Come Be My Follower - Jehovah's Witnesses Official Media Web Site

“IAM...LOWLYINHEART” 33
that these men were humbly at work years, even decades,
later. What about us?
Will You Follow the Pattern Jesus Set?
20 Paul admonishes each of us: “Keep this mental attitude
in you that was also in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians
2:5) Like Jesus, we need to be lowly in heart. How can
we know whether humility is in our heart? Well, Paul reminds
us that we should be “doing nothing out of contentiousness
or out of egotism, but with lowliness of
mind considering that the others are superior to you.”
(Philippians 2:3) The key, then, lies in the way we view
others in relation to ourselves. We need to see them as
superior, as more important, than we are. Will you apply
that counsel?
21 Many years after Jesus’ death, the apostle Peter was still
thinking about the importance of humility. Peter taught
Christian overseers to carry out their duties humbly, never
lording it over Jehovah’s sheep. (1 Peter 5:2, 3) Responsibility
is no license for pride. On the contrary, responsibility
increases the need for genuine humility. (Luke 12:48)
Of course, this quality is vital not only for overseers but
for every Christian.
22 Peter surely never forgot that night when Jesus had
washed his feet—over Peter’s own objections! (John 13:6-
10) Peter wrote to Christians: “All of you gird yourselves
with lowliness of mind toward one another.” (1 Peter 5:5)
The expression “gird yourselves” suggests the action of a
servant who would gird himself with an apron to carry
out menial work. The phrase might well remind us of the
occasion when Jesus girded himself with a towel before
20. How can we know whether we are lowly in heart?
21, 22. (a) Why do Christian overseers need to be humble? (b) How
can we show that we are girded with humility?