A Problem and a Solution

 

Edward Aljian: A Problem and a Solution

Well, you brothers and sisters from the 155th class of Gilead are not only about to graduate but will soon be heading toward your assignments, which we know you’ll enjoy. But life being what it is, you know that problems occasionally arise.

And one problem you might personally encounter somewhere down the road is difficulty understanding an adjustment to an organizational or theocratic arrangement. It could be a change in our preaching methods, or in congregation operations, or in branch procedures, or something like that.

Now, normally we appreciate these organizational refinements in harmony with Isaiah 60:17. And yet our publications and even the Bible itself acknowledge that at some point any one of us might find it hard to make that transition from the way we had been doing something to the way we’re now instructed to do it.

Now, why would we find it difficult? Because it affects us personally? It changes where we serve or what we do? Maybe that. Maybe not that. Maybe it’s just that mentally we’re finding it hard to grasp the sense behind the change. We’re loyal; we’re going to cooperate. But our brain keeps saying: ‘Why are we going in this direction? It seems to me we should be going in that direction instead.’

Well, if we have been given new direction and mentally we’re strongly inclined otherwise, then we have a problem, but we also have a solution. And that’s in Philippians chapter 3. Can we go there?

Now, here Paul discusses a problem that existed back there in some congregations. Now, was it a big problem in Philippi? Apparently not. But anticipating that it might be a problem for some individuals there, Paul addresses it right here at Philippians 3:15, 16. He says: “Therefore, let those of us who are mature be of this mental attitude, and if you are mentally inclined otherwise in any respect, God will reveal the above attitude to you. At any rate, to the extent we’ve made progress, let us go on walking orderly in this same course.”

What is Paul talking about? A major organizational adjustment—the shift from the Mosaic Law to Christianity. And Paul, for one, understood it. He was not mentally inclined otherwise. He left behind his attachment to the Law; any personal advantages that it was bringing him, maybe along the lines of prominence, prestige among the Jews. He left it all behind. That was Paul.

But it took some Jewish Christians years to grow to the point where they could leave that Law behind and fully adopt all aspects of Christianity. Why did it take them so long? Now, it’s easy for us to say: “Well, they were stubborn. They had a bad attitude.” And some of them did. There were some, for example, who wanted to hold on to parts of the Law just to avoid persecution. So you had things like that going on.

But think also of this: Prior to Christianity, the Mosaic Law was Jehovah’s arrangement for worship. So there must have been some Jewish worshippers who before becoming Christian were very loyal to the Mosaic Law. And being of the loyal sort, what do you think they did? Just obey the Law? No. They’d have taken it further. They’d have worked hard to cultivate a strong appreciation for the Law—a deep love for the way different features of the Law reflected Jehovah’s personality, his ways, his thinking.

Perhaps some invested years bringing their appreciation up to that high level. And now that they had, the Law suddenly goes out of effect. Now you can appreciate why it might have been hard for some loyal ones to process this change mentally.

Could something like that happen today? Yes, it could. Maybe you’re taught years ago, “This is how we preach, and this is why,” right? Or “This is how the congregation handles certain situations, and this is why.” Or “This is how we view certain branch procedures, and this is why it is the very best way.”

Now, being of the loyal sort, what did you do? You made it all your own—not just the arrangement itself but the reasoning behind the arrangement. If somebody came along and challenged it, you loyally defended it. And maybe it took you years to bring your appreciation up to that high level, but loyally you did.

And now that you did, the arrangement changes and maybe even the reasoning behind the arrangement. Well, like some of those early Jewish Christians, your very loyalty to a previous theocratic arrangement might make it hard to grasp immediately the wisdom behind the new adjustment.

Well, like we said, that’s the problem. What’s the solution? What can we actually do about it? Well, three things, and all three are right there in the verses we just read.

First, be patient. What did Paul say there in verse 15? “Therefore, let those of us who are mature be of this mental attitude, and if you are mentally inclined otherwise… God will reveal the above attitude to you.” So if you’ve made an earnest endeavor, a prayerful endeavor, to get the sense behind the change and for now you just can’t, set it aside. Be patient because the day will come (maybe sooner but maybe later) when the pieces finally fall into place for you and you grasp the wisdom behind the adjustment.

Now number two: Walk orderly. What does that mean? The study note for verse 16 explains that walking orderly has to do with moving forward unitedly as Christians. So in the context of what we’re talking about right now, walking orderly means supporting the new arrangement without resisting, without complaining, because what does complaining and resisting do? It’s walking disorderly. It’s promoting disunity.

So no, we walk orderly; we support the arrangement. Now, number three: Stay busy in your theocratic routine, because there in verse 16, Paul encourages all of the Philippians to keep making “progress.”

Now, the same is true of all of us. Certainly, there are many aspects of the truth that we do appreciate, we do understand, and we’re making progress. Good. Put your mind and heart there, right? Rather than continuing to obsess over something that you just can’t understand for now, stay busy in your assignment and stay absorbed in your weekly spiritual routine. It brings immediate contentment.

Let’s review. If we ever have a problem understanding an adjustment to a theocratic arrangement, we also have a solution: Philippians 3:15, 16. Be patient, walk orderly, and stay busy in our theocratic routine.

Now, I would like to conclude by illustrating that last point—the value of staying busy in our theocratic routine because it is the solution not just to what we’re talking about right now but it is the solution to several situations in life.

Now, the illustration is one that I heard several years ago at a Gilead graduation program. How about that? One of your instructors told us about the old steamboats that used coal for fuel, right? So upstairs you had the captain and the crew. Downstairs you have these men busy shoveling coal into the ship’s boiler, right?

Now, imagine one of these workers puts his shovel down and he approaches a coworker and says: “Hey, did I just detect the ship starting to make a left turn? That does not seem right to me. It seems that at this point of the trip, we should be moving straight forward, not changing direction. I wonder if the captain really knows what he’s doing. You know what? I’m going to go upstairs and have a word with the captain.”

Now, at this point, the speaker stopped describing the scene. He just leaned forward close to the microphone, and he simply said, “Shovel the coal.”

Well, that’s you and me, right? That’s you and me—we are shoveling the coal. We’re busy doing the work Jehovah assigned us to do. That’s what we’re absorbed in. We let Jehovah take care of Isaiah 60:17—‘the copper, the gold, the silver.’ We take care of the coal by staying absorbed and busy in our theocratic routine.

And then as Jehovah navigates his organization, he’ll also navigate us to the right attitude, to contentment, and to that most wonderful adjustment of all—from this system to life in the new world.

https://www.jw.org/en/library/videos/#en/mediaitems/VODPgmEvtGilead/pub-jwb-113_6_VIDEO