Principles and Laws

Cultivate the habit of early rising. It is unwise to keep the head long on a level with the feet.
Henry David Thoreau

That quote had nothing to do with what I'm going to write about today, but I thought it was something to think about anyway.

Last night was the pioneer meeting with the elders. The topic was Law vs. Principles and we considered a few areas related-Applying Bible Principles in Your Personal Life and Ministry, the Difference between Principles and Laws, Applying Bible Principles in All Aspects of Life (which include having contentment, endurance, using our time wisely, and maintaining good health),and finally we talked about Teaching Your Bible Student to Recognize and Apply Bible Principles.
The points from this last section are what I wanted to share:

First off we understand that when all is said and done, we have to make our own decisions in life and we are accountable for those decisions( Galatians 6:5) When teaching a student, we want them to love what they are learning because this in turn will motivate them to act wisely and come to love Jehovah deeply.

But say a student comes to us with a problem. The answer, to us, is obvious! How should we respond? With an immediate answer to their situation? A personal opinion? Of course not! Doing so could be crippling to them. They would be seeking to follow our direction rather than seeking to please Jehovah if we rely on our own opinion (Galatians 1:10). Rather we want to teach them to rely on Jehovah for answers to their troubles. Hence we need to help train them in their powers of perception (Hebrews 5:14). Being that Jehovah's word is alive and exerts power, the best way to answer a question or help a situation is to search His Word for the principle that would help the student make a good decision.

We might consider practicing with our student. Give them hypothetical situations and help them to reason on scriptures and answer using scriptural principles found in the Bible.

The best way to help a student make wise decisions is to first and foremost direct them to the Bible and also to make sure we are setting a fine example in how we make our life decisions.

The meeting concluded with one of my favorite scriptures, Proverbs 10:22, "The blessings of Jehovah-that is what makes rich and he adds no pain with it."

So keep up all your hard work my beloved friends and family! I'm so proud to hear of all the efforts you expend and the great lengths you go to, in declaring Jehovah's message!