HOW TO BREAK THE CYCLE OF HATRED

3 | Get Hatred Out of Your Mind

Bible Teaching:

“Be transformed by making your mind over, so that you may prove to yourselves the good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”—ROMANS 12:2.

What It Means:

The way we think matters to God. (Jeremiah 17:10) While we should avoid saying or doing anything hateful, we need to go further. The cycle of hatred begins in the mind and heart. Therefore, we must root out any hint of hatred from our thoughts and feelings. Only then can we truly “be transformed” and break the cycle of hatred.

What You Can Do:

Take an honest look at how you think and feel about others—especially those of another race or nationality. Ask yourself: ‘How do I view them? Is my viewpoint based on what I personally know about them? Or is it based on prejudice?’ Avoid social media, movies, or entertainment that feature hatred and violence.

God’s Word can help us overcome hatred in our heart and mind

It is not always easy to evaluate our own thoughts and feelings objectively. But God’s Word can help us to “discern thoughts and intentions of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:12) So keep examining the Bible. Compare its teachings with your thinking, and do your best to bring your thinking in line with what the Bible teaches. God’s Word can help us overcome hatred that is “strongly entrenched” in our mind and heart.—2 Corinthians 10:4, 5.

Real-Life Experience—STEPHEN

Changed His Way of Thinking

Stephen and members of his family had experienced hatred from white people. As a result, he was influenced by a political group that took a militant approach to civil rights issues. In time, he participated in hate crimes himself. Stephen says: “On occasion my friends and I saw films featuring the past suffering of African slaves in the United States. Incensed by those injustices, we assaulted white youths right there in the movie theater. Then we went to white neighborhoods, looking for more people to beat up.”

Stephen’s viewpoint changed drastically when he started studying the Bible with Jehovah’s Witnesses. He recalls: “Having been exposed to so much racial prejudice, I saw things among the Witnesses that astounded me. For example, when a white Witness had to travel abroad, he left his children in the care of a black family. Also, a white family took into their home a black youth who needed a place to live.” Stephen became convinced that Jehovah’s Witnesses are the loving brotherhood that Jesus foretold would exist among true Christians.—John 13:35.

What enabled Stephen to abandon his hateful actions? The scripture at Romans 12:2 helped him. He says: “I began to realize that I needed to change my thinking. I had to make my mind over so that I not only acted peaceably but also saw this as the best way of life.” Stephen has now enjoyed a life free of hateful feelings for over 40 years.