Transcripts: Enjoy Life Forever!

Transcript: Why true Christians need courage to maintain neutrality.
[Lessons from the Watchtower. April 2016. Maintain your neutrality in a divided world Matthew 22:21]
[Text: Melice Finato. Regular Pioneer]
Melice: As a professor of finance, I need to be well-informed. As a Christian, I also need to be well-informed, as do all Christians.
[Text: Marinalva Fernandes. Kingdom Publisher]
Marinalva: It’s difficult not to take sides in politics. It’s very difficult because we are aware of the issues.
[Text: Willans Silva. Bethelite]
Willians: I always really liked soccer ever since I was little. I lived in a poor area, and soccer was what we used to do for fun.
Marinalva: There was a journalist that I liked to keep up with. He would point out both the good and the bad on all sides of politics. But when he spoke up and pointed out only the bad side of a political party, I did not like that.
[Reading a newspaper]
Melice: I live in the downtown area of the city. That is where the largest political demonstrations take place. People from this area are really into politics. They have definite opinions. And even though I always knew that we must remain neutral, I secretly approved of the demonstrations.
[Flips through a political magazine]
Willans: On the outside, I wasn’t jumping up and down or cheering,
[Intently watching]
but on the inside, I was saying: ‘Come on! Let’s win!’
[Soccer on TV]
It was all about the desire, the crowd, and the pride of your team having the most victories or the most trophies.
Melice: I used to rationalize saying: I was created in Jehovah’s image, and Jehovah is a just God. What was speaking was my sense of justice. I thought neutrality was shown through actions and not through what I felt.
Willans: The April 2016 Watchtower has interesting information regarding neutrality. Being neutral means that you do not consider yourself better than others because in God’s sight, all people are equal.
Marinalva: After studying the article,
I realized that I needed to make changes; I was not being neutral. So, I read the article again. I prayed to Jehovah; I said to him that I knew it was as if he were speaking to me.
Melice: The magazine really touched me deeply. I remember reading the article at least three times that evening. I was really surprised. I realized how far off I was from what God wanted me to be on the inside.
[Reads on her tablet]
Marinalva: The second situation mentioned in the article had to do with news reports and the media.
[It is wise to limit your intake from media sources that promote a political agenda The Watchtower, April 2016]
The article even suggested that we limit our intake of news that we watch related to politics.
Melice: There was another phrase that really moved me. It said: ‘Even if we don’t march with protesters, might we be with them in spirit?’ Yes! I was with them. Yes! There were several phrases in that article that were written just for me.
[Listening to a comment at the meeting she nods in agreement]
Marinalva: When I cut back watching so many news reports, and I had to, this helped me to have self-control when I spoke to others at work. When workmates mentioned something that was in the news, I didn’t have anything to say since I hadn’t seen it. I didn’t know about it. A workmate would say: Did you see that so-and-so said this and that someone else made a statement? I would say: No, I didn’t see it, and that was the end of the conversation.
Willans: The article mentions Romans 10:12 which says that Jehovah is Lord over all of us, that ‘there is no difference between Jew and Greek.’
[Writes notes on a pad]
To Jehovah, it’s not important if my country has five or six titles or if it won or lost the World Cup. To Jehovah, all people are equal.
Marinalva: I took a piece of paper, just a simple piece of paper, and I wrote on it the four key points that the article talks about —four key points that will help us to remain neutral. I keep it in my purse; that way I can always read it at work.
[She folds a handwritten worn note and tucks it into her purse]
Willans: I like watching soccer; it’s fun. I still watch it on TV. I still play soccer with my friends at Bethel, but I’ve made an effort to change. Little by little, I’ve managed to put soccer in its proper place.
[Skilfully manoeuvres a soccer ball]
This helps me to keep pride and nationalism from getting the best of me.
Melice: I learned from this article not to express opinions about politics. That has to come from deep inside. If I’m convinced that God’s Kingdom is the best solution and that there’s nothing that comes even close, remaining neutral will come naturally. But I can’t let my guard down.
[Reads Bible]
Willans: I really enjoy studying articles from The Watchtower, especially those dealing with practical matters. They help me see the Bible as if it were a mirror that shows me where I can improve.
Marinalva: Following counsel and making the changes suggested in the article has helped me to speak with the conviction that only the Kingdom can solve mankind’s problems.
[In the ministry, Marinalva discusses a tract with a woman]
[Text: What can you apply? What can you do to remain neutral in political issues? Your intake from media sources? Your view of local or national pride?]
(Logo: Black capital letters JW.ORG inside a white box. Copyright 2019 Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania)