“Appreciating Jehovah’s Endearing Personality”
Quality What does it mean?
1) Approachable Readily available, kind, easy to
talk to. It includes our verbal
& non-verbal communication.
2) Empathetic Identify with others’ feelings
(“feeling your pain in my
heart”).
3) Appreciative Recognise the significance or
worth of something or
someone, and show this by
our words or deeds.
4) Generous Give freely of our time,
energy, and resources to
others, prompted by a
genuine desire to help them.
5) Impartial Fairness; freedom from bias or
favouritism. Shown in both
our disposition and our
actions.
6) Forgiving Let go of resentment (don’t
hold on to it). It doesn’t mean
to deny a wrong, condone a
wrong, and/or let others hurt
us or take advantage of us.
7) Reasonable The Bible (Greek) word means
“yielding”, i.e. yielding one’s
personal preferences, being
gentle and considerate, taking
into account the limitations of
others and adapting our own
requirements.
8) Loyal Unbreakable loving-kindness,
devotion, faithfulness.
How did/does Jehovah demonstrate it?
Psalms 145:18 - He’s always ready to hear our
prayers. Psalms 34:15; 63:8; Isaiah 40:11 - He cares
in a non-verbal way.
Psalms 56:8; Isaiah 49:15, 16 – He is attentive and
responsive to our needs. He perfectly understands
our trials and sufferings, and deals compassionately
with us.
1 John 4:9, 10; John 5:28, 29 – The ransom and the
resurrection shows how much He values us.
2 Chronicles 16:9 – He shows His strength in behalf
of those who have a complete heart towards Him.
Psalms 145:9, 16 – He is good to all creatures,
whether they acknowledge it or not. He satisfies our
proper desires and needs. He gives wisdom to all
who ask for it in faith.
John 3:16 – the ransom is the ultimate gift (which
only becomes ours if we reach out and accept it).
Acts 10:30, 31, 34, 35, 44 – He accepts the worship
from people of all nations. He is not “a taker of
faces”, i.e. He doesn’t “judge a book by its cover”.
He makes the truth available to everyone.
Psalms 86:5; 103:12 - He is “ready to forgive” in a
large way. Acts 3:19 - our sins are “blotted out”, i.e.
forgiven completely, when we repent.
Jeremiah 31:34 - our sins “*He+ shall remember no
more”, i.e. we are not accused of it ever again.
Genesis 19:21 – He was willing to accommodate
Lot’s request, consider his feelings, and then yield to
Lot’s plea to flee to a different place.
Leviticus 5:7, 11 – He valued different guilt offerings
from the Israelites equally, because it was their best.
He takes into account our circumstances and
limitations, and graciously accepts our best.
2 Samuel 22:26, Psalms 37:28 – He delights in being
loyal, both in words and actions, to all those loyal to
Him, even in extreme circumstances.
How can we imitate Jehovah?
Give people (e.g. children, fellow Christians) our time and
attention. Even if we’re busy, be adaptable and make
ourselves available to others in their time of need.
Sharpen our sensitivity to others by listening to, observing
and imagining their situation. Ask ourselves: “If I were in
this situation, how would I feel?” Strive to understand
others and look beyond their imperfections.
Reflect appreciatively about others (“flattery is from the
teeth out; sincere appreciation is from the heart out”).
Romans 12:10 - make a concerted effort to show others (e.g.
the elderly, single-parent families, and fatherless children)
just how much they matter to us.
Proverbs 3:9 - Give of ourselves (i.e. our time, energy, and
resources) in our worship of Jehovah, and in helping others.
Be ready to share what we have with others.
Parents can train their children to be generous, and explain
to them the importance of giving to Jehovah. Parents can
also ‘be the people that they want their children to be.’
Extend our hospitality beyond our close friends (“the usual
suspects”). Make our circle of friends flexible enough to
allow other friends in. Help immigrants in our territory to
hear the good news, even in their own language if needed.
Be “ready to forgive” the imperfections of each other.
When others are sorry for a wrong done to us, we can
choose to imitate Jehovah by letting go of the resentment.
Job 42:10 – a sincere prayer in behalf of someone who has
offended us can help us be more forgiving.
Parents may allow for their children’s wishes, without giving
up their authority or ignoring Bible principles.
We can considerately take into account the circumstances of
our fellow Christians (e.g. poor health, advancing age, family
situations etc) and reassure them of our love for them.
However, we don’t become lenient or easy with ourselves,
or slow down beyond what is necessary or wise.
Stay loyal to Jehovah, and to our spouse (remember our
vows to them). Be a true friend, not a fair-weather friend.
Be determined to obey Jehovah, no matter what others do!