Wednesday, September 21 Do not go beyond the things that are written.​—1 Cor. 4:6.

[Áine]

Wednesday, September 21

Do not go beyond the things that are written.—1 Cor. 4:6.

 

James and John along with their mother approached Jesus and asked for a privilege that was beyond Jesus’ authority to give. Without hesitating, Jesus stated that only his heavenly Father could decide who would sit at Jesus’ right hand and at his left in the Kingdom. (Matt. 20:20-23) Jesus showed that he respected his limitations. He was modest. He never went beyond what Jehovah commanded him to do. (John 12:49) How can we imitate Jesus’ fine example? We imitate Jesus’ example of modesty by applying the Bible’s counsel found in today’s text. So when asked for advice, we never want to promote our own opinion or simply say the first thing that comes to our mind. Rather, we should direct attention to the counsel found in the Bible and in our Bible-based publications. In this way, we acknowledge our limitations. With modesty, we give credit to the “righteous decrees” of the Almighty.—Rev. 15:3, 4. w20.08 11-12 ¶14-15

[Wayne]

 
The Bible, not our own opinion, tells us what is right and what is wrong.  Our loyalty to God will give us the courage to defend Jehovah’s righteous principles.