How to Pull the Old Character Trowey

1, 2. Wetin people don see about Jehovah Witness?

MANY people don see sey Jehovah Witness people different from other people. For example, e get one man wey write about Jehovah Witness people for Germany. E name na Anton Gill. E talk sey: “Nazi government for Germany hate Jehovah Witness people well well. . . . For 1939, e reach 6,000 Jehovah Witness wey dem put for prison [concentration camp].” E still talk sey even as Nazi government suffer dem reach, dem bear am, and dem no make trouble. Jehovah Witness people show sey dem fit trust dem. Dem no gree leave their God, and dem get one mind.

² People for South Africa don still see sey Jehovah Witness people get better character. E get one time wey government no gree make black people and oyibo people dey do things together for South Africa. This one affect Jehovah Witness well well for there. Dem no allow dem dey gather together for meeting. But for Sunday, December 18, 2011, e pass 78,000 Jehovah Witness wey gather together for one special program. Dem gather for one of the stadium wey big pass for the city of Johannesburg for South Africa. Na both black people and oyibo people gather together for the special program. Other Jehovah Witness people from oth­er country still join dem. One of the manager for the stadium come talk sey: “I never see people wey behave well like this before for this stadium. All of dem dress well. And una clean the stadium well make e fine. But the one wey surprise me be sey, black people and oyibo people do things together with one mind.”

3. Wetin make our organization different from other people own?

³ People wey no be Jehovah Witness don really see sey we different from other people. (1 Pet. 5:9, ftn.) Wetin make us different? Na God Word and im spirit dey help us ‘pull the old character comot.’ And e dey help us ‘wear the new character like cloth.’​—Col. 3:9, 10.

4. Wetin we go talk about for this topic? Why e good make we talk about am?

⁴ After we don pull the old character comot from our body, we need to trowey am. For this topic, we go learn how we fit pull the old character, and why e good to quick do am. We go see sey person fit stop the bad things wey e dey do, even if e don go far. We go still talk about wetin people wey don dey serve Jehovah tey tey go fit do to trowey the old character. Why e good make we talk about all this things? Some peo­ple start to comot for Jehovah side small small. Before dem know wetin dey happen, dem go back to the bad things wey dem dey do before. When this kind thing happen, e dey really pain us. Bible talk sey, ‘make person wey think sey e stand’ well put eye for ground ‘make e no fall.’ E good make all of us put this one for mind.​—1 Cor. 10:12.

COMOT HAND FROM ALL SEX MATTER WEY NO CLEAN

5. (a) Give example wey show why e good make we quick pull the old character comot. (Go check the first picture.) (b) Wetin be the bad character wey Paul talk about for Colossians 3:5-9?

⁵ If your cloth dirty and e dey smell, wetin you go do? You no go quick pull am comot? Na so e still be. If we see sey we don dey do wetin God no like, wetin we go do? E good make we quick trowey those bad character wey Jehovah no like. Make we follow Paul advice for Bible. E sey: ‘Make una stop all this things.’ Make we talk about two of the bad character wey Paul talk for Bible. Dem be, sex matter wey no clean for God eye and other things wey no clean.​—Read Colossians 3:5-9.

6, 7. (a) Wetin we learn from wetin Paul talk? (b) Which kind person Sakura be before, and wetin help am change?

⁶ Sex matter wey no clean for God eye. Wetin this one mean? E mean sey Jehovah hate am when people wey never marry dey sleep together. E fit be man wey dey sleep with man, or woman wey dey sleep with wom­an. Paul advise Christians for im time make dem ‘kill the different different part for their body.’ That one mean sey we go comot hand from anything wey fit make us put hand for ‘sex matter wey no clean for God eye.’ Wetin Paul talk show sey we need to do everything wey we fit do to comot all this things from our mind. Na true sey e no easy, but we go fit do am.

⁷ Make we talk about the example of one sister wey im name na Sakura.a E come from Japan. When e dey grow, e no get friend to play with and nobody to talk to. When e dey 15 years, e start to sleep with different different people so that e no go feel sey e dey alone. Na three times Sakura comot belle. E talk sey: “When I first start to sleep with people, e dey make me feel like sey people love me and dem want me. But the more I dey sleep with dem, the more I dey see sey dem no love me. And e no dey make me happy.” Na that kind life Sakura live till e reach 23 years. After, e come start to study Bible with Jehovah Witness. Sakura like wetin e dey learn. And Jehovah help am stop to dey live that kind yeye life. Wetin e do before no dey too worry am for mind again, and e no dey too shame again. Na regular pioneer Sakura be now. And e no dey feel sey na only im dey again. E talk sey: “I dey really happy and I dey enjoy the love wey Jehovah dey show me everyday.”

HOW TO STOP OTHER BAD THINGS

8. Wetin be some of the things wey no clean for God eye?

⁸ Other things wey no clean. No be only sex matter wey no clean for God eye this one mean. To dey smoke and to dey talk wetin no good to make people laugh na part of am. (2 Cor. 7:1; Eph. 5:3, 4) People still dey hide do other things wey no clean. For example, dem dey read book wey talk about people wey dey sleep together, and dey look naked people for book or film. All this things fit make person start to dey rub im private part to dey sweet am.​—Col. 3:5.b

9. If person dey always look things wey dey show naked people, wetin fit happen?

⁹ Person wey dey always look things wey dey show naked people dey cause trouble for imself, because e go dey hungry am to sleep with person. E go hard for am to control imself make e no sleep with person. Dem talk sey person wey no fit control imself make e no look naked people for book or film, just be like person wey no dey use eye see drink, and person wey no fit stop to smoke cigar or igbo. If we dey put hand for this kind thing, e fit make us dey shame for ourself. E fit make us no dey do well for work. E fit make our family no happy, e fit scatter our marriage and e fit even make person kill imself. When e complete one year wey one man stop to dey look things wey dey show naked people, e celebrate am, and e talk sey: “I no dey shame for myself again.”

10. Wetin help Ribeiro stop to dey look things wey dey show naked people?

¹⁰ E dey hard many people wey dey look things wey dey show naked people to stop am. But we go fit stop am. Na wetin happen to one man wey im name na Ribeiro. E come from Brazil. Ribeiro comot for house when e still dey young. As time dey go, e start to work for one place wey dem dey use paper wey people no need again. Dem dey use the paper make another thing. Na from there e start to dey look naked people picture. E talk sey: “Small small, e come master me. E master me sotey, I dey pray make my girlfriend comot for house, so that I go see chance watch naked people film.” One day for work, e come dey look book wey dem pack put for ground. Na there e see one book wey dem dey call The Secret of Fam­ily Happiness. E carry the book begin read am. Wetin e learn from the book come make am start to study Bible with Jehovah Witness. But e take time before e fit stop to look things wey dey show naked people. Wetin come help am? E talk sey: “Wetin help me na prayer, Bible study, and to dey think about wetin I learn. The more I dey like the better better character wey Jehovah get, na so my love for am dey strong more more. E strong sotey, e kill that thing wey dey make me look things wey dey show naked people.” God holy spirit and wetin Ribeiro read for Bible don help am pull im old character comot. Ribeiro don baptize, and na elder e be for im congregation now.

11. If we want stop to look things wey dey show naked people, wetin we go do?

¹¹ No be only Bible help Ribeiro stop im bad character. E let wetin e read enter im body. E dey always pray and think about wetin e read. The love wey e get for Jehovah come strong sotey, e kill that thing wey dey make am look things wey dey show naked people. If we want stop this kind thing, we must get strong love for Jehovah, and use all our mind hate bad thing.​—Read Psalm 97:10.

HOT TEMPER, LIE LIE, AND BAD WORD NO GOOD

12. Wetin help Stephen change im bad character?

¹² E no dey hard person wey dey quick vex, to talk bad word or curse person when e vex. This kind thing no dey make fam­ily happy. E get one man wey im name na Stephen, e come from Australia. E don marry and e get pikin. E talk sey: “Before, to curse no dey hard me. Na small thing dey make me vex. E don reach three times wey me and my wife leave each other. Na small thing remain, we for scatter our marriage.” Stephen and im wife come start to study Bible with Jehovah Witness. Wetin happen as Stephen start to do wetin e dey learn from Bible? E talk sey: “Things come change well well for my family. Jehovah don really help me. I no dey vex like be­fore again. Na peace I dey make with people now. Before, I be like bomb wey ready to blow when person do me small thing wey make me vex.” Stephen na ministerial servant now. And e don tey wey im wife be reg­ular pioneer. The elders wey dey ­Stephen congregation talk sey: “Stephen na quiet person, e no dey take im work play, and e no dey raise shoulder up.” Dem still talk sey dem never see am vex before. Stephen know sey na Jehovah help am. E talk sey: “If to sey I no gree make Jehovah help me change my bad character, I for no get all this blessing.”

13. Why e no good make we dey vex anyhow, and wetin Bible tell us make we no do?

¹³ To dey vex anyhow, to dey curse, and to dey shout for people no good. Na im make Bible tell us sey make we stop am. (Eph. 4:31) All this things fit cause quarrel or fight. People for the world dey look all this things as normal thing. But this things no dey make Jehovah happy. Many of our brothers don pull this kind character comot for body, and dem don wear the new char­acter.​—Read Psalm 37:8-11.

14. Person wey get hot temper fit change?

¹⁴ E get one brother wey im name na Hans. E dey serve as elder for im congregation for Austria. The coordinator of the body of elders for im congregation talk sey: “Hans quiet well well and you go like near am.” But Hans no be like that before. When e dey young, e start to dey drink any­how. And when e don drink like this finish, e go dey vex. E get one day wey e drink well well, e come vex sotey e kill im girlfriend. Dem come arrest am, and dem sey e go stay prison for 20 years. Even when Hans dey prison im bad character no change. As time dey go, im mama come tell one elder make e go visit Hans for prison. Hans come start to study Bible. E talk sey: “E no easy for me to pull my old character comot. The Bible verse wey help me na Isaiah 55:7. That place talk sey: ‘Make the person wey wick­ed comot hand for wicked thing.’ Another one wey help me na 1 Corinthians 6:11. E talk about people wey comot hand from the bad things wey dem dey do before. Jehovah don sofri use im holy spirit help me change my bad character.” Hans baptize when e dey prison. After e don stay prison for 17 years and 6 months, dem come re­lease am. E talk sey: “I thank Jehovah for the way e take pity for me and how e take forgive me.”

15. Which other bad character we need to comot hand from? Wetin Bible talk about am?

¹⁵ Lie lie still dey among the old character wey person need to pull comot for body. For example, some people dey lie because dem no want pay tax, or dem no want make dem punish dem for wetin dem do. But, Jehovah na God wey dey talk true. (Ps. 31:5) That na why e no want make any of us ‘dey lie.’ (Eph. 4:25; Col. 3:9) Sometimes, to talk true fit hard us or e fit make us shame. But e good make we dey talk true no matter how e be.​—Prov. 6:16-19.

WETIN HELP DEM CHANGE?

16. Wetin go help us pull our old character comot?

¹⁶ If Jehovah no help us, we no go fit pull the old character comot for body by ourself. You remember Sakura, Ribeiro, ­Stephen, and Hans wey we talk about for this topic? E no easy for all this people to comot hand from the bad things wey dem dey do before. But wetin help dem? Dem allow wetin dem read for Bible touch dem, and dem still let Jehovah use im holy spirit help dem. (Luke 11:13; Heb. 4:12) If we want make Jehovah use this things help us, e good make we dey read Bible everyday, and dey think about wetin we read. We go dey pray everytime make Jehovah give us sense to do wetin we read for Bible. (Josh. 1:8; Ps. 119:97; 1 Thess. 5:17) Bible and God spirit fit help us if we no dey miss meeting and if we dey prepare before we go. (Heb. 10:24, 25) Another thing be sey, we go dey use all the things wey Jehovah organization dey give us. Things like magazine, JW Broadcasting, JW Library, and jw.org.​—Luke 12:42.

17. Wetin we go talk about for the next topic?

¹⁷ We don talk about many bad character wey Jehovah want make we pull trowey. But e never finish o. As we pull the old char­acter comot, e good make we wear the new character. Make we no ever pull the new character comot. For the next topic, we go see wetin this new character be and wetin go help us wear am like cloth.