “faultless among his contemporaries.” 00:00:19 Now, we all know that Noah was an imperfect human. 00:00:23 So why would the Bible make the comment 00:00:26 that Noah was “faultless”? 00:00:29 Well, if you go to Insight, Volume 2, 00:00:32 page 604, under the article “Perfection,” 00:00:36 there’s a very, very interesting discussion of this, 00:00:39 and I want to read some of it to you. 00:00:41 It says, when talking about men like Noah and Job and others, it says: 00:00:45 “It is clear that such men were ‘faultless’ and ‘blameless’ 00:00:50 “in the sense of measuring up fully 00:00:54 “to God’s requirements for them, 00:00:56 requirements that took into account their imperfection and disability.” 00:01:02 Now, “even as a potter 00:01:03 “[this is the illustration the Insight book uses, even as a potter] 00:01:07 “would not expect the same quality 00:01:10 “when molding a vase from common clay 00:01:13 “as he would when forming one 00:01:16 “from special refined clay, 00:01:19 “so Jehovah’s requirements take into consideration 00:01:22 “the weakness of imperfect humans. 00:01:26 “Though committing errors and wrongs because of their fleshly imperfection, 00:01:30 “such faithful men nevertheless manifested 00:01:33 “‘a complete heart’ toward Jehovah. 00:01:36 “Thus, within the limits possible for them to attain, 00:01:40 “their devotion was complete, sound, 00:01:43 “satisfying the divine requirements in their case. 00:01:48 “Since God the Judge was pleased with their worship, 00:01:52 “no human or spirit creature 00:01:55 could rightly find fault with [them].” 00:01:58 Isn’t that an interesting quote from the Insight volume? 00:02:01 The June 1, 2008, Watchtower 00:02:04 just adds one more thought. 00:02:07 It says: “Notice that the Bible says he was faultless 00:02:11 “among, not from the viewpoint of, his contemporaries. 00:02:16 “In other words, he was faultless in the eyes of God, 00:02:20 “but to the people of the pre-Flood world, 00:02:23 Noah was odd.” 00:02:26 Well, that’s an interesting comment, isn’t it? 00:02:28 Well, maybe even the members of Noah’s family 00:02:31 might have had some interesting comments about Noah. 00:02:34 Maybe those were some of the questions Sister Denyse Ekrann mentioned, 00:02:37 some questions her Bible student would like to ask. 00:02:39 Maybe we’d like to ask some questions like that about Noah. 00:02:42 Did he have some annoying habits? 00:02:44 Did he snore? 00:02:47 Noah was imperfect, right? 00:02:49 But from Jehovah’s standpoint, he was “faultless.” 00:02:54 He did everything that Jehovah expected him to do, 00:02:58 given his imperfection. 00:03:01 Well, that highlights a very important truth, 00:03:04 which is that there is a difference 00:03:07 between the way that Jehovah sees people 00:03:10 and the way that we see people. 00:03:12 But it should always be our desire 00:03:15 to try to see people 00:03:18 the way that Jehovah can see them. 00:03:20 Well, now, think of some examples. 00:03:24 Let’s start with King David. 00:03:26 Now, if you had to describe David’s life course, 00:03:30 what would you say? 00:03:32 Well, would you begin by describing some of the major sins 00:03:37 that David had committed during his life? 00:03:41 See, maybe that’s our human tendency, 00:03:43 to right away think of the failure 00:03:46 that we know about David. 00:03:48 But what does 1 Kings chapter 15 say? 00:03:51 Let’s read this together —1 Kings chapter 15 00:03:58 and verse 5. 00:04:02 It says: “For David did what was right 00:04:05 “in the eyes of Jehovah, 00:04:07 “and he did not turn aside from anything 00:04:11 “that He had commanded him all the days of his life, 00:04:15 except in the matter of Uriah the Hittite.” 00:04:20 Now, isn’t that an interesting description of David? 00:04:23 Probably for us, that’s a pretty big “except,” isn’t it? 00:04:27 And yet, how did Jehovah see David? 00:04:31 How did he view him? 00:04:32 Well, again, let’s look at 1 Kings chapter 11 00:04:37 and verse 4. 00:04:40 It says: “In Solomon’s old age, 00:04:43 “his wives inclined his heart to follow other gods, 00:04:47 “and his heart [now, notice this, and his heart] 00:04:51 “was not complete with Jehovah his God 00:04:54 like the heart of David his father.” 00:04:58 So from the standpoint of Jehovah, 00:05:01 David had a complete heart. 00:05:04 Now, why was that? 00:05:05 Why was it that Jehovah could see David as having a complete heart? 00:05:10 Insight, Volume 1, page 1211, 00:05:14 under the article on “Integrity,” 00:05:16 says this: 00:05:18 “David . . . committed several serious wrongs, 00:05:21 “but he, nevertheless, ‘walked with integrity of heart,’ 00:05:26 “for he accepted reproof and corrected his way. 00:05:30 “He thereby proved that his heart 00:05:33 still retained genuine love for Jehovah God.” 00:05:37 Well, whether we’re speaking about Noah 00:05:40 or we’re speaking about David, 00:05:43 Jehovah could see good in these men. 00:05:46 He could view Noah as “faultless” and David as having a complete heart. 00:05:52 Well, now, how do we view others? 00:05:54 We know how Jehovah sees people, but how do we view them? 00:05:58 Well, the human tendency is always to look 00:06:01 for flaws and imperfections 00:06:04 and then to focus on these. 00:06:07 Well, now, let me show you— Let me show you this. 00:06:10 What do you see here? 00:06:13 Well, now, there are two ways you could answer. 00:06:15 You could say a piece of paper, 00:06:17 or you could say a spot. 00:06:21 Well, our human tendency would be to answer, “I see a spot.” 00:06:25 And that’s the way we tend to look at other people. 00:06:28 We tend to immediately identify their weaknesses. 00:06:31 And by focusing on those spots, or blemishes, 00:06:36 what happens? 00:06:38 Well, often they tend to get bigger 00:06:40 and bigger and bigger 00:06:43 so that now, 00:06:45 instead of seeing the good things about our brothers, 00:06:48 we become completely focused on their negative qualities. 00:06:53 Yet, if we were to actually speak to the individual involved 00:06:58 (the actual person, maybe), how do they see themselves? 00:07:01 Well, maybe it’s sort of like this. 00:07:03 You see, they see themselves 00:07:05 as all black with just that one —one small spot— 00:07:10 maybe just one small, bright spot in their life. 00:07:14 And by focusing constantly on negatives and imperfections, 00:07:18 what’s the effect? 00:07:20 Well, we could even close out that one bright spot. 00:07:24 Brothers, what’s the solution? 00:07:27 We have to learn 00:07:29 to see people the way Jehovah sees them. 00:07:33 We have to learn from our heavenly Father 00:07:35 and work very, very hard to be able to see them as he does. 00:07:40 That means we have to look for the good; 00:07:43 we have to emphasize the good. 00:07:45 And if we don’t see it initially or immediately, 00:07:48 then we have to work hard to get to know our brothers better 00:07:53 so that we can identify clearly their beautiful qualities 00:07:57 so we come to see them the way Jehovah does. 00:08:00 When I served in the Philippines, 00:08:03 I was deeply moved by the experience of a brother named Miguel, 00:08:08 who while preaching in a prison 00:08:10 met a man named Esmeraldo, 00:08:13 who had killed Miguel’s own grandson. 00:08:17 Now, Miguel was afraid that when he met Esmeraldo in the prison, 00:08:21 he would try to kill him. 00:08:24 So immediately when Esmeraldo approached him, 00:08:27 Miguel began to explain to him truths from the Bible. 00:08:31 Well, Esmeraldo was so moved by what he heard 00:08:36 that he admitted that he had committed the murder, 00:08:39 and he apologized to Miguel for doing so. 00:08:43 Another brother was watching this scene from a distance, 00:08:47 and he encouraged Miguel to start a Bible study with Esmeraldo. 00:08:52 The brother had no idea of the connection between the two men. 00:08:57 Well, even so, Miguel did agree 00:09:01 to study the Bible with Esmeraldo. 00:09:04 And on February 1, 2010, 00:09:07 Esmeraldo was baptized as our Christian brother. 00:09:11 Can you imagine? 00:09:12 Can you imagine how much effort it would have taken for Miguel 00:09:16 to be able to see Esmeraldo 00:09:19 in the way that Jehovah would come to see him? 00:09:21 But he was willing to make the effort. 00:09:25 Although it will never ever be easy, 00:09:27 if we can learn to see others in the way that Jehovah sees them, 00:09:32 we’ll focus on their good qualities. 00:09:35 We’ll be eager to help them to improve, 00:09:38 and we may even have the joy of being able to serve 00:09:42 our wonderful God Jehovah forever along with them.
00:00:01 Well, here is a question: 00:00:03 Do you see people as Jehovah sees them? 00:00:07 Now, that’s a very practical question 00:00:10 that comes up when we read in the Scriptures 00:00:12 that they describe Noah 00:00:15 as being “faultless among his contemporaries.” 00:00:19 Now, we all know that Noah was an imperfect human. 00:00:23 So why would the Bible make the comment 00:00:26 that Noah was “faultless”? 00:00:29 Well, if you go to Insight, Volume 2, 00:00:32 page 604, under the article “Perfection,” 00:00:36 there’s a very, very interesting discussion of this, 00:00:39 and I want to read some of it to you. 00:00:41 It says, when talking about men like Noah and Job and others, it says: 00:00:45 “It is clear that such men were ‘faultless’ and ‘blameless’ 00:00:50 “in the sense of measuring up fully 00:00:54 “to God’s requirements for them, 00:00:56 requirements that took into account their imperfection and disability.” 00:01:02 Now, “even as a potter 00:01:03 “[this is the illustration the Insight book uses, even as a potter] 00:01:07 “would not expect the same quality 00:01:10 “when molding a vase from common clay 00:01:13 “as he would when forming one 00:01:16 “from special refined clay, 00:01:19 “so Jehovah’s requirements take into consideration 00:01:22 “the weakness of imperfect humans. 00:01:26 “Though committing errors and wrongs because of their fleshly imperfection, 00:01:30 “such faithful men nevertheless manifested 00:01:33 “‘a complete heart’ toward Jehovah. 00:01:36 “Thus, within the limits possible for them to attain, 00:01:40 “their devotion was complete, sound, 00:01:43 “satisfying the divine requirements in their case. 00:01:48 “Since God the Judge was pleased with their worship, 00:01:52 “no human or spirit creature 00:01:55 could rightly find fault with [them].” 00:01:58 Isn’t that an interesting quote from the Insight volume? 00:02:01 The June 1, 2008, Watchtower 00:02:04 just adds one more thought. 00:02:07 It says: “Notice that the Bible says he was faultless 00:02:11 “among, not from the viewpoint of, his contemporaries. 00:02:16 “In other words, he was faultless in the eyes of God, 00:02:20 “but to the people of the pre-Flood world, 00:02:23 Noah was odd.” 00:02:26 Well, that’s an interesting comment, isn’t it? 00:02:28 Well, maybe even the members of Noah’s family 00:02:31 might have had some interesting comments about Noah. 00:02:34 Maybe those were some of the questions Sister Denyse Ekrann mentioned, 00:02:37 some questions her Bible student would like to ask. 00:02:39 Maybe we’d like to ask some questions like that about Noah. 00:02:42 Did he have some annoying habits? 00:02:44 Did he snore? 00:02:47 Noah was imperfect, right? 00:02:49 But from Jehovah’s standpoint, he was “faultless.” 00:02:54 He did everything that Jehovah expected him to do, 00:02:58 given his imperfection. 00:03:01 Well, that highlights a very important truth, 00:03:04 which is that there is a difference 00:03:07 between the way that Jehovah sees people 00:03:10 and the way that we see people. 00:03:12 But it should always be our desire 00:03:15 to try to see people 00:03:18 the way that Jehovah can see them. 00:03:20 Well, now, think of some examples. 00:03:24 Let’s start with King David. 00:03:26 Now, if you had to describe David’s life course, 00:03:30 what would you say? 00:03:32 Well, would you begin by describing some of the major sins 00:03:37 that David had committed during his life? 00:03:41 See, maybe that’s our human tendency, 00:03:43 to right away think of the failure 00:03:46 that we know about David. 00:03:48 But what does 1 Kings chapter 15 say? 00:03:51 Let’s read this together —1 Kings chapter 15 00:03:58 and verse 5. 00:04:02 It says: “For David did what was right 00:04:05 “in the eyes of Jehovah, 00:04:07 “and he did not turn aside from anything 00:04:11 “that He had commanded him all the days of his life, 00:04:15 except in the matter of Uriah the Hittite.” 00:04:20 Now, isn’t that an interesting description of David? 00:04:23 Probably for us, that’s a pretty big “except,” isn’t it? 00:04:27 And yet, how did Jehovah see David? 00:04:31 How did he view him? 00:04:32 Well, again, let’s look at 1 Kings chapter 11 00:04:37 and verse 4. 00:04:40 It says: “In Solomon’s old age, 00:04:43 “his wives inclined his heart to follow other gods, 00:04:47 “and his heart [now, notice this, and his heart] 00:04:51 “was not complete with Jehovah his God 00:04:54 like the heart of David his father.” 00:04:58 So from the standpoint of Jehovah, 00:05:01 David had a complete heart. 00:05:04 Now, why was that? 00:05:05 Why was it that Jehovah could see David as having a complete heart? 00:05:10 Insight, Volume 1, page 1211, 00:05:14 under the article on “Integrity,” 00:05:16 says this: 00:05:18 “David . . . committed several serious wrongs, 00:05:21 “but he, nevertheless, ‘walked with integrity of heart,’ 00:05:26 “for he accepted reproof and corrected his way. 00:05:30 “He thereby proved that his heart 00:05:33 still retained genuine love for Jehovah God.” 00:05:37 Well, whether we’re speaking about Noah 00:05:40 or we’re speaking about David, 00:05:43 Jehovah could see good in these men. 00:05:46 He could view Noah as “faultless” and David as having a complete heart. 00:05:52 Well, now, how do we view others? 00:05:54 We know how Jehovah sees people, but how do we view them? 00:05:58 Well, the human tendency is always to look 00:06:01 for flaws and imperfections 00:06:04 and then to focus on these. 00:06:07 Well, now, let me show you— Let me show you this. 00:06:10 What do you see here? 00:06:13 Well, now, there are two ways you could answer. 00:06:15 You could say a piece of paper, 00:06:17 or you could say a spot. 00:06:21 Well, our human tendency would be to answer, “I see a spot.” 00:06:25 And that’s the way we tend to look at other people. 00:06:28 We tend to immediately identify their weaknesses. 00:06:31 And by focusing on those spots, or blemishes, 00:06:36 what happens? 00:06:38 Well, often they tend to get bigger 00:06:40 and bigger and bigger 00:06:43 so that now, 00:06:45 instead of seeing the good things about our brothers, 00:06:48 we become completely focused on their negative qualities. 00:06:53 Yet, if we were to actually speak to the individual involved 00:06:58 (the actual person, maybe), how do they see themselves? 00:07:01 Well, maybe it’s sort of like this. 00:07:03 You see, they see themselves 00:07:05 as all black with just that one —one small spot— 00:07:10 maybe just one small, bright spot in their life. 00:07:14 And by focusing constantly on negatives and imperfections, 00:07:18 what’s the effect? 00:07:20 Well, we could even close out that one bright spot. 00:07:24 Brothers, what’s the solution? 00:07:27 We have to learn 00:07:29 to see people the way Jehovah sees them. 00:07:33 We have to learn from our heavenly Father 00:07:35 and work very, very hard to be able to see them as he does. 00:07:40 That means we have to look for the good; 00:07:43 we have to emphasize the good. 00:07:45 And if we don’t see it initially or immediately, 00:07:48 then we have to work hard to get to know our brothers better 00:07:53 so that we can identify clearly their beautiful qualities 00:07:57 so we come to see them the way Jehovah does. 00:08:00 When I served in the Philippines, 00:08:03 I was deeply moved by the experience of a brother named Miguel, 00:08:08 who while preaching in a prison 00:08:10 met a man named Esmeraldo, 00:08:13 who had killed Miguel’s own grandson. 00:08:17 Now, Miguel was afraid that when he met Esmeraldo in the prison, 00:08:21 he would try to kill him. 00:08:24 So immediately when Esmeraldo approached him, 00:08:27 Miguel began to explain to him truths from the Bible. 00:08:31 Well, Esmeraldo was so moved by what he heard 00:08:36 that he admitted that he had committed the murder, 00:08:39 and he apologized to Miguel for doing so. 00:08:43 Another brother was watching this scene from a distance, 00:08:47 and he encouraged Miguel to start a Bible study with Esmeraldo. 00:08:52 The brother had no idea of the connection between the two men. 00:08:57 Well, even so, Miguel did agree 00:09:01 to study the Bible with Esmeraldo. 00:09:04 And on February 1, 2010, 00:09:07 Esmeraldo was baptized as our Christian brother. 00:09:11 Can you imagine? 00:09:12 Can you imagine how much effort it would have taken for Miguel 00:09:16 to be able to see Esmeraldo 00:09:19 in the way that Jehovah would come to see him? 00:09:21 But he was willing to make the effort. 00:09:25 Although it will never ever be easy, 00:09:27 if we can learn to see others in the way that Jehovah sees them, 00:09:32 we’ll focus on their good qualities. 00:09:35 We’ll be eager to help them to improve, 00:09:38 and we may even have the joy of being able to serve 00:09:42 our wonderful God Jehovah forever along with them.
