Transcripts: Enjoy Life Forever!

Transcript: God Loves Clean People
[At home in his room a brother stands in front of the mirror fixing his tie, then reaches down to grab his service bag from a chair]
Brother: I graduated high school that summer and wanted to start regular pioneering. That's my dad, Grayson,
[Outside dad closes the hood of his clean red car]
dad was having car trouble that morning and needed a ride to work So I gave him one
[the brother opens the driver's door of his dirt covered blue car then walks to the back and opens the trunk]
Okay, my car was a little messy and smelly
[dad gets in the car and looks around then closes the door and gets black goo on his fingers. The brother closes his trunk]
I mean it was winter and my car is pretty old anyway, so why bother, when I get a new car then I'll keep it clean
[dad looks at the junk in the back seat]
But he was making a big deal out of nothing
[as the brother sits in the driver's seat dad gestures vigorously shaking his head in disgust]
That morning
[with a scowl he points]
was not good.
[The brother starts the car, and they drive away. At home the brother sits at the dinner table]
I thought it was over
[he reads from the Bible]
But later that evening dad brought it up again but this time it went better
[with the Bible dad joins him]
He showed me a picture of his first car. It looked pretty old too.
[He looks at the picture]
He said that while her home or car may not be fancy or luxurious It should be as clean and presentable as circumstances allow. I still didn't see what the big deal was
[he crosses his arms]
Then he explained that Jehovah is a clean guy and from ancient times has always required that his people be a clean people
[He uncrosses his arms]
under the mosaic law that Jehovah gave to Israel cleanness and worship were inseparable
[He imagines the priests washing]
it specified that priests were required to wash their hands and feet before offering sacrifices to Jehovah, while in an unclean state and Israelite could not have any part in worship or it could mean death
[Back to the table]
I said ‘I'm not an Israelite and we're not under the mosaic law anymore’
[dad calmly nods]
He said, “True, but it gives us insight into Jehovah's thinking. The law emphasized that cleanness was required of all those who worshiped him, and as Malachi 3:6 tells us, Jehovah has not changed.”
[Alone in his room, the brother sits on his bed]
Then he said something that really stuck with me.
[He looks around]
Besides, it's not all about us.
[At his desk, he opens the Bible]
Then he gave me a scripture to look up. It was 2 Corinthians 6:3, and 4. ‘And no way are we giving any cause for stumbling so that no fault may be found with our ministry, but in every way, we recommend ourselves as God's ministers.’
[Tilting his head slightly to the side, he gazes down at the Bible, then to the car keys laying on the desk]
I realized that things like our appearance, our homes, and our cars, these can all be a solid witness to Jehovah in themselves. It made sense to me now. It's not all about us. I knew what I had to do.
[He closes his Bible, sits back, then gets up]
Not only did I clean my car, but later that year, I was able to turn in my application for pioneering.
[On a bright sunny day, dad peeks in smiling as the brother vacuums his car]
And I'm glad for the lesson I learned from my dad. It's not all about us.
[In service, a group gets out of his now clean, shiny car]
Even in little ways, we can reflect favorably on the God we love.
(Logo: Black capital letters JW.ORG inside a white box. Copyright 2019 Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania)