Paul was concerned because some Christians were apparently being influenced by the unwholesome reasonings and philosophies promoted by Satan’s world. (Eph. 4:17-19) That can happen to any one of us. In a desperate attempt to turn us away from Jehovah, Satan, the god of this system of things, uses various tactics. One of them is that of exploiting any tendency we may have toward selfish ambition or self-promotion. He may even use certain aspects of our background, our culture, or our education to bring us over to his way of thinking. Is it possible for us to root out things that are “strongly entrenched” in our minds? (2 Cor. 10:4) Notice how Paul answers: “We are overturning reasonings and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are bringing every thought into captivity to make it obedient to the Christ.” (2 Cor. 10:5) Yes, with Jehovah’s help we can actually gain control over wrong reasonings. w19.06 8 ¶1-3

Although deeply distressed, Hannah, David, and a psalmist all relied on Jehovah for help. They shared their anxiety with him through fervent prayer. They spoke freely to him about the reasons why they were so stressed. And they continued to go to Jehovah’s place of worship. (1 Sam. 1:9, 10; Ps. 55:22; 73:17; 122:1) Jehovah compassionately responded to each one of them. Hannah gained peace of mind. (1 Sam. 1:18) David wrote: “Many are the hardships of the righteous one, but Jehovah rescues him from them all.” (Ps. 34:19) And the psalmist later felt that Jehovah had “taken hold of [his] right hand,” guiding him with loving advice. (Ps. 73:23, 24) What do we learn from these examples? At times, we will be burdened with problems that cause us stress. But we can cope if we meditate on how Jehovah has helped others, rely on him in prayer, and obey him by doing what he asks us to do.​—Ps. 143:1, 4-8. w19.06 17 ¶14-15

Never allow anything that mere humans say or do to make you feel ashamed of being one of Jehovah’s Witnesses. (Mic. 4:5) Consider the example set by the apostles in Jerusalem just after Jesus was put to death. They knew how much the Jewish religious leaders hated them. (Acts 5:17, 18, 27, 28) Yet, every day they continued to go to the temple and publicly identify themselves as disciples of Jesus. (Acts 5:42) They refused to cower in fear. We too can defeat our own fear of man by regularly and publicly identifying ourselves as Jehovah’s Witnesses​—at work, at school, and in our neighborhood. (Acts 4:29; Rom. 1:16) Why were the apostles happy? They knew why they were hated, and they considered it an honor to be mistreated for doing Jehovah’s will. (Luke 6:23; Acts 5:41; 1 Pet. 2:19-21) When we understand that we are hated for doing what is right, we will never allow the hatred of men to paralyze us with fear. w19.07 7 ¶19-20