How You Can Help Your Family Member Dem Who Not Jehovah Witness?

1-2. What can be some reason we can’t get good friendship with our family member dem when we start studying the Bible?

JESUS tell one man who wanted to be his follower say: “Go home to your relatives, and tell them all the thing dem Jehovah na do for you.” (Mark 5:19) Jesus say this one because he know da when people hear good news, they can want go tell their family member dem.

² You can remember how you wor feeling when you just start studying the Bible? Maybe you wor really happy and you wanted to tell all your family member dem about the good-good thing dem you wor learning! But maybe your family member dem wor not happy because you studying with Jehovah Witnesses. Or maybe the way you tell your family member dem about what you wor learning make them to get vex with you. If da what happen to you, this article will help you to know what you can do to remain faithful to Jehovah and still get good friendship with your family member dem who not serving Jehovah?

3. Wetin we will talk about in this article?

³ In this article, we will learn four things we can do to get good friendship with our family member dem. (1) If we get sorrowful heart, we will be patient with our family member dem and show them love even if they not want learn about Jehovah. (2) Wetin we mon do when our family member dem say or do something da make us feel bad? (3) How we can be patient with our family member dem and continue to get hope da they will come serve Jehovah in the future? (4) How we can show our family member dem da we love them?

GET SORROWFUL HEART FOR PEOPLE

4. How Jesus treat people who not show interest in his message?

⁴ Jesus not give up on the people who not show interest in his message. He compare hisself to one man who do different-different thing dem to make one fig tree da wor not bearing, to bear fruit. (Luke 13:​6-9) When Jesus give this illustration, he already been trying for more than three years to help the Jews to get faith. Why he not give up on them? Because he wor having sorrowful heart for people, and da what help him to be patient with them.

5. Wetin make Jesus to feel sorry for the Jews?

⁵ Jesus use to feel sorry for the Jews because he knew da the religious leader dem not help them to get real faith in God. Jesus could see da the people wor looking “just like sheep da not get any shepherd.” (Mark 6:34) Just before Jesus die, he even cry when he look at Jerusalem. He knew da plenty of the people living there wor coming die because they wor not putting faith in him and in Jehovah. (Luke 19:​41-44) Da the same way when we feel sorry for our relative dem, it will make us to want help them.

6. Why we mon be patient with our family member dem who not serving Jehovah yet? (Galatians 6:9)

⁶ Read Galatians 6:9. Even if our family member dem not show interest in the truth now-now, we mon be patient with them and not give up in “doing the right thing.” We know da it can take time for people to get strong faith in Jehovah and to stop believing something da they na stay long believing in. Maybe you yourself too use to be like people who “not know God . . . and wor not having any hope”? (Eph. 2:12) But somebody wor patient with you and help you to learn about Jehovah and make change in your life. You not think this one mon make you to also be patient with your family member dem and help them to know Jehovah?

WHEN YOUR FAMILY MEMBER DEM SAY OR DO SOMETHING DA MAKE YOU FEEL BAD

7. Why maybe Jesus brother dem not put faith in him?

⁷ Maybe Jesus brother dem hear about the miracle dem he perform in Galilee. (Luke 4:​14, 22-24) But from the beginning, they not put faith in him. (John 7:5) Why? The Bible not tell us. But the Bible tell us why some Jews not follow Jesus. It say da some of them wor scare da when they put faith in Jesus, their friend dem will treat them bad. (John 9:​18-22) And other people know Jesus from the time he wor small. So it wor hard for them to believe da he wor God Son. (Mark 6:​1-4) Maybe da the same way Jesus brother dem wor thinking. You think da the same thing affecting your family member dem too?

8. Sometime, wetin can make our family member dem to say or do thing dem da can make us to feel bad?

⁸ Think about why they say or do something da make you feel bad. Maybe Jesus brother dem wor among the relative dem who wor saying da Jesus “na get crazy.” (Mark 3:21) Wetin make them to think like da? The other verse dem around this verse show da Jesus wor so busy preaching and healing people, da he wor not even having time to eat. (Mark 3:20) You think this one make Jesus brother dem to think da he not reasonable? It possible. Maybe da the same way our family member dem can be thinking da we taking our God business too serious. If da how they feeling, we mon try to show da we reasonable by what we say and do.

9. Sometime, wetin can help our family member dem to change the way they feel about us? (1 Peter 3:​1, 2) (Also see the pictures.)

⁹ Let your behavior talk for you. When we kind in the way we can talk and act, it can help to change the way our family member dem feel about us. (Read 1 Peter 3:​1, 2.) For example, maybe this sister marry but her husband not serving Jehovah. So when she go to meeting or field service, sometime he can feel lonely or even get vex. But since she not want him to feel like da, she will make her schedule in the way da will give her more time to be with him. For example, maybe she can go field service when her husband busy or he not to the house. When the wife willing to change her schedule to make her husband happy, it can help to change the way he feel about Jehovah Witnesses.

10. How we can follow Jesus example when people criticize us?

¹⁰ Sometime it good to not talk when your family member dem criticize you. When people lie on Jesus and say da he can eat and drink too much, he not get vex or try to prove da they wor lying. But he encourage people to look at his example and see for theirself, whether the thing the people say about him wor true or it wor not true. (Matt. 11:19) The way he live his life also show da he wor balance. (Compare John 2:​2, 6-10.) Like Jesus, when people say bad thing about us, we not always force to defend ourself. But you can show by your example da you reasonable and happy. Then when your family member dem see it, they will know da the bad thing dem they hear about you, not true.

CONTINUE TO BE PATIENT AND GET HOPE

11. How Jesus treat his brother dem?

¹¹ The Bible show da Jesus continue to be patient with his brother dem. For example, when Jesus perform his first miracle in Cana, his brother dem wor there too. (John 2:​11, 12) Still they not put faith in him. But da one not make Jesus to stop going around them. And about three years after Jesus first miracle in Cana, the Bible say da Jesus wor kind when he wor talking to his brother dem.—John 7:​5-8.

12. Wetin can help us to continue to get hope da some of our family member dem will come serve Jehovah?

¹² We understand good-good da Jehovah really merciful. This one can help us to continue to get hope da our family member dem will come serve Jehovah. In fact, when they destroy false religion, our family member dem will remember da we use to tell them about it.a (Rev. 17:16) And maybe, they will join us to serve Jehovah after the great tribulation start. So if our family member dem going through hard time now-now, let try our best to help them. When they see da we really love and care for them, maybe it will help them to want learn more about what the Bible say.

SHOW THEM DA YOU LOVE THEM

13. Even though we busy doing Jehovah work, wetin we mon be careful about?

¹³ Even though we busy doing Jehovah work, we not want make our family member dem to think da we not get time for them or we not love them again. (Matt. 7:12) How we can show da we care for them? Let see some thing dem we can do.

14-15. What one way to show da we love our family member dem who not Jehovah Witness? Give one example.

¹⁴ Always talk with dem and tell them da you love dem. We can show da we love our family member dem by always telling them how we doing. For example, maybe we can send them text message or some fine-fine pictures da we take. We can even give them small gift or write them letter da will make us to get good friendship with them. When we do our best to be kind to our family member dem, it will help them to know da we really love them.

¹⁵ Let see the example of one sister name Anna from Armenia. She and her family use to spend plenty time together, especially when they celebrating birthday and holiday. When Anna become Jehovah Witness, her family member dem start worrying da she will not be spending time with them again. They wor also worry da life will get hard on her. Wetin Anna do to get good friendship with her family member dem? She say: “When I visit my family member dem, I can tell them how my life looking and some of the thing dem I been doing. I can also invite them to my house and show them to my friend dem. Because of da, they know plenty of my friend dem and they can feel free around them. And plenty of them say da I living happy life, and they not worrying about me again.”

16. How Jesus show da he care for his brother James? (Also see the footnote.)

¹⁶ Show them da you care for them. After Jesus come back to life, he show da he really care for his brother James by going to him and talking with him. (1 Cor. 15:7) Just imagine how James wor happy when he get to know da Jesus not give up on him. Maybe da the time James become convince da Jesus wor the Messiah. And after Jesus talk with him, maybe he go tell his other family member dem da Jesus da the Messiah and he help them to believe it too.b—Acts 1:14.

17. How we can apply the advice in Romans 12:15? (Also see the picture.)

¹⁷ Read Romans 12:15. When we show our family member dem da we care for them in good time and in bad time, it can help to change the way they feel about us.c For example, when somebody deliver in the family, we can be happy with them and give them gift to show da we happy for them. When somebody die from them, we can call them or send them text message to comfort them. We can also look for other ways to help them. And we mon not forget to always call them, send them text message, or visit them, especially when they going through hard time.

18. How we can follow Andrew example?

¹⁸ Make them to meet the brothers and sisters in the congregation. When Andrew learn da Jesus wor the Messiah, he go tell his brother Peter to come meet Jesus. (John 1:​40-42) We can do the same thing too. For example, maybe we can invite one of our family member to the meeting or tell them to join us to eat with our friend dem. When the person spend time with other brother and sister dem, he will see da we normal human being just like other people and we kind.

19. How we mon treat our family member dem even if they not really understand why we can’t to do certain things? (1 Peter 3:15)

¹⁹ Read 1 Peter 3:15. Sometime our family member dem will not really understand why we can’t do certain things, but when we kind to them and show them respect, they will always remember it. Even though we can’t celebrate holiday or take part in certain custom with them again, they can be happy when we try to spend time with them on other days. For example, we can try to visit them, eat together, and even give them gifts some other time.

DON’T GIVE UP ON YOUR FAMILY MEMBER DEM

20. Why James example can encourage us?

²⁰ When Jesus wor doing his preaching work on earth, James not become his disciple. But he become Jesus disciple later on and he learn plenty lessons about the thing dem Jesus use to teach when he wor on earth. (Gal. 1:​18, 19; 2:9) For example, James write one letter to Christians. In da letter, he talk about some lesson dem da wor just like what Jesus teach in the Sermon on the Mount.d

21. Why we mon not give up on our family member dem who not Jehovah Witness?

²¹ Even when we try our best to do all the thing dem we talk about in this article, maybe our family member dem will not still be kind to us or they will not want learn more about Jehovah. But why we mon not give up on them? Because anytime we act kind to them, we will be following our merciful God, Jehovah, and his Son Jesus example. (Luke 6:​33, 36) If we continue to show them love, maybe after sometime, they will change the way they feel about us. And maybe they will even remember plenty of the things we use to tell them about Jehovah before. If we not give up on them, we will be happy to see some of our relative dem serving Jehovah with us one day!