What would you do if your clothing became dirty, perhaps even having a foul odor? You would strip off the soiled garment as soon as possible. Similarly, we need to act with urgency in obeying the command to strip off habits that are contrary to God’s personality. We want to heed Paul’s clear instruction to Christians in his day: “You must put them all away from you.” One of the sinful practices listed by Paul is sexual immorality. (Col. 3:5-9) The meaning of the original Bible word translated “sexual immorality” includes sexual relations between individuals who are not legally married to each other and homosexuality. Paul told fellow Christians to “deaden” their “body members”​—that is, to eliminate any desires—​“as respects sexual immorality.” Paul’s descriptive language clearly shows that strong measures are needed to wipe out such wrong desires. Yet, the fight against sinful desires can be won. w17.08 18 ¶5-6

The conditions we face today are similar to those in the days of the prophet Micah. He lived during the reign of wicked King Ahaz, a time when all sorts of corruption prevailed. In fact, the people had become “expert at doing what is bad.” (Mic. 7:1-3) Micah realized that he could not personally change these conditions. If we have faith like that of Micah, we will be willing to wait for Jehovah. Our situation is not like that of a prisoner who is waiting in his cell for his execution. He is forced to wait, and he is not looking forward to the outcome. How different things are for us! We are willing to wait for Jehovah because we know that he will fulfill his promise to give us everlasting life at exactly the right time, the best time! So we “endure fully with patience and joy.” (Col. 1:11, 12) To do otherwise​—to wait while complaining and grumbling that Jehovah is not acting fast enough—​would be displeasing to our God.​—Col. 3:12. w17.08 4 ¶6-7

How can we benefit from Jehovah’s readiness to act in our behalf? We have to have a good relationship with him. To have that, we need to cultivate meekness. (Zeph. 2:3) Meek ones wait on God to correct any wrongs and to undo the injuries inflicted on them. Jehovah looks on such ones with his smile of approval. On the other hand, God “hurls the wicked to the ground.” (Ps. 147:6b) These are strong words! To benefit from Jehovah’s loyal love and to avoid his wrath, we have to hate what he hates. (Ps. 97:10) For instance, we are to hate sexual immorality. This means that we have to stay away from anything that could lead us into such wrongdoing, including pornography. (Ps. 119:37; Matt. 5:28) This may be a hard fight, but having Jehovah’s blessing is worth any effort we must put forth. In fighting this battle, we need to rely on Jehovah, not on ourselves. We must approach Jehovah, begging for his help. w17.07 19-20 ¶11-13