keeps paying attention and listening.’ And what is the result of using our life in Jehovah’s service? He assures us, “a book of remembrance began to be written up before him for those in fear of Jehovah and for those thinking upon his name.” So if you want to be one of the happy ones who will be remembered by Jehovah for life in his righteous new system of things, then use your life to serve him now by proclaiming the good news of Jehovah’s established kingdom.—Mal. 3:15, 16.

Right Motive in Serving God

1. How does the Christian motive for service compare with worldly reasons?

ONE who chooses the ministry as his life’s work is sure to have his friends ask, Why be a minister? Is it because he really feels that is what God wants, or what is his reason for making this choice? One who goes into the legal or medical fields may feel he has a special talent for such work or that it will give him a good income or position in the community. Another may become a teacher because of the opportunity it gives him to mold the lives of his students. But the individual who enters a life career with truly selfless motives is rare. Yet this was the case of the early disciples of Jesus, just as it is with true Christians today.

2. What attitude did the disciples have toward the ministry?

² Why did Jesus give up the carpentry instead of devoting his talents to that and gaining renown as a craftsman? Why did Luke the physician discontinue his lucrative profession to devote his life to the ministry? Why did the apostles give up their commercial fishing activities? Certainly these men were not looking for self-interests or a high position in the community when they associated with one who was described as ‘despised and avoided by men.’ (Isa. 53:3) They worked with Jesus in the ministry because they knew he had the truth. When a number of disciples were stumbled due to a difficult teaching, Jesus said to the twelve: “You do not want to go also, do you?” Then Peter replied: “Lord, whom shall we go away to? You have sayings of everlasting life.” They knew that learning the truth and then serving God would bring them everlasting life; so they willingly changed their whole way of life to share in the ministry.—John 6:67, 68.

3. Why did one clergyman give up his position?

³ Just as there was a great contrast between the pompous, self-seeking clergy of Jesus’ day and the apostles who associated with him for the love of the truth, so today there is a great difference between the paid clergy of Christendom and those who voluntarily teach and preach as Jehovah’s witnesses. (Matt. 23:5-8; Mic. 3:11) Illustrating this is the comment of a former minister as reported in the Saturday Evening Post, November 17, 1962: “We were not troubled by just this incident, or just our church, but by what the ministry in general had come to mean. We thought of my fellow ministers in our area. All considered themselves Christians. Yet we seemed to be competitors—for the largest membership increase, the most impressive building, the most prominent prospective members . . . Some politicked shamelessly for the friendship of others who might assist in their promotion to more prominent churches. Certainly we never discussed theological questions or how to meet better the spiritual needs of our communities. At ministerial meetings the talk was mostly about buildings, salaries or membership-campaign gimmicks . . . This was not the ministry to which I had felt a call.” Although he still believed in Jesus Christ, he quit the ministry because he felt his life would be wasted as a recreation director or on what seemed to him to be little more than a Sunday-morning, mutual-admiration society.

4. What was Jesus interested in? What did Paul have to say about the right motive for service?

⁴ Surely just having a large increase in members or having a financially affluent congregation or the largest church was not what interested Christ or those who served with him. Jesus was interested in finding those who would worship God in spirit and in truth, rather than in having large crowds come to hear him preach soothing sermons. In fact, he pointed out that the road that would lead to destruction would be the broad one, but the road to life would be narrow and straight and difficult to follow. Even so, the apostle Paul recognized that there were some who served God with the wrong motive. As he said, “some are preaching the Christ through envy and rivalry.” That seems to be the case now when modern-day ministers compete for large buildings or large church attendances. However, Paul went on to say, “but others also through good will. The latter are publicizing the Christ out of love . . . but the former do it out of contentiousness, not with a pure motive.”—Phil. 1:15-17.

5. How should real interest in true worship be shown?

⁵ Jehovah does not only look on the service a person renders or his position, but he looks on the heart to determine the motive of those serving him. So it is up to each Christian to consider his personal motive for serving God, whether it is for personal reasons or out of rivalry or a spirit of competition, or out of love and with goodwill and a pure motive. Do not let your “service” be that of a formal worshiper content as long as nothing is required of him. Such ones even begrudge taking the time to discuss their faith. As the former clergyman referred to previously complained, “The people would rather hear about their idea of Christianity than Christ’s . . . Not only didn’t they want to hear about it; they didn’t want to talk about it.” He found that those teaching Sunday-school classes balked at further instruction, and when he tried to develop a church-wide program of small discussion groups in members’ homes to develop them spiritually, no more than ten persons ever attended, and within two months the program was dead. This certainly is a far cry from the Christianity Jesus taught when he said: “You must love Jehovah your God with your whole heart and with your whole soul and with your whole mind.” Jesus set the lead by showing that true worship is demonstrated by service.—Matt. 22:37.

WILLING SERVICE OF JEHOVAH

6. What attitude do thousands of Christians show today?

⁶ Just as the psalmist long ago foretold, there are men on the earth today who desire to serve Jehovah whole-souled. David prophesied: “Your people will offer themselves willingly on the day of your military force.” (Ps. 110:3) They show a keen interest in learning and studying God’s Word. They are happy to talk about the Scriptures and are moved by a heartfelt desire to serve Jehovah. As a result they dedicate their lives to Jehovah and symbolize it by public baptism. This was the simple, early Christian form of becoming a disciple, and