A brother who qualifies as an elder is not a newly converted man. Although you do not have to be baptized for many years, you do need time to become a mature Christian. Before you are appointed as an elder, you must demonstrate that, like Jesus, you are humble and are content to wait on Jehovah for any assignment. (Matt. 20:23; Phil. 2:5-8) You can prove that you are loyal by sticking to Jehovah and his righteous standards and by following the direction given through his organization. The Scriptures clearly state that overseers must be qualified to teach. Does this mean that you must be an excellent public speaker? No. Many well-qualified elders, though not the best public speakers, teach effectively in the ministry and on shepherding calls. w24.11 23-24 ¶14-15

When you find a passage in the Bible that you do not fully understand, do research. Then throughout the day, meditate on what you have discovered and what it tells you about Jehovah, his Son, and their love for you. (Ps. 119:97, ftn.) Do not be discouraged if you do not find something new or exciting every time you sit down to read or to do research. In a sense, you are like a person who pans for gold. Patiently, prospectors spend hours or days before finding even the smallest nugget of gold. Yet, they persist because every bit of gold is valuable to them. Of how much greater value is every gem of Bible truth! (Prov. 8:10) So be patient and stick to your Bible reading schedule.​—Ps. 1:2. w25.01 25 ¶14-15

Jehovah expects us to be ready to forgive those who hurt us. (Ps. 86:5; Luke 17:4; Eph. 4:32) We may be deeply hurt because of what someone says or does to us, especially if that person is a close friend or family member. (Ps. 55:12-14) At times, the emotional pain we suffer can be likened to being stabbed. (Prov. 12:18) We may try to suppress or ignore our hurt feelings. But doing so might be like getting stabbed and then leaving the knife in the wound. Similarly, we cannot expect our hurt feelings to get better if we simply ignore them. When someone offends us, our initial reaction may be to get angry. The Bible acknowledges that we may become wrathful. However, it warns against allowing that emotion to dominate us. (Ps. 4:4; Eph. 4:26) Why? Because anger seldom leads to good results. (Jas. 1:20) Remember, getting angry is a reaction, but remaining angry is a choice. w25.02 15 ¶4-6