service. Rather, Peter appeals to us: “What sort of persons ought you to be in holy acts of conduct and deeds of godly devotion, awaiting and keeping close in mind the presence of the day of Jehovah.” (2 Pet. 3:11, 12) Jesus did not give the assignment of making disciples to the angels, expecting them to materialize to do the work of separating the “sheep” and the “goats.” Instead, he gave it to those who show themselves to be his true followers both by their service and by their whole-souled devotion. (Rev. 12:17) Now is the time to be pleasing our heavenly King by regular Kingdom activity, and not by offering a crippled or half-hearted sacrifice of praise by occasional or irregular service.​—Mal. 1:6-8; Luke 13:24, 25.

23. What wonderful prospects are before those now rendering God sacred service in a whole-souled way?

²³ As we fill our lives with sacred service rendered whole-souled, we can have the assurance of being among the happy crowd of Armageddon survivors who will rejoice to continue such service day and night before God’s throne after the great tribulation is finished. And as Revelation 7:17 tells us: “The Lamb, who is in the midst of the throne, will shepherd them, and will guide them to fountains of waters of life.” What a wonderful prospect is before us if we continue to render sacred service to Jehovah in a whole-souled way!

What Did the Wise Man Mean?

The Wisdom of Avoiding Extremes

It is very easy for imperfect humans to get off balance, taking an extreme view of matters. King Solomon, therefore, gave this admonition: “Do not become righteous overmuch, nor show yourself excessively wise. Why should you cause desolation to yourself? Do not be wicked overmuch, nor become foolish. Why should you die when it is not your time? It is better that you should take hold of the one, but from the other also do not withdraw your hand; for he that fears God will go forth with them all.”​—Eccl. 7:16-18.

The person who is righteous overmuch gets overly concerned about minor matters. For example, he makes big issues over things that are strictly human procedures or methods, matters that are not set forth in the Scriptures. When he sees someone doing a kindness, or perhaps acting in a merciful way, he may object on the basis that certain “protocol” has been ignored. He is much like the Pharisees who did not rejoice about the marvelous relief Jesus Christ brought to afflicted ones on the Sabbath but who became enraged, concluding that the Son of God had violated the law by performing cures on that day. (Mark 3:1-6; Luke 14:1-6) Persons who are righteous overmuch often give no thought to what would be the merciful, loving or helpful thing to do.