16. (a) Explain what it means to be “walking in the light.” (b) How do we avoid wrong thinking and actions, and whose life is an encouragement in this direction?

¹⁶ If we are going to practice the truth we have to be “walking in the light.” (1 John 1:7) To walk in the light we must consistently heed the counsel given us by the God of light and cultivate love for his ways. If we do so, then when we see this system of things approving of standards that are condemned by the God of light, Jehovah, we will not allow ourselves to contemplate the seeming satisfaction of such a course. We will not think to ourselves how nice it would be to enjoy such pleasures just for a moment, feeling that somehow those lower standards of the world do have some redeeming features. We will not dupe ourselves into thinking that, after all, the brief moment of enjoyment might be worth the violation of the principles of light. Rather, we will call upon God, in our practice of the truth, and seek to follow right principles. Looking in the Bible we find recorded, for example, the life of Moses, a servant of Jehovah. It is written of him that he refused to be called the son of the daughter of Pharaoh, “choosing to be ill-treated with the people of God rather than to have the temporary enjoyment of sin.” How was Moses able to do this? The record says, “because he esteemed the reproach of the Christ as riches greater than the treasures of Egypt; for he looked intently toward the payment of the reward.” (Heb. 11:24-26) That is what practicing the truth is. That is what walking in the light means.

19. How does a person go about watching his associations in the field of entertainment, and so what choice becomes necessary?

¹⁹ Of course, a person must also watch who his associates are in the field of entertainment. While the association here may not be so personal​—the majority of persons do not have direct association with those in the entertainment world—​still one has to watch one’s habits in the reading of books and periodical publications that follow the corrupt standard of this world, or in watching movies and television that exalt and praise the things condemned by God’s Word, such as those outlined in the book of Romans, referred to previously. One cannot walk in the light of God while running in association with those of this wicked and sick society that approves of everything that the God of light abhors. The choice of association is up to each one to determine, but the decision as to whether that one is practicing the truth is up to Jehovah God. Remember that the words of 1 John 1:6 are: “If we make the statement: ‘We are having a sharing with him,’ [that is, with the God of light] and yet we go on walking in the darkness, we are lying and are not practicing the truth.” The point is plain and forceful. It is the duty of all Christians, followers of the Master, Jesus Christ, to heed the counsel of God’s Word and direct their lives in accordance with that counsel.

“Continue Observing His Commandments”

“And by this we have the knowledge that we have come to know him, namely, if we continue observing his commandments.”​—1 John 2:3.

1. Why is self-examination in practicing the truth necessary?

EARTH WIDE today there are hundreds of thousands of dedicated and baptized witnesses of Jehovah God who meet together and share in declaring the good news of the Kingdom from house to house and by many other means. These servants of God love him and want to do his will. That is why they have dedicated their lives to carrying out his commandments, observing his laws. However, at times there may be some who fail to appreciate fully what it means to “continue observing his [God’s] commandments.” If one does not keep on with self-examination of one’s way of life and one’s motives, one may find that the powers of darkness in this system blind one to the requirements of Jehovah. We need to continue to carry out the commandments of God. If a person continues to do the same thing, in time it becomes a habit with him, something he does regularly. He does not do it now, and forget it later. We could say that he practices that “something” habitually, whatever it may be. So it becomes a way of life to him, something that he does without thought of discontinuing in the future.

2. How does one truly come to know Jehovah?

² So it is with those who observe the commandments of God. They continue in this course day in and day out, month in and month out, year in and year out, knowing that this is a requirement of God. The point of all of this is that the only way truly to ‘come to know him,’ that is, Jehovah, is by always observing what he wants us to do. This does not allow for serving him only when we feel like it, when it does not interfere with anything else that we think is of greater importance. This constancy is what is embodied in the expressions “practicing the truth” and ‘continuing to observe his commandments.’