Watchtower ONLINE LIBRARY

Watchtower ONLINE LIBRARY

4 | Conquer Hatred With God’s Help

The Watchtower (Public)—2022 | No. 1
- Bible Teaching:
  
  “The fruitage of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, mildness, self-control.”—GALATIANS 5:22, 23.
  
  What It Means:
  
  Breaking the cycle of hatred is possible with God’s help. His holy spirit can produce in us qualities that we might never possess on our own. So rather than trying to overcome hatred in our own strength, we do well to rely on the help that God provides. If we do, we can have the same experience as the apostle Paul, who wrote: “For all things I have the strength through the one who gives me power.” (Philippians 4:13) Indeed, we will be able to say: “My help comes from Jehovah.”—Psalm 121:2.

4 | Conquer Hatred With God’s Help

The Watchtower (Public)—2022 | No. 1
- Waldo was not happy when his wife began to study the Bible with Jehovah’s Witnesses. He says: “I hated the Witnesses, and many times I screamed obscenities at them. But they always responded peacefully.”
  
  Eventually, Waldo too started to study the Bible. He says: “It was not easy to apply what I was learning. I was convinced that I would never be able to control my violent temper.” But something he learned from the Bible made a big difference.
  
  Waldo explains: “One day, my study conductor, Alejandro, asked me to read Galatians 5:22, 23. . . . Alejandro explained that my developing those qualities did not depend on my own strength but, rather, on God’s holy spirit. That truth completely changed my viewpoint!”
  
  By relying on God’s help, Waldo has successfully broken the cycle of hatred in his life. He says: “My relatives and former friends cannot believe how much I have changed.” He adds: “Jehovah has transformed me from a violent man to a peaceable one.”