Who Is the Most Important Person in Your Life? “You alone are the Most High over all the earth.”—PS. 83:18. PERHAPS the first time you saw Jehovah’s name was when it was shown to you at Psalm 83:18. You may have been surprised to read those words: “That people may know that you, whose name is Jehovah, you alone are the Most High over all the earth.” Since then, you no doubt have used this same scripture to help others come to know our loving God, Jehovah.—Rom. 10:12, 13. 2 Although it is important for people to know Jehovah’s name, such knowledge in itself is not enough. Notice how the psalmist highlights yet another truth essential to our salvation when he says: “You alone are the Most High over all the earth.” Yes, Jehovah is the most important Person in the whole universe. As the Creator of all things, he has the right to expect full submission from all his creatures. (Rev. 4:11) For good reason, then, we need to ask ourselves, ‘Who is the most important person in my life?’ It is vital that we carefully analyze our answer to that question! The Issue in the Garden of Eden 3 The seriousness of this question can be clearly seen in the events that developed back in the garden of Eden. There the rebellious angel who later became known as Satan the Devil enticed the first woman, Eve, to put her own desires ahead of Jehovah’s command not to eat the fruit of a certain tree. (Gen. 2:17; 2 Cor. 11:3) She succumbed to this enticement and thereby showed a lack of respect for Jehovah’s sovereignty. Eve did not acknowledge Jehovah as the most important Person in her life. But how was Satan able to deceive Eve? 4 Satan used several subtle tactics in his conversation with Eve. (Read Genesis 3:1-5.) First, Satan did not use Jehovah’s personal name. He simply spoke of “God.” By contrast, the writer of Genesis used Jehovah’s personal name in the first verse of that chapter. Second, instead of speaking of God’s “command,” Satan merely asked about what God had “said.” (Gen. 2:16) In this subtle way, Satan may have tried to minimize the importance of that command. Third, although speaking only to Eve, he used the plural form of the pronoun “you.” In so doing, he may have tried to appeal to her pride, endeavoring to make her feel important—as if she were the spokesperson for herself and her husband. The result? Eve evidently took it upon herself to speak for both of them by saying to the serpent: “Of the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat.” 5 Satan also distorted the facts. He implied that God was unfair in demanding that Adam and Eve “must not eat from every tree of the garden.” Next, Satan got Eve to think about herself and how she could supposedly improve her lot in life, becoming “like God.” Eventually, he got her to focus on the tree and its fruit rather than on her relationship with the One who had given her everything. (Read Genesis 3:6.) Sadly, by eating of the fruit, Eve showed that Jehovah was not the most important Person in her life. The Issue in Job’s Day 6 Centuries later, the faithful man Job had an opportunity to show who was the most important Person in his life. When Jehovah confronted Satan with Job’s record of integrity, Satan retorted: “Is it for nothing that Job has feared God?” (Read Job 1:7-10.) Satan did not deny that Job was obedient to God. Instead, he questioned Job’s motives. He slyly accused Job of serving Jehovah, not out of love, but out of selfish interest. Only Job could answer that charge, and he was given the opportunity to do so. 7 Jehovah allowed Satan to bring a series of disasters upon Job, one after the other. (Job 1:12-19) How did Job react to this reversal of circumstances? We are told that he “did not sin or ascribe anything improper to God.” (Job 1:22) But Satan was still not silenced. He further complained: “Skin in behalf of skin, and everything that a man has he will give in behalf of his soul.”* (Job 2:4) Satan alleged that if Job personally suffered, he would decide that Jehovah was not the most important Person in his life. 8 Job was disfigured by a disgusting disease and then pressured by his wife to curse God and die. Later, three false comforters accused him of misconduct. (Job 2:11-13; 8:2-6; 22:2, 3) However, through all this suffering, Job refused to give up his integrity. (Read Job 2:9, 10.) He showed by his faithful endurance that Jehovah was the most important Person in his life. Job also demonstrated that it is possible for an imperfect human to answer, although in a limited way, the false accusations of the Devil.—Compare Proverbs 27:11. Jesus’ Perfect Answer 9 Shortly after Jesus’ baptism, Satan tried to entice Jesus to pursue selfish desires rather than to keep Jehovah as the most important Person in his life. The Devil presented Jesus with three temptations. First, he tried to appeal to fleshly desire, tempting Jesus to turn stones into bread. (Matt. 4:2, 3) Jesus had just fasted for 40 days and was very hungry. So the Devil urged him to misuse his miraculous powers to satisfy his hunger. How did Jesus react? Unlike Eve, Jesus focused on Jehovah’s Word and immediately rejected the temptation.—Read Matthew 4:4. 10 Satan also tried to goad Jesus into reacting selfishly. He dared Jesus to hurl himself off the battlement of the temple. (Matt. 4:5, 6) What was Satan hoping to accomplish? Satan alleged that if Jesus was not injured by the fall, it would prove that he was “a son of God.” Obviously, the Devil wanted Jesus to be overly concerned about his own reputation, even to the point of making a showy display. Satan knew that a person might accept a dangerous dare because of pride and a desire not to lose face in front of others. Satan misapplied a scripture, but Jesus showed that He had a complete understanding of Jehovah’s Word. (Read Matthew 4:7.) By rejecting that dare, Jesus again proved that Jehovah was the most important Person in his life. 11 In his last desperate attempt, Satan offered Jesus all the kingdoms of the world. (Matt. 4:8, 9) Jesus immediately refused the offer. He realized that accepting it would be tantamount to rejecting Jehovah’s sovereignty—God’s very right to be the Most High. (Read Matthew 4:10.) In each case, Jesus answered Satan by quoting scriptures that contained Jehovah’s personal name
Posted on: Tue, 11 Jun 2013 04:34:17 +0000
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