Monday, August 9​

Happy are you whenever men hate you, and when they exclude you and reproach you and denounce your name as wicked for the sake of the Son of man.—Luke 6:22.
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What did Jesus mean? Jesus was not saying that Christians would enjoy being hated. Instead, he was being realistic. We are no part of the world. We live according to Jesus’ teachings and preach the message that he preached. As a result, the world hates us. (John 15:18-21) We want to please Jehovah. If men hate us because we love our Father, that is their problem. We must not make the mistake of measuring our worth by how popular we are. We do not know when a wave of persecution or even an outright ban will affect our worship of Jehovah. However, we do know that we can prepare now by strengthening our relationship with Jehovah, by building up our courage, and by learning to cope with hatred from men. The preparations that we make now will help us stand firm in the future.

w19.07 6 ¶17-18; 7 ¶21​