You “Ready Fo Lissen”?

1. How come can be hard fo us lissen?

YOU eva struggle fo lissen? King David did, so he wen pray to God, “Give me da kine spirit inside me dat make me like do wat you tell me fo do.” (Songs 51:12) David wen love Jehovah but still yet, he had hard time fo lissen. We lidat too. How come? Numba 1, we was born fo like do wrong. Numba 2, Satan always trying fo get us fo no lissen to Jehovah, jalike him. (2 Cor 11:3) Numba 3, da guys all aroun us get one no lissen attitude, da kine “strong spirit dat make peopo go agains wat God tell um fo do.” (Efe 2:2) So we gotta work hard fo fight agains wanting fo do wrong stuff, da Devil, an erybody aroun us so dat we can lissen Jehovah an da guys dat get da right fo tell us wat fo do.

2. Wat mean fo be “ready fo lissen”? (From James 3:17, NWT.)

² Read um From James 3:17, NWT. Da Bible writa James wen tell dat akamai peopo stay “ready fo lissen.” Try tink wat dat mean. We gotta be ready fo lissen to da guys Jehovah wen give da right fo tell us wat fo do. Of course, Jehovah no expeck us fo lissen to somebody who tell us fo no lissen wat He tell us fo do.​—Jesus Guys 4:18-20.

3. How come Jehovah kea wedda o not we lissen to da guys dat tell us wat fo do?

³ We might feel az moa easy fo lissen to Jehovah den lissen to anodda person. Da tings Jehovah tell us fo do is always perfeck. (Songs 19:7) But peopo who get da right fo tell us wat fo do, dey not perfeck. Still yet, oua Faddah in da heaven trus parents, govament guys in charge, an eldas wit da right fo tell us wat fo do some of da time. (Smart Guys 6:20; 1 Tess 5:12; 1 Pet 2:13, 14) Wen we lissen to dem, we really lissening to Jehovah. Us go look how we can lissen to humans dat Jehovah wen trus fo tell us wat fo do, even if sometimes we no agree o we no like do da tings dey tell us.

LISSEN YOA PARENTS

4. How come plenny kids no lissen dea parents?

⁴ Young guys today see odda guys dea age dat no lissen to “wat dea muddah an faddah tell um fo do.” (2 Tim 3:1, 2) How come plenny of dem no lissen? Some parents tell dea kids fo do tings dat dey no do demselfs, an da kids tink dass not fair. Oddas tink wat dea parents tell is old fashion, not going help, o too strick. If you one younga guy, you eva feel lidat? Plenny get hard time fo lissen to wat Jehovah tell um, “lissen real good yoa muddah an yoa faddah guys . . . cuz dass da right ting fo do.” (Efe 6:1) Wat can help you fo do dat?

5. How come az unreal dat Jesus wen lissen to his parents in wat wen happen in Luke 2:46-52?

⁵ You can learn how fo lissen from da bes exampo, Jesus. (1 Pet 2:21-24) He was perfeck, but his parents no was. Jesus wen respeck his parents even wen dey wen make mistake an neva undastan him sometimes. (Egypt 20:12) One of dose times was wen Jesus was 12 years old an he wen go wit his ohana to Jerusalem. (Read um Luke 2:46-52.) Wen his parents was going back home, dey wen foget Jesus an leave um dea in Jerusalem. Was Joseph an Mary’s kuleana fo make shua all dea kids was wit dem wen dey was going back home. Wen dey wen find Jesus, Mary wen blame him fo causing dem trouble. Jesus coulda wen tell her dat no was fair. But he wen ansa his parents in one simpo way wit plenny respeck. Joseph an Mary “neva undastan wat he tell dem.” Still yet, Jesus wen erytime “do wat dey tell um fo do.”

6-7. Wat can help young guys lissen to dea parents?

⁶ If you one young guy, you eva get hard time lissen to yoa parents wen dey make mistake o dey no undastan you? Wat can help you? Da numba one ting, try tink about how Jehovah feel. Da Bible say dat wen you lissen to yoa parents, Jehovah “like wen you do dat.” (Col 3:20) Jehovah know dat sometimes yoa parents no undastan you, o dey make rules dat to you not fair. But wen you choose fo lissen anyway, you make Jehovah happy.

⁷ Numba two, tink about how yoa parents going feel. Wen you lissen to dem, you make dem happy an dey going trus you even moa. (Smart Guys 23:22-25) You probly going come moa close to dem too. Alexandre, one braddah in Belgium wen tell, “Wen I started fo do wat my parents wen tell me fo do, we wen come moa close to each odda an we was happy.”b Numba three, tink about how going be good fo you layta on if you lissen. Paulo who live in Brazil sed, “Wen I wen learn how fo lissen to my parents dat wen help me fo lissen to Jehovah an oddas dat get da right fo tell me wat fo do.” Da Bible give one good reason fo lissen to yoa parents. It tell dat tings going turn out good fo you an “you goin live long time.”​—Efe 6:2, 3.

8. How come plenny young guys choose fo lissen to dea parents?

⁸ Plenny young guys wen see how tings turn out good fo dem wen dey lissen. Luiza from Brazil sed was hard at firs fo undastan how come she no could have one cell phone. She wen tink mos peopo her age get one. But den she wen figga dat her parents actually was trying fo proteck her. Now she tell, “I see dat lissening to my parents, az not like one straitjacket, but az jalike one seat belt dat can save my life.” Elizabeth, one sistah in da United States get hard time fo lissen to her parents sometimes. She tell, “Wen I no undastan how come my parents make some of dose rules, I tink back to da times wen dose rules wen proteck me.” Monica who live in Armenia wen tell dat tings always turn out good an az betta wen she lissen den wen she no lissen.

LISSEN TO DA GOVAMENT GUYS IN CHARGE

9. How plenny peopo feel about lissening to da law?

⁹ Plenny guys know dat we need da govament an dat we should follow some of da laws “da govmen guys in charge” make. (Rome 13:1) But dose same guys maybe not going lissen to one law dat dey no like o tink az not fair, like paying yoa taxes. Plenny guys in one country in Europe believe dat dey no need pay taxes if dey tink az not fair. So az not one shocka dat da guys in dat country no pay da govament da taxes dey suppose to.

10. How come we follow laws even if we no like um?

¹⁰ Da Bible say dat human govaments make us suffa, stay unda da control of Satan, an pretty soon going get smash. (Songs 110:5, 6; Teacha 8:9; Luk 4:5, 6) It also tell dat “somebody go agains da govmen guys dat get dat kine powa, az jalike dey going agains da way God wen make da govmen fo us.” Fo now, Jehovah let da govaments rule so tings no get outa control, an he expeck us fo follow wat dey say. Dass how come we gotta “pay erybody wat . . . gotta pay,” like taxes, respeck, an lissen dem. (Rome 13:1-7) Maybe we look at one law like az humbug, no fair, o going cost plenny fo do um. But we lissen to Jehovah, an he tell us fo lissen to da guys dass in charge so long dey no ask us fo go agains wat he tell us.​—Jesus Guys 5:29.

11-12. In Luke 2:1-6, how Joseph an Mary wen lissen to one law even if was hard, an wat wen happen? (Go look da pichas.)

¹¹ We can learn from wat Joseph an Mary wen do, cuz dey was ready fo lissen to da govaments even if was hard. (Read um Luke 2:1-6.) Wen Mary was 9 months hapai, da govament wen ask dem fo do someting dat was real hard. Cesar Augustus wen make one law in da whole Rome empire dat erybody had fo go back to dea hometown fo one census. Joseph an Mary had fo travel about 93 miles up an down da hills fo go Betlehem. No was one easy trip, speshly fo Mary. Maybe dey wen worry about Mary an da bebe’s health. Wat if she wen give birth to da bebe wen dey was traveling? Dey would be all stress out about how fo keep da bebe safe cuz da bebe was going be da Messiah. Dose was legit excuses fo no lissen da govament?

¹² Even tho Joseph an Mary had legit reasons fo worry, dey still wen lissen. Jehovah wen take kea an bless dem fo dat. Mary wen get to Betlehem safe, she wen have on healthy bebe, an wen even help prophecy inside da Bible come true!​—Mic 5:2.

13. Wen we lissen, how dat can affeck oua braddahs?

¹³ Wen we lissen to da govaments in charge, az good fo us an oddas. How? One ting is, we no going get in trouble fo not lissening. (Rome 13:4) Wen we lissen to da govaments, dey going see dat Witnesses Fo Jehovah is good peopo. Like in Nigeria, soldiers wen go inside one Kingdom Hall wen dey was having one meeting, looking fo trouble maykas who was protesting agains paying tax. But da offica in charge wen tell da guys fo leave, telling um, “Witnesses Fo Jehovah always pay dea taxes.” Ery time you lissen to da law, you help all Jehovah’s peopo have one good rep, an dat good rep going help proteck yoa braddahs an sistahs down da road.​—Mat 5:16, NWT.

14. Wat wen help one sistah fo be “ready fo lissen” to da govaments in charge?

¹⁴ Still yet, maybe we not going always like lissen to da govament guys in charge. Joanna, one sistah in da United States wen say, “Was supa hard fo me lissen cuz da govament neva treat my ohana fair, an dey wen suffa cuz of dat.” But Joanna wen make up her mind fo change da way she tink. Da firs ting she wen do was stop reading social media post about da govament dat wen get her all nutz. (Smart Guys 20:3) Nex, radda den pray fo da govament change, she wen pray to Jehovah fo help her trus him. (Songs 9:9, 10) Den she wen read articles from oua hui about not choosing sides. (John 17:16) Now Joanna tell dat lissening an showing respeck to da govament make her feel “peace inside dat no can even explain.”

LISSEN TO WAT JEHOVAH’S HUI TELL US FO DO

15. Why might be hard fo lissen to da instucktions from Jehovah’s hui?

¹⁵ Jehovah ask us fo “Lissen to da guys dass showing you da way fo go” in da hui. (Heb 13:17, NWT.) Even tho oua Leada Jesus is perfeck, da guys he use on da earth is not. But sometimes can be hard fo lissen to dem, speshly if dey ask us fo do someting we no like do. One time da aposal Peter had hard time lissen at firs. Wen one angel wen tell um fo eat animals dat was kapu unda da Rules from Moses, Peter wen tell three times no ways I going do dat! (Jesus Guys 10:9-16) How come? Da new instrucktions from da angel neva make sense to him, cuz his whole life he was told fo no eat dat kine animals. If Peter had hard time lissen to da instrucktions from one perfeck angel, going be even way moa hard fo lissen to da instrucktions from guys who no stay perfeck.

16. Even tho da aposal Paul coulda tink da instrucktion he wen get neva make sense, wat he wen do? (Jesus Guys 21:23, 24, 26)

¹⁶ Paul was “ready fo lissen” even wen da instrucktions he wen get neva make sense to him. Da Jew Christians wen hear rumors about Paul dat he was telling “Laytas to wat Moses wen write,” showing dat he neva respeck da Rules from Moses. (Jesus Guys 21:21) Da olda braddahs in Jerusalem wen tell Paul fo take four guys to da temple an do one religious kine ceremony fo show dat he was lissening to da Rules. But Paul wen know dat Christians no was unda da Rules from Moses anymoa, an he neva do notting wrong. Still yet, Paul neva hold back an he wen lissen fas. He wen take da guys wit him “fo do da stuff dey gotta do fo dem go in front God.” (Read um Jesus Guys 21:23, 24, 26.) Cuz Paul wen lissen, he wen help all da braddahs fo stick togedda.​—Rome 14:19, 21.

17. Wat you learn from wat wen happen to Stephanie?

¹⁷ One sistah name Stephanie had hard time fo lissen to wat da braddahs wit kuleana in her country wen choose fo do. Her an her husband was happy in dea foreign-language group. Den da branch office wen shut da group down, an da couple had fo go back to one local hui in dea firs language. Stephanie wen say, “I really neva like dat. I neva believe dat wen need help in oua maddah tongue.” No matta, she still wen choose fo jus go wit um. She tell, “Layta on I wen see was akamai fo da braddahs do dat. We wen come spiritual parents to some guys in oua local hui who no moa ohana in da trut. I study wit one sistah who wen jus come back to Jehovah. An now I get moa time fo study fo myself.” She tell, “I feel good inside cuz I know I wen do my bes fo lissen.”

18. Wen you lissen, how dat going help you?

¹⁸ We can learn fo lissen. Jesus wen learn fo “lissen God,” not cuz eryting was good fo him, but from da tings “he wen suffa.” (Heb 5:8) Jalike Jesus, we plenny times learn fo lissen wen tings is hard. Like wen da COVID-19 pandemic wen firs start, you had hard time wen we was told fo no meet togedda at da Kingdom Halls an fo no go peopos houses fo preach? But cuz you wen lissen, dat wen proteck you, help you fo stay tight wit yoa braddahs an sistahs, an wen make Jehovah happy. Now all us stay moa ready fo lissen to da instrucktions we going get during da big trouble. If we lissen to dose instrucktions, dat going save oua life!​—Job 36:11.

19. How come you like lissen?

¹⁹ We wen learn dat da guys dat lissen get choke blessings. But da numba one reason why we lissen to Jehovah is cuz we love him an like make him happy. (1 John 5:3) No moa notting we can do fo eva pay Jehovah back fo all da tings he wen do fo us. (Songs 116:12) But we can lissen to him an to da guys dat get da right fo tell us wat fo do. If we lissen, we show dat we akamai. An da akamai guys dat know wat fo do erytime, make Jehovah feel real good inside.​—Smart Guys 27:11.