HOW TO BREAK THE CYCLE OF HATRED

1 | Be Impartial

Bible Teaching:

“God is not partial, but in every nation [everyone] who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him.”—ACTS 10:34, 35.

What It Means:

Jehovaha God does not judge us by our nationality, race, skin color, or culture. Rather, he focuses on what really counts—what we are on the inside. Indeed, “mere man sees what appears to the eyes, but Jehovah sees into the heart.”—1 Samuel 16:7.

What You Can Do:

Although we cannot read hearts, we can try to imitate God and view others impartially. Strive to see people as individuals rather than as groups. If you sense that you have negative feelings toward others—perhaps those of another race or nationality—pray to God and ask him to help you root out such feelings. (Psalm 139:23, 24) If you sincerely ask Jehovah to give you the strength to be impartial, you can be sure that he will listen to your prayer and help you.—1 Peter 3:12.

a Jehovah is God’s personal name.—Psalm 83:18.

“I had never before sat down peacefully with a white person . . . Now I was part of a genuine international brotherhood.”—TITUS

Real-Life Experience—TITUS

Overcame a Cycle of Hatred

Titus was a member of a violent gang that was outraged by oppressive segregation laws. He says: “We would go to places in town where black men were not welcome, such as hotels and bars, just to provoke fights.” Titus acknowledges that he was driven by hate, and he adds: “If I got into an argument with anyone, man or woman, I would always be the one to strike the first blow.”

Titus began to change when he started to study the Bible with Jehovah’s Witnesses. When he read the Bible, it had a powerful effect on him. He was especially moved by the promise of a future world where “death will be no more, neither will mourning, nor outcry nor pain be anymore.”—Revelation 21:3, 4.

At first, Titus struggled to let go of the hatred in his heart. “It was very difficult to change my way of thinking and acting,” he says. But he was helped by what he learned from Acts 10:34, 35, which describes God as being impartial.

What was the result? Titus explains: “I became convinced that Jehovah’s Witnesses practice the true religion when I saw the love evident among them, no matter what their race or color. Even before I was baptized as a Witness, a white member of the congregation invited me to his house to share a meal. It was like a dream. I had never before sat down peacefully with a white person, let alone shared a meal in his home. Now I was part of a genuine international brotherhood.”