“Ambivalence” is defined as a combined feeling of love and hate. It seems strange that we should want to hurt the object of our affection, but such is often the case. Hate being the opposite of love, the term “ambivalence” seems to be a contradiction, unless we remember that even the Bible uses the term “love” in various senses, and that possessive, selfish, passionate desire are at times referred to as love. It harms us physically because of the anxiety and hostility that it engenders in us.

Adam’s regard for Eve seems to have been turned into ambivalence. On the one hand she seemed more important to him than everything else, and on the other hand he did not hesitate putting the blame upon her for his disobedience. True love makes one humble; selfish affection makes one proud. Jealousy is a form of ambivalence, and “jealousy is cruel as the grave.” And “he that is cruel troubleth his own flesh.” (Song of Sol. 8:6; Prov. 11:17, AS) No question about it, just as we make ourselves happy by making others happy, so we make ourselves miserable when we let ambivalence make others miserable.

GUILT, AMBITION AND ENVY

The feeling of guilt is the punishment that an outraged moral sense or conscience inflicts upon the body in the form of anxiety, worry and fear. At times this punishment becomes so severe that the guilty one seeks escape by self-destruction.

For this injurious emotion there is also a Scriptural remedy. To regain a good conscience requires repentance, confession to God and to the one wronged, with the request for forgiveness. It also requires the exercising of faith in Christ’s blood and making amends as far as lies within us. If we forgive others, we can trust that God will forgive us. At the same time humility is required, so as to accept the chastisement that comes upon us because of our sin. Having repented and set out on the right course, we must exercise faith that God has indeed forgiven us and not continually punish ourselves by going over past mistakes.—Matt. 6:4; 1 John 1:7; Phil. 3:13, NW.

Ambition or competition is a form of hostility, the desire to get ahead of the other fellow. It causes one to go to extremes and robs one of peace of mind. Thus the body’s internal balance is upset, tensions are created and one is made more susceptible to disease. As someone has expressed it: “It is better to be poor and alive than to die of dyspepsia.”

The Bible is filled with counsel against selfish ambition. “For what benefit will it be to a man if he gains the whole world but forfeits his soul [or life]? or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?” Riches have wings; rust corrodes them and thieves steal them. We cannot serve both God and Riches at the same time. The desire for selfish gain is a root of all sorts of injurious things, but godliness with self-sufficiency is a great means of gain. So let our lives be free from selfish ambition, being content with the things we have.—Matt. 16:26; 6:24, 34; 1 Tim. 6:6, 10; Heb. 13:5, NW.

Envy is the begrudging of another’s blessings. King Ahab envied Naboth his vineyard, and those laborers who worked all day in the vineyard envied the generosity bestowed upon those who had worked only an hour. It harms the body because it robs one of peace of mind; it makes one miserable because of another’s happiness; and it is therefore a manifestation of hostility, blackening one’s outlook on life, even as Jesus indicated: ‘If your eye is sincere (that is, “simple,” all one way, in focus, generous), then your whole body will be bright; but if your eye is bad (that is, wicked or envious), then your whole body will be dark.’ (Matt. 6:22, 23, NW) The antidote for envy, then, is generosity, loving one’s fellow as oneself.

Clearly, with the help of the Scriptures we can counteract the injurious effect that these eight most harmful emotions might have upon our bodies by eliminating them from our minds and dispositions, thus putting away our old personality and putting on a new one. We must do so, however, not primarily because of the psychosomatic principle involved and the beneficial effect upon our bodies, which is as far as most psychologists and psychiatrists go; we must do so because it is right, and because we love Jehovah God with all our heart, mind, soul and strength and because we love our neighbor as ourselves.—Eph. 4:22; Matt. 22:37-39, NW.

Giving Impetus to Theocratic Expansion in Chile, Bolivia and Paraguay

OUR previous report closed with Mr. N. H. Knorr, president of the Watch Tower Society, emplaning late Saturday night, December 5, at Lima, Peru, for Antofagasta, Chile. It was 5:15 the following morning when his plane came down at the airport in the desert, near the coastline close to Antofagasta, where he was met by four missionaries.

The ride from the airport to the city was pleasant, as the air was brisk and clear. After a little rest all went to the public hall located in the public library building. The attendance of 140 at the afternoon’s public talk delighted the witnesses, who had worked hard advertising this lecture. Later in the day other meetings were held. It was a pleasure for our traveler to be with the local witnesses and to hear their field experiences.

Two of the missionaries then accompanied Brother Knorr to the hotel where he was staying because of lack of room at the missionary home. While they were talking in the lobby the floor began to move underfoot, the pictures on the wall began to swing, and the doors began to open and close by themselves. Yes, it was a real earthquake. The next day it was learned that a small town in the Andes, some ninety miles away had been destroyed by the quake, resulting in much suffering and millions of pesos’ damage.

Monday, the following day, with its overcast skies, was one of apprehension for many Antofagastans as to whether there would be more earthquakes, and perhaps even a tidal wave, or not. There were four more quakes in the two days but the first was by far the worst. That Monday evening the witnesses gathered for another talk by Brother Knorr. Then on Tuesday afternoon, which day, incidentally, was a national holiday in honor of “The Immaculate Conception of Mary,” the president of the Society, together with six missionaries and two local witnesses, left by air for Santiago, where the Chilean national convention of Jehovah’s witnesses was to be held. More than a hundred brothers were on