believe in God? Do I rely on his Word? Do his thoughts come into my mind when problems arise? Am I forever judging others and never myself? Am I truly humble? submissive? forgiving? loving? Do I feel the need for prayer? Do I desire to pray? to worship? to do God’s will? The quality of our conscious needs is the test of our progress. The more love of God we have, the more we are compelled to seek his presence and commune with him. Examine your quantity and quality of service to God. Ask, Am I bringing forth the fruits of the spirit? Do I prepare my sermons well, make back-calls on those who show interest and hold home Bible studies with them? Do I tell others to study the Bible and not study it myself? Do I teach others and not teach myself? Examine yourself, for we reap what we sow. For by our thoughts and our actions, by our speech and our prayers, we prove what we ourselves are.—1 Pet. 3:1-4; John 15:8-10; Gal. 5:22-25; Romans, chap. 2; Gal. 6:7.

27. (a) What will you discover when you examine yourself, and what should you do when you find need for correction in yourself? (b) What will be the result of constant, sincere self-examination and correction in keeping with Jehovah’s prescribed way?

²⁷ The next time you look into a mirror, ask yourself, How do I look to God? Then go to his mirrors, his Word, the Bible, the Bible-study aids provided through his organization, the congregation meetings and assemblies, and with the help of these examine yourself and learn your answer. You will find that the good that resides in you is because of the undeserved kindness of God and not of your own making, that you have need of much mercy and to show mercy to others. By an examination of yourself you will discover what you truly believe and whether you express such beliefs in your attitude toward life. You will also learn that some things about you need correcting. When you find that out, go to work on yourself immediately, using God’s Word, his spirit and his organization to help you right your wrongs. By your not morbidly but cheerfully taking stock of yourself, by making the needed corrections, you will develop in yourself a beautiful personality like that of Christ. This change will assure for you happiness now and the blessing of life everlasting in God’s new world. So “keep proving what you yourselves are.”—2 Cor. 13:5; Gal. 6:3-5.

Keep Proving What You Are by Accepting Responsibility

“Go on carrying the burdens of one another, and thus fulfill the law of the Christ.”—Gal. 6:2

1, 2. (a) How does this world view responsibility? (b) In what way have Christendom’s leaders shirked their responsibility? Give proof.

A CONTRIBUTING cause of this world’s “critical times hard to deal with” is its continuing flight from responsibility. In every walk of life the trend is so prevalent that the world has coined a phrase, “passing the buck,” which means passing responsibility on to others instead of accepting it. In the family, parents flee the responsibility to teach and train their children properly. Therefore, children grow up like useless weeds. As a result, intelligent children, instead of accepting responsibility in the home and toward others in the family and community, turn into irresponsible and conscienceless delinquents.—2 Tim. 3:1.

² Christendom’s leaders too have shirked their responsibility to teach the Bible truth to the more than eight hundred million churchgoers who support them and pay their salaries, so that church members feel no spiritual responsibility to serve the God they claim to worship. In fact, they are warned not even to try to defend the faith that they profess, so stated the New York Times, June 19, 1961, page 29. Further confirming this, clergyman Robert McCracken affirms that the “baseball fan knows more about baseball than church members know about Christianity.” Another cleric stated about members of his church, that “90 percent of them might be called religious illiterates!”

3. How have Jehovah’s witnesses witnessed this flight from responsibility in the course of their ministry?

³ Day after day Jehovah’s witnesses witness this flight from responsibility. How many times have they met persons who delight in the promises of God, who recognize the truth in the message of God’s Word brought to them, yet who refuse to have a Bible study in their homes because they dread the possible responsibility of becoming one of Jehovah’s witnesses. Again, others are like the stony or thorny ground about which Jesus spoke in his parable of the sower, where the seed prospers for a time but then withers or is choked out. When faced with responsibilities, such ones flee away and so let the seed of truth die out. In fact, even among dedicated Christians there are some who shrink from conducting a home Bible study with a person of good will, or who draw back from accepting added privileges of service, simply because it means too much responsibility.—Matt. 13:1-23.

4, 5. (a) Why is this no time to shirk responsibility? (b) What responsibility rests upon dedicated Christians?

⁴ With nearly forty-eight years of this world’s last days gone since that marked year of 1914, this is no time to yield to the world’s spirit of irresponsibility, but a time to resist the irresponsible spirit of this world. Becoming a dedicated Christian means responsibility, for such a person possesses knowledge—knowledge that is vital to the salvation of others. The disciple James says: “If one knows how to do what is right and yet does not do it, it is a sin for him.” (Jas. 4:17) Thus one who dedicates himself to God must carry out that dedication. He has a load of responsibility to discharge. “Whenever you vow a vow to God, do not hesitate to pay it, for there is no delight in the stupid ones. What you vow, pay.”—Eccl. 5:4.

⁵ When you as a Christian made a dedication to serve Jehovah, you did so out of love for God. Like the prophet Isaiah, you said: “Here I am! Send me.” (Isa. 6:8) Then you learned that one does not associate with Jehovah’s organization for years without taking progressive steps to grow to spiritual maturity. As stated by the apostle Paul: “Each one will carry his own load.” (Gal. 6:5) Therefore, we have an obligation to press on to maturity, to grow spiritually, to prepare ourselves for greater service, to become better teachers and to serve in Jehovah’s organization where we can best be used.

THE GREAT DEMAND

6, 7. (a) What demand and need is there that should move all to accept responsibility? (b) In what way does the growth in congregations increase the demand?

⁶ Today, a great crowd of the “desirable things of all the nations,” people of good