Human Imperfection, Teboho Kibe [read a book .txt] 📗

that listeners were mostly conservative, so care had to be exercised not to upset them. Is it therefore surprising that in a country where a certain religion is predominant, unsavory facts about it have been hushed up or toned down?

Pressures are also brought to bear by extremist groups or individuals who feel that not enough attention is given to their opinions in the media. A few years ago, the terrorists who kidnapped Aldo Moro, ex-prime minister of Italy, insisted that their claims be given full coverage on television, by radio, and in Italian newspapers. Similarly, terrorists who hijack planes and take hostages make TV headlines and thus obtain the publicity they seek.

Newsmen are sometimes accused of being conformist, of perpetuating established systems and opinions. But can we expect that an industry seeking to gain a maximum of readers or listeners would propagate ideas and views contrary to those of the majority of the people they serve?

A related problem is that in many countries rising costs have caused daily papers to merge, thus forming literal “press empires” in the hands of small groups or even one person. If the number of owners continues to decrease, this will limit the variety of published opinions.

Influence on the Public

There is no question that the news media have also contributed to the molding of social values. This is done by presenting as acceptable, moral standards and life-styles that would have been rejected only a few years ago.

For example, in the early 1980’s, a middle-aged man, one of Jehovah’s Witnesses, had a discussion on homosexuality with his father, who then lived not far from San Francisco, California. Earlier in his life, the father had conveyed to his son his view that homosexual behavior was shocking. But then, decades later, influenced by the news media, the elderly father defended homosexuality as an acceptable alternative life-style.

The Encyclopedia of Sociology (French) asserts: “Radio and television may very well . . . inculcate new ideas, encourage innovatory or troublemaking trends. Because of a taste for sensational news, such media boost them from the start and exaggerate their importance.”

If we do not want our values to be molded by the media, what can we do? We should follow the wise counsel found in the Bible. This is because its standards and principles remain valid for any society at any time in history. Moreover, they help us understand how important it is to be fashioned by God’s standards and not by popular ideas of the modern world.—Isaiah 48:17; Romans 12:2; Ephesians 4:22-24.

Okay friend, let’s now briefly review what we’ve earlier called the ‘works of the flesh’ and the ‘fruitage of the spirit.’ The spirit of this world produces the “works of the flesh.” They are very manifest. Paul says they are “fornication, uncleanness, loose conduct, idolatry, practice of spiritism, hatreds, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, contentions, divisions, sects, envies, drunken bouts, revelries, and things like these.” “As to these things I am forewarning you, the same way as I did forewarn you, that those who practice such things will not inherit God’s kingdom.” (Gal. 5:19-21) These are some of the things, then, one must be sure to get rid of if he wants everlasting life. Paul’s description surely fits this world today just as it did the ancient Roman world he lived in. But can a Christian live today in a world like this and change? Yes, even though surrounded by people doing “the works of the flesh.” The Christian can produce the fruitage of the spirit. Certainly Paul and all the other inspired writers would not tell us to do so if it could not be done through Jehovah’s spirit.

EXERCISING LOVE

In order to produce the “fruitage of the spirit” the Christian must first of all love Jehovah God, which would mean following the great commandment that Jesus quoted, namely: “You must love Jehovah your God with your whole heart and with your whole soul and with your whole mind.” Jesus added: “The second, like it, is this: ‘You must love your neighbor as yourself.’” (Matt. 22:37, 39) That means loving a lot; but it means your life too.

In Galatians 5:22 love is described by Paul as the first fruit that must be manifest on the part of a Christian. This great lover of God and of his Son, Jesus Christ, fought for Christianity with the “sword of the spirit.” He defined it as God’s Word. (Eph. 6:17) Paul did not hate men; he loved men. He wanted men to know the truth. Paul, being a man full of love, had a lot to say about it, but he found it was rather difficult to give a concise description of love. In the thirteenth chapter of First Corinthians he tells us that even ‘though he spoke with the tongues of men and of angels, if he did not have love, he would sound like a piece of brass or a clashing cymbal. Even if he had the gift of prophesying and understood all the sacred secrets of God and had the greatest faith of any man in the world, sufficient to transplant mountains, but did not have love, he would amount to nothing.’ What a traveler and worker Paul was! What energy he spent in the service! He did not spare his life. He poured it out in preaching the good news. To a Greek Paul was a Greek, to a Jew a Jew. Yet, if he did not have love, love for Jehovah God, his Son, and his Christian brothers, Paul said: “I am nothing.” Love, he said, is obliging. Paul did things for people, not wanting or expecting a return. When observing the success of a brother he was not jealous of such an individual, because love is not jealous.

A Christian must be interested in just one thing, and that is the true worship of Jehovah. In performing that worship the Christian does not brag about what he has done. Love never gets puffed up because of accomplishments; and certainly love never behaves indecently. Love is expressed in good conduct. A Christian showing love does not continue to live like the world, even though he is in it. Love makes him change his course of action so as to follow the right way.

Producing this first fruit of the spirit, love, the Christian will not always be looking after his own interests, always being first and superior. He will not be provoked at every little thing that someone else does, because love does not become provoked. And when someone does something against the Christian, or even goes so far as to injure him, he, having this fruit of the spirit, love, will not even keep account of the injury. When something happens to a Christian that is not right or just, love is not going to rejoice over unrighteousness. There is only one thing that love can rejoice in, and that is the truth.

Love is an attribute that Jehovah God put in the perfect man, Adam. Why not reinstate it? Furthermore, “God is love,” and he is the one we worship. Love is a necessary quality for every Christian. He cannot get along without it. It is urgent that every Christian stop to think once in a while as to how much he loves other people. How much does he love his brothers? The measuring rod whereby one can determine whether he is a Christian or not is love. Jesus said: “By this all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love among yourselves.”—John 13:35.

Are you afraid to talk to people about your belief in the Bible? Do you claim to be a Christian, and still have fear in going from house to house, doing the same kind of work Jesus and his disciples did? Are you afraid to express yourself even to your own brothers in a congregation meeting? Do you say, “Yes, I am afraid”? Then you do not have perfect love, and you know there is room for improvement. John, who truly loved the Master, wrote this: “There is no fear in love, but perfect love throws fear outside, because fear exercises a restraint.” (1 John 4:18) Is there a restraint on you that holds you back from expressing your Christian belief? If that fear exists, then there is some branch cleaning to be done so that the bearing of more fruit will be possible. Jesus said: ‘Every branch bearing fruit he cleans, that it may bear more fruit’; and he also said: “Every branch in me not bearing fruit he takes away.” (John 15:2) Do you want to be built up by being pruned or be completely lopped off the vine as a nonproducer of the fruitage of the spirit?

“Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up.” (1 Cor. 8:1) Christians must show love and build. Love is not just a word to be used promiscuously. It is a word full of expressive meaning. Love is alive, active. An individual who has this quality, love, will show it every day and in everything that he does. “In brotherly love have tender affection for one another. In showing honor to one another take the lead.” (Rom. 12:10) Love, while just one of the fruitages of the spirit, is the principal one. It is basic, fundamental, because all the other fruits of the spirit are different aspects of the expression of love. They all keep love in action. Therefore cultivate these qualities and show forth more love.

JOY AND PEACE

Joy is something a Christian must have, or get, because it is the second fruit of the spirit mentioned by Paul. What does it mean to have joy? Joy is “an emotion of keen or lively pleasure arising from present or expected good.” (The American College Dictionary) A Christian’s greatest joy comes because of preaching, from hearing good news and experiences of those who have done so. That is how it was with the early Christians. We read at Acts 15:3: “Accordingly, after being conducted part way by the congregation, these men continued on their way through both Phoenicia and Samaria, relating in detail the conversion of people of the nations, and they were causing great joy to all the brothers.” How was this “great joy” caused? By “relating in detail the conversion of the people of the nations.” They had talked to people about God’s kingdom. They had had wonderful experiences in field service to tell others. This brought great joy to the hearers and the tellers. Hearing about other people listening to the truth and then coming into the truth brings joy. Love made the disciples preach; joy was the result.—Acts 13:45-52; 2 Cor. 7:13.

Peace is a fruitage of the spirit. One who is peaceful is “free from strife or commotion.” He is serene or tranquil. Peter admonished Christians to “seek peace and pursue it.” The way he told them to pursue this wonderful way of life was like this: “He that would love life and see good days, let him restrain his tongue from what is injurious and his lips from speaking deceitfully, but let him turn away from what is injurious and do what is good; let him seek peace and pursue it.” (1 Pet. 3:10, 11) For one to enjoy peace with his fellow man he has to watch his tongue. Words can cause a great amount of trouble, especially the injurious ones. Good words establish good relations. But when one starts speaking deceitfully and injuriously, peace soon flees. A peaceful individual, with a peaceful message can talk about Jesus Christ and the kingdom of the heavens and how God will bring “upon earth peace among men of good-will.” (Luke 2:14) A Christian will use his tongue to bless. Paul told the Corinthians: “Live peaceably, and the God of love and of peace will be with you.”—2 Cor. 13:11; Matt. 10:12-14.

LONG-SUFFERING

“Long and patient endurance of injury or provocation” is what is termed long-suffering. This is a fruitage of the spirit. Some people’s long-suffering has reached its limit in about thirty seconds,