Transcripts: Enjoy Life Forever!

Transcript: Holidays and Celebrations That Displease God
[In front of a large brick school, a young boy in a puffy blue coat solemnly looks at the ground before climbing into the back seat of his mom's car. Cheerfully, she turns around to greet him]
Mom: Hey, Buddy! How was school?
[Looking dejected, he slightly drops his head]
Aiden: That’s my dad, Grayson, and my older brother, Dylan.
[Arriving home, Aiden sets down his coat]
Dylan: Hey, Bro! We’re going to play ball. You want to come?
Aiden: No thanks.
[Concerned, dad looks at mom]
Dad: Is he OK?
Mom: He normally loves to talk about school. He didn’t want to talk about school today.
[In his room, Aiden lies on his bed with crossed arms]
Aiden: It wasn’t my worst day at school but pretty close.
[Remembers in the classroom]
It all started first thing this morning.
[Kids gather around teachers’ desk]
Everyone was signing a birthday card for one of our classmates, Lucas.
Teacher: Do you want to sign the birthday card for Lucas?
Aiden: He just got home from being at the hospital for cancer treatments. No thanks. I’m a Jehovah’s Witness, and I don’t celebrate birthdays.
Classmates: What? Hum? That’s rude. Come on, sign it!
Teacher: You guys, you guys, Aiden
Aiden: My teacher said that Lucas may not come back to school for a long time.
[His eyes wide]
I felt so bad he was sick.
[Imagines Lucas at the hospital grimacing as he receives an IV in his forearm]
Teacher: Aiden, Aiden, can you think about it?
[Hopeful, the teacher hands Aiden the large, decorated birthday card. Now, back on his bed]
The thing is, I did want to sign the card.
[He pulls the card out of his backpack and stares at it]
Lucas was one of the nicest people in my class.
[It displays the number 8 on a birthday cake]
Maybe I can just sign it.
[Takes a pencil from his backpack]
I mean, it’s not like I’m going to a birthday party.
[Biting his lip, he puts the pencil to the paper, then quickly tucks it behind his pillow]
Dad: Hey, little man. How are you doing?
[Shrugging, he folds his hands]
Yeah? Mom said you had a rough day today.
Aiden: When Dad came in, I told him everything that happened.
[Dad sits on the bed next to Aiden]
I know from the Bible that it’s wrong to celebrate birthdays. But is signing the card really a big deal?
[He shows dad the card]
Dad said my question was a good one.
[Aiden nods at dad]
Then he showed me a scripture.
Dad: Do you want to get your Bible for me? Let’s look in Ephesians 5. Aiden: Ephesians 5:10: Keep on making sure of what is acceptable to the Lord. He said, “We all have to keep making sure of what’s acceptable to Jehovah because Satan is a master at tricking us.” Then he used the example of Aaron.
[Imagines a group of frustrated Israelites surrounding Aaron]
The Israelites asked Aaron to make them a god.
[Aaron then stands before a bowl where Israelites drop in articles of gold]
So, Aaron made a golden calf, thinking that it could represent Jehovah.
[They dance around the calf]
He told the people: There is a festival to Jehovah tomorrow. But true worship was being mixed with false worship,
[Moses sternly approaches Aaron]
and Jehovah was not happy.
[Moses glares as Aaron explains]
And many were punished.
[Distressed, Aaron pinches the bridge of his nose]
That example helped me a lot.
[Aiden contemplates]
I know birthdays are wrong because the Bible teaches that they are not approved by Jehovah.
[Smiling, dad explains]
But we don’t want to be confused like Aaron and try to mix true and false worship.
Dad: All right, let’s go talk to Mom.
Aiden: We want to make Jehovah happy.
[In the classroom after the other kids leave]
So, Dad said, “It’s always good to ask,
[Aiden approaches his teacher]
How would Jehovah feel if I did this? I still didn’t sign the card, but I’m going to do something else for Lucas.
[Slightly smiling and nodding, she glances at the card and drops it on her desk. Later, Aiden and his parents are shown greeting Lucas’ mother at her house. Aiden’s mom holds a covered dish. They are welcomed inside. Looking tired, Lucas’ mother speaks to them. Grayson gives Aiden and encouraging wink]
Can I go see Lucas?
Lucas’ mom: Yeah. Go ahead, Buddy. He’s right over there.
[Aiden enters Lucas room. Pale and fatigued, Lucas slowly sits up in his blue and tan stripped bed]
Aiden: How have you been feeling?”
Lucas: A little better.
Aiden: And then I realized something: Instead of celebrating one day, I could share with Lucas our hope of living forever on a beautiful paradise earth. So, there will be no sickness ever again. They will build houses and have food.
[From his backpack, Aiden removes the learned from the great teacher book and points to pictures of paradise. Lucas intently looks at Aiden's face and nods]
(Logo: Black capital letters JW.ORG inside a white box. Copyright 2017 Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania)