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Well, have you ever been to a place
that just fills you
with that peaceful, that tranquil, feeling
—maybe it’s the beach
(looking at the sunset,
listening to the waves crash on the seashore)
or maybe it’s there in the mountains
(where you’re just looking
at the majesty of them)?
It fills you with awe;
it fills us with wonder.
Now, moments like these
—they stick with us, don’t they?
You see, we never get tired of the view;
we never get tired of the feeling
that we get from the view.
Now, taking time to notice
the beauty around us
—it can have a powerful effect on us,
a positive effect.
But the issue is
life just moves so quickly
that it’s easy to forget to stop
to appreciate our surroundings.
Now, for you graduating students,
the past five months have just flown by,
haven’t they?
And if you had any aspirations
of the next stage slowing down,
well, it’s not likely.
So appreciate the surroundings
—it might be the last thing
on your mind right now.
But, really, it’s good for us.
And it’s also good for others
because we are surrounded
by more than just natural beauty
that we need to take time to appreciate.
You see, there is another view
that is worth stopping for,
and that is to stop
and appreciate the people around us.
You see, when we truly take time
to see, to appreciate, others,
we’re imitating our God, Jehovah.
Notice how that’s made clear
in Zephaniah.
In Zephaniah chapter 3,
notice verse 17.
It says: “Jehovah your God is in your midst.
“As a mighty One, he will save.
“He will exult over you with great joy.
“He will become silent in his love.
He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy.”
Really, it’s an amazing thing to think
that we can make Jehovah,
the Sovereign of the universe,
feel this way
—to rejoice.
Now, Jehovah—
This scripture is talking about how he feels
when he takes time to stop
and take in the view
of his faithful servants.
You see,
he observes each and every one of us.
And what does he see?
He sees our faithfulness,
he sees our loyalty,
he sees our sacrifices to him.
And as the scripture mentions,
‘He rejoices over us’ because of that.
But, really, it gets deeper than that.
Did you notice it says
that “he will become silent in his love.”
That’s kind of an odd term.
What does it mean?
Well, the footnote helps us to understand:
“quiet; at ease; satisfied.”
So think back to that time
on the beach or in the mountains
and the peaceful feeling that you had there,
the calm that you felt.
You see, that’s how Jehovah feels
when he views
each one of his faithful servants.
But, you see, he only has that feeling
because he takes time to stop
and appreciate his loyal ones
—to enjoy the view.
So how can we imitate Jehovah in this regard?
Well, there are two ways
—our view of others
and our view of ourselves.
So let’s just stop
and see how we can enjoy the view
by imitating Jehovah,
by looking at the good in those around us.
Now, every day we are surrounded
by our brothers and sisters
who have some beautiful qualities.
Their examples can refresh us;
they can energize us.
They have a positive effect on us.
But that’s only going to be the case
if we take time to stop
to recognize their qualities,
to acknowledge them.
But it’s easy to get wrapped up
in our assignments
and our own problems in life
to where we don’t do that.
Or maybe we focus
on our initial assessment of the individual,
their negative qualities.
They’re hard to work with,
maybe they’re a little sensitive,
or maybe they’re slow
about accomplishing a task.
Now, it’s easy for this to become
our default reaction
in these cases in dealing with others.
But, really, focusing on the deficiencies
doesn’t do anything
but sap us of our strength.
Proverbs 15:15 says:
“All the days of the afflicted one are bad.”
Well, the point:
If we dwell
on the shortcomings of others only,
we’re going to feel afflicted.
We’re going to feel that each day is bad.
You see, it’s like a dense fog
that clouds our view
of others’ beautiful qualities.
So we need to cut through the fog.
We need to focus on the good
in those around us.
So, what qualities do we see in them
that we want to imitate
or that we want to strengthen in ourselves?
Or how has the person shown themselves
to be loyal or to be obedient?
Or how have they endured through adversity?
But also pay special attention
to not just where a person
seems to be right now.
But where did they come from?
What is the progress that they have made?
How far have they come?
You see, when we do this,
it helps us not to view the person
as an irritation
or a problem
or an obstacle to getting the work done.
But we see their good qualities,
how their strengths
can actually accelerate the work.
You see, we’re investing in the person.
And when we invest,
we bring out their best.
So take time to appreciate the view.
Look for the good qualities in others.
It’ll make us a more approachable overseer,
a better workmate,
a better husband, a better wife.
And we’re more likely
to have that satisfied feeling.
But often when we see a beautiful view,
we don’t want to just keep it to ourselves.
No.
We want to share it with others, right?
And the same is true when we see
the beautiful qualities
of our brothers and sisters;
we can share those qualities.
We can commend them.
We can talk well about them to others.
Now, commendation is a very powerful tool.
Notice how Proverbs brings this out
in Proverbs chapter 16,
and notice verse 24.
It says here:
“Pleasant sayings [or, commendation]
“are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul
and a healing to the bones.”
So honey—it can refresh a person,
it can energize a person.
So likewise,
our words can refresh, can energize,
can uplift our brothers and sisters.
But it also mentions
that it has curative properties.
So just like honey,
our words of commendation can heal others,
those injured by the pressures
of this system of things
or maybe those who struggle
with feelings of inadequacy.
Commendation builds up.
It builds confidence in others,
it motivates ones, it encourages them,
and it builds
a sense of camaraderie around us.
But also looking for areas
that we can commend others
helps us to be observant to the good in them.
So, really, we’re enjoying the view.
But then when we talk about what we see
—the good that we see in others—
to those around us,
we help others to do the same.
Now, the view of others
isn’t the only view
that can have an effect on us for good.
We need to have
a proper view of ourselves
if we’re going to be effective
in our assignments.
And that takes us to our second point.
Now, for various reasons, some of us
may have a low estimation of ourselves.
Maybe it started from childhood,
or maybe we struggle with feelings of guilt
because of past mistakes.
Or it could be
just the weight of responsibility
causes us to have these feelings
of inadequacy or doubt.
‘Will I be able to handle
increased responsibility effectively?
Will I be able to live up to expectations?’
Now, your Gilead training
—it helps you to deal with those feelings.
But it’s very possible
that these feelings return
when things aren’t going smoothly
or maybe when we missed the mark
in our assignments.
Now, in cases like this,
Satan would love for us
to look at ourselves through his lens
—to feel inadequate, unworthy, unlovable.
And when we feel that way,
well, we’re in a dangerous place.
He has us right where he wants us,
because remember Proverbs 24:10.
It tells us that when we are discouraged,
well, our strength is meager.
So, instead, we want to be reminded
of what’s at Psalm 5
—Psalm 5 and notice verse 12.
It says: “For you will bless
anyone righteous, O Jehovah;
you will surround them with approval
as with a large shield.”
So, really, we learn two things
from this scripture here.
It says Jehovah
“will bless anyone righteous.”
So Jehovah’s blessing
—it’s not based on perfection.
Sometimes we hold ourselves
at a level, or a standard,
that we cannot meet
and that Jehovah does not expect us to meet.
No, Jehovah doesn’t expect perfection,
so we should not expect that
from ourselves.
No, Jehovah’s blessing
is based on our efforts
to do what is right in his eyes.
So when we feel inadequate
or we miss the mark in our assignments,
Jehovah sees our sincere efforts,
and he blesses us accordingly.
But the second thing we learn here
is that knowledge of Jehovah’s approval
is a powerful resource.
It’s a protection for us;
it calls it a “shield.”
It guards us from being overwhelmed
by self-doubt.
It keeps us from giving up.
It keeps us from giving out.
So when we do feel this way,
let Jehovah remind you of his approval.
Dive into his Word, the Bible.
But also let our brothers and sisters
who know us well—
Let their words of commendation
ring in our ears.
You see, that’s likely Jehovah’s view.
We give him that quiet,
that at-ease, that satisfied feeling.
Now, there will be times
when we don’t get it right.
But we are not defined by our failures.
No, we learn from them;
we work hard to improve.
So remember the wins for times of loss.
Sometimes we just focus
on the losses, our failures.
But remembering our successes
helps us not to give out
when we miss the mark in our assignments.
Remember what you likely learned in class:
We are not always an overwhelming success,
but we are not a perpetual failure either.
In other words,
have a balanced view of yourself.
Now, life is better with a view.
So take time to appreciate
the good qualities in those around us,
put forth every effort
to sincerely commend ones
when we see those good qualities,
and just as important,
don’t forget to see what Jehovah sees in you.
Never forget how your faith, your loyalty,
your faithfulness to Jehovah
make him feel.
Faithfulness is a view
that never gets old to Jehovah.
So when we remember that,
we too can have
that quiet, that at-ease,
that satisfied feeling
that Jehovah enjoys
when he looks at us.
So no matter how fast-paced life becomes
and no matter what happens next,
remember to imitate Jehovah.
Remember to stop and enjoy the view.

Luke Saladino: Stop and Enjoy the View—158th Gilead Graduation