Saturday, June 28 Do not be sharers with them.​—Eph. 5:7.

[Áine]

Saturday, June 28

Do not be sharers with them.—Eph. 5:7.

 

Satan wants us to associate with people who make it harder for us to stick to Jehovah’s standards. We need to remember that our association is not limited to those we spend time with in person. It includes those we interact with on social media. We must fight against the world’s thinking that immoral conduct is acceptable. We know better. (Eph. 4:19, 20) We do well to ask ourselves: ‘Do I make it a point to avoid all unnecessary association with workmates, classmates, or others who do not respect Jehovah’s righteous standards? Do I courageously uphold Jehovah’s standards even though some may call me intolerant for doing so?’ As indicated at 2 Timothy 2:20-22, we may also need to be careful when choosing our close associates within the Christian congregation. We bear in mind that some may not help us to remain faithful in our service to Jehovah. w24.0322-23 ¶11-12

[trottigy]

The previous verse that cause this verse to start out with "therefore"

 

"Let no man deceive you with empty words, for because of such things the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience."

 

Does that remind you of 1st Corinthians 15:33 - Do not be misled? Or let no mam deceive you.

[just1-4all]

I get that having the highest moral standards are a basic necessity for having strong, stable and solid, family ties—and that this benefits larger society; benefits an entire nation of people. Just as Jehovah says: 'He is the one to whom all families owe their name'.

 

On the other hand, the application of this scripture in it's "b" part about association, unfortunately, can cause suspicion among the pre-Satan's-system-end family of Jehovah's people. And back to the other hand: I realize Satan is the sower of mistrust since the beginning ... and until he is done away with, it is wise to be cautious.

 

I just couldn't help but contrast the 'be cautious' message of today's text with the title of this weeks WT study: "Drawing Close to One Another Is Good for Us!"