1-2. Sometime, why the decision we make, will be different from other people own?

 SOMEBODY na criticize you before because of certain decision you make? Or you na criticize somebody before because of certain decision they make? We sure da plenty of us will say yes to this two question dem.

² We mon not be surprise da our decision can be different from the decision our brother and sister dem will make. Why? Because we different-different. Each of us can think about things different-different way. Sometime, we can think certain way because of our culture, our family background, and the thing dem da happen to us in life. But even though we can’t think the same way, we mon not allow da one to make our friendship with our brother and sister dem to get weak.—Eph. 4:3.

3. Sometime, wetin we can want do when we not agree with certain decision our brother or sister make?

³ When our brother or sister make certain decision da we not agree with, sometime we can want convince them to change their mind. Or we can want tell other people da the brother or sister na make decision da not good for him. Da true, we just want help the person because we love them and we want them to be happy. (Prov. 17:17) So we can’t want them to make any decision da they will regret later on or da will spoil their friendship with Jehovah.

4-5. Wetin we mon do if our brother or sister decide to do something da different from what we will want do?

⁴ You think we mon go talk with our brother if we not agree with his decision? Sometime we can do it but sometime we not  suppose to do it. For example, if we know da the brother thinking about doing something da will spoil Jehovah law, then we will try to correct him because we love him. (Prov. 27:​5, 6) But wetin we mon do if the brother decide to do something da not against the Bible but we not just agree with his decision? The Bible give us this answer: We “mon not judge somebody just because they get different ideas.”—Rom. 14:1.

⁵ But sometime it can still be hard to just accept the person decision. In this article, we will talk about why we mon respect other people decision and how we can do it. But first, let look at some example dem da can make us to criticize other people when they make decision.

WHY WE CAN WANT CRITICIZE OTHER PEOPLE DECISION SOMETIME?

6-7. Give example da can make us to criticize other people decision.

⁶ From the beginning, we talk about how we can make decision sometime base on our background or the thing dem da happen to us in life before. And sometime we can feel da everybody mon think the same way we thinking. But it can’t always be like da. Let look at some example dem. Example 1: Before one brother learn the truth, he grow up with his pa who wor drunkard. Now, he go for one get-together with some brother and sister dem and he see dem drinking liquor. It making him to feel bad and he tell them da what they doing, it wrong. Example 2: One sister get alright from some kindna serious sickness. Later on, she hear da one other sister get the same sickness she wor having. The sister who wor having this sickness first, want help the other sister. So she start forcing her friend to take the same treatment she take. Maybe she say her friend mon take certain kindna medicine or eat certain kindna food. Example 3: One brother wor member of false religion before. After he learn the truth, he not want get anything to do with false religion again. Then he hear da one brother or sister attend funeral service in one church. It really make him to feel bad. a

⁷ Let look at some more example. Example 4: One brother grow up during the time plenty people use to feel da it wrong for men to keep beard or for women to wear free cloth trousers to meeting, assembly and field service. The brother know da the faithful slave give new direction da it not wrong for brothers to keep beard or for sisters to wear free cloth trousers to meetings, assembly or field service. But he continue telling everybody da it not correct to do it. Example 5: One elder know one brother who go to university and leave the truth later on. Now one young brother in this elder congregation decide to go to university. The elder start worrying about the young brother so he decide to convince the young brother and his parents to change their mind.

8. (a) Wetin can make some parents to criticize other parents? (b) When we start criticizing other people, how it can affect the congregation?

⁸ Yeh one example here for parents. Example 6: You doing your best to help your children to love Jehovah and make him happy. (Eph. 6:4) But other Christian parents can just allow their children dem to do what they want. For example, they can allow their children to stay out late, to play video games da not get violence, or to get their own phone  even though they still small. Because of da, your own of children dem can feel da you too hot on them. Maybe they will start asking you, “Why you can’t be like my friend dem parents?” If you not careful, it will make you to start criticizing the other parents. To talk the truth, when other people make decision da we not agree with, sometime it can make us to feel bad about them. For example, maybe we will not agree with the way they can use their money, how they can enjoy theirself or even the way they build their house. But we mon not allow the way we feel to be important to us more than the unity we enjoying in the congregation.

9. Why we mon not criticize other people when they make decision da different from our own? (Also see the picture.)

⁹ Even though each of us can make different-different decision about certain thing, it not always mean da one person right and the other person wrong. (Rom. 14:5) When the Bible say da Christians mon “think the same way,” it mean da all of us mon follow Jehovah laws. But it not mean da we mon think the same way about everything. (2 Cor. 13:11) For example, when somebody going somewhere, they get different-different road to take. But all this road dem going to the same place. The person can take the road da alright for them. Da just how the decision dem each person can make about certain thing looking. All of us can make different-different decision about certain thing, but we mon remember one thing: And da for us to make Jehovah happy. So we mon not criticize other people when they make decision da different from our own.—Matt. 7:1; 1 Thess. 4:11.

WHY WE MON RESPECT OTHER PEOPLE DECISIONS?

10. According to James 4:​12, wetin we not get the right to do, and why?

¹⁰ The Bible give us some reason dem why we mon respect other people decision even if it different from our own. Let talk about some of them. We not get the right to tell other people to do something da the Bible not say we mon do or we mon not do. (Read James 4:12.) Da only Jehovah get the right to tell us what to do and what to not do. So our brother and sister dem will answer to Jehovah for the decision dem they make, and not to us. (Rom. 14:10) We not get the right to judge or criticize other people decisions just because they not do it the way we want them to do it. b

11. How we can help for the unity in the congregation to continue? (Also see the picture.)

 ¹¹ Jehovah want for those who serving him to be united. But he not want them to be exactly the same way. In fact, Jehovah like the way everything different-different! We can see it from the thing dem he make. For example, two leaves on the same tree can be different from each other. And just think about human being. Even though we more than eight billion people on earth, no two human being can think and act exactly the same way. Jehovah make us to be different from each other. He not want us to be photocopy for each other. But he want for us to be united. So because we want peace, we will not get vex when other people make decision da different from our own. The unity in the congregation mon be more important to us pass our own feeling and idea.—Rom. 14:19.

HOW WE CAN RESPECT OTHER PEOPLE DECISION?

12-13. Wetin we mon remember if we feel da somebody na “make mistake”? (Galatians 6:1; also see the box “ When You Not Agree With Other People Idea.”)

¹² When somebody make decision about certain thing. Ask yourself, ‘This person coming do something da the Bible say it wrong? Or they just decide to do it different way? If the person doing something da the Bible say it wrong, ask yourself, ‘I qualify to help the person or somebody else qualify to do it?’ If you qualify to do it, try to be kind when you doing it. (Read Galatians 6:1.) But most of the time, the person can’t be doing anything wrong, they just doing it different from the  way we will do it. If da how it looking, don’t talk bad about the decision the person make or don’t criticize them. Respect the person right to make their own decision, and don’t judge them.—Rom. 14:​2-4.

¹³ Think about this example: If you and your friend go to the cookshop, you think you will want force the person to call for the same soup you call for? No. You will respect his right to choose his own soup. Even if you not like the soup he choose, it will not do anything to you because da not you eating it. And if da wor you, you will not want for your friend to choose soup for you da you not like. Da the same way we mon respect other people by allowing them to make their own decision instead of forcing our idea on them.

14. When you making decision, how you can show da you want for the unity in the congregation to continue? (1 Corinthians 8:​12, 13)

¹⁴ When you make decision about certain thing. You can help the congregation to continue to be united by doing your best to not make other people feel bad. (Read 1 Corinthians 8:​12, 13.) Sometime, you can know da nothing wrong with the decision you want make. But you think da the best thing to do if da decision will make your brother or sister to feel bad? c (1 Cor. 10:​23, 24) In this kindna situation, it not good to only think about what we like, but it also good to think about how other people feel about it. (Rom. 15:1) But ehn we just come from talking about how other people mon respect us when we make decision da different from their own? Yes. They mon respect our decision the same way we mon respect their own. But we mon also remember this Bible advice in Romans 12:18. It say: “Do what you able to do to be in peace with everybody.” So we mon try our best to be in peace with other people and avoid doing anything da will make them to feel bad.

15. How elder dem can help for the unity in the congregation to continue? (1 Corinthians 4:6)

¹⁵ Elder dem mon also show respect for the decision dem other people will make. Elders can help the congregation to be united by not making law about thing dem each person suppose  to make their own decision on. And they mon try to “only follow the thing dem they write in the Scriptures.” (Read 1 Corinthians 4:6.) This one also mean da the elder dem mon not say thing dem da not in line with what our publication say. Apart from da one, when somebody ask any elder for advice, the elder mon be careful to not give the advice base on his own idea. But he mon use the Bible to give advice.—Isa. 48:​17, 18.

16. How the elder dem can also show respect for the decision dem they can make together as group?

¹⁶ The elder dem mon also show respect for the decision they make together as group. The elder dem can pray for holy spirit and take their own time to make research on what the Bible say about certain thing before they can make decision together. So each elder mon support the decision of da group even if he get different idea about da thing. (Eph. 5:17) Beside da one, the elder dem mon also try their best to follow any direction they get from the Bible and our publication dem instead of fighting for it to agree with their own idea. For example, no elder mon just take one sentence from any article in our publication to support his idea without reading the whole article.

17. How we will benefit when we respect other people decision?

¹⁷ We na learn da we different from each other. Each of us get different-different idea and we like different-different things. And da good thing! Because we come from different-different background and we get different-different qualities, it can make the congregation to be good and we can enjoy it. So instead of allowing the way we feel about certain thing to cause problem, we mon respect each other decision. Like da, we will help for the peace and unity in the congregation to continue.— Ps. 133:1; Matt. 5:9.