Butterflies verses Caterpillars

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Symbol: Butterflies verses Caterpillars

Lesson: Do you promote love of life or hatred?

Illustration: Butterflies pollinate. Caterpillars defoliate. Butterflies spread the element (pollen) that encourages growth for the betterment of the environment. Caterpillars do little more than consume the environment and leave destruction in their wake.

Christ spoke of his followers as being the light of the world. With the “pollen” of our Kingdom message of hope, we encourage appreciation for life both now and into eternity. However, Satan’s world of humans alienated from God demonstrate their hate-filled destruction of not only this beautiful planet, but of all moral restraint. Satan’s entertainment promotes love of death and the “living dead.” Satan’s war machine promotes death and hatred. The news media knows that sensationalism sells. None of Satan’s ways promote life. They are the voracious caterpillars.

Notes: n/a

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Double Sin

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Symbol: Sneaking a Taste

Lesson: If we know some conduct is wrong and do it anyway, our guilt is compounded.

Illustration: A person walks in and immediately smells something delicious cooking. The cook smiles and says it is for dessert after dinner. The observer tries to sneak a taste and gets his hand slapped. "Don't touch that. You'll ruin it," says the cook. Then the cook leaves the room for a moment and the observer takes a second taste. The first taste may have been innocent enough, but now with the second taste, that person is guilty not only of taking something they weren't invited to try but also having completely disregarded the cook.

At Romans 7, we read the following:

8. But sin, finding the opportunity afforded by the commandment, worked out in me covetousness of every sort, for apart from law sin was dead.... 13. Did what is good result in my death? Certainly not! But sin did, that it might be shown to be sin working out death in me through what is good, so that through the commandment sin might become far more sinful.

Having the illustration of the person who snuck a taste in our minds, we can now appreciate at least one reason that the sins we commit are "far more sinful." Not only do we commit the sin, but having been informed that it IS a sin and committing it anyway, we add disobedience and pain God's heart with flagrant disregard for his feelings.

Notes: n/a

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Life Discoveries

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Symbol: Discovery & self-experience

Lesson: Being told the answer verses having “the light turn on” in our brain. The latter is more rewarding.

Illustration: Being at Yosemite and seeing Half Dome for yourself is leaps and bounds more awesome and impressive than seeing a picture of it. Experiencing the grandeur of our beautiful earth cannot be replaced with mere pictures or even videos. 3D / virtual reality devices try to bridge the gap but nothing beats actually being there. The same is true in learning lessons in life – whether it be the elementary learning we have in our school years, professional skills and appreciation of life, or the interpersonal skills we develop throughout our lifetime.

One skill a truly adept teacher has is knowing how to teach a subject (any subject) so that the student gets the thrill of understanding the subject as if they made a personal discovery. However, patience, skill, experience, and time make this form of teaching a rare commodity. Most people would rather just tell the student the answer, without trying to reason with them. Parents can start early by not being so quick to answer their child’s questions but instead helping them discover the answer. Telling the child will make them lazy. Helping the child discover will encourage their curiosity and invigorate their desire to learn. Making the process something the parent and child can do together, strengthens the bond between them. Children that early on learn to love learning will not need so much prodding as they progress through the school system.

But learning doesn’t stop there. Well into our adult life learning can be a rewarding and invigorating experience. Finding peers and/or mentors of the same mind will give a feeling of living a fulfilled life. Enjoy the discovery!

Notes: N/A

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Joy and Gratitude

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Symbol: Finding a dollar verses receiving a Gift

Lesson: Gratitude not felt by atheists and evolutionists

Illustration: If we find a dollar on the street and pick it up, we are likely happy that we found it, but since there was no real giver, we don't express gratitude. But if a friend gives us a gift, now both joy and gratitude are felt. Perhaps atheists and evolutionists can enjoy the beauties of nature to some extent. But those who appreciate nature is a gift from God have more than passing appreciation. The knowledge that our loving Creator made these deepens their love for him and they are grateful.

Notes: N/A

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I Am Strong Enough

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Symbol: Bridges and Dams

Lesson: Don’t say, “I am strong enough” to withstand temptation while intentionally exposing yourself to it.

Illustration: A bridge, that served vehicle traffic 40 years, suddenly collapses killing 13 and injuring many others. Although strong and effective for decades it finally succumb to a design flaw. A dam which served well for over 50 years gives way after heavy rains. Although providing decades of faithful service, being overwhelmed by assaulting elements (in one case) and finally demonstrating flaws in design in the other case, both these icons of strength gave way. Lesson: Never say “I am strong enough” to withstand the moral onslaught of Satan’s world. Although we may indeed stand strong for a long time, if we keep intentionally exposing ourselves to the temptations of Satan’s “elementary things of this world,” just as the rains overran the dam and the design flaws of the bridge gave way, the weaknesses of our imperfect flesh and the flood of Satan's enticements will eventually take their toll on our relationship with Jehovah and we may find our faith catastrophically wrecked.

Notes: N/A

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A True Friend Listens

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Symbol: Chatty Friend

Lesson: True Friends Also Listen

Illustration: Have you ever had a friend that every time you two are together, they dominate the conversation, not giving you the opportunity to say much, if anything, at all? It can be exhausting and eventually you will begin to wonder if you friend isn't a bit self-centered. You may also wonder if they truly value you as a friend or if they are just using you.

The same can be said of our relationship with Jehovah. We may pray frequently, but do we allow him to talk to us through our reading of his word the Bible? This reading should not be a rare occasion like a friend that allows us to interject a thought every so often. Rather, we should view it as children eagerly gathered around the feet of an interesting story teller at the public library. These children want to listen. Likewise, on a daily basis we should sit at the feet of our heavenly Father and "listen" to him as we read the Bible.

Notes: N/A

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Resentment Is Exhausting

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Symbol: Holding rock at arm’s length

Lesson: Holding onto resentment becomes exhausting

Illustration: “Pick up a rock, perhaps one that weighs just a few pounds, and hold it at arm’s length. You would probably have little trouble holding the rick for a short time. But what if you tried to do so for an extended period of time? How long would you be able to hold it—some minutes? An hour? Or longer? No doubt, your arm would become very tired! The actual weight of the rock would not change. But the longer you held it, the heavier it would feel. The same is true of resentment. The longer we hold a grudge—even a rather small one—the more we hurt ourselves.

Notes: For our good, the scriptures rightly exhort us to be forgiving.

This illustration appeared in a "Return to Jehovah," a magazine released at the 2015 District Convention. (page 8)

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