This is one thing that bugged me about "THE LIE" ,when they came down hard on men who had grown facial hair in the 8o's ( and womens adornment,clothes etc)
A MS at the time had a beard and grizzled about shaving it off but did after the talk at the assembly, he's an elder now but I wonder whether he chafes a bit at the taking away of ones personal freedom to grow something that God gave us men.
I never grew one when a JW for I was a drone I guess ,but with alot of small things over the years this did irritate me and seemed just a way the Gov Body controlled our lives by taking away a natural thing in life .It's not like men would have beaded,braided or let it grow to look like a feral and be unclean and untidy.
And we have Paul saying in 1 Cor 10 that he became all things to others to gain them to Christ - well what about beards ? is there anything more natural? In Jesus time the fashion for Romans was to shave but there's no records of all Christians shaving, and then we have the 20th century starting with the JW leaders bearded and then it becomes fashionable amongst ordinary men to shave , so what does the Society do? it adopts this fashionable worldly model of the American business type and wants all men to shave.
"And brother your spirituality is in question ,and you cannot have privileges for you are wearing a beard which is a symbol of rebellion and how do you think brother it would be to householders if we went to their doors bearded?"
Well shit I reckon they might listen as they can see we are normal people instead of an American religious/business model walking around up in the sky with God looking down on the trashy demonic people of the land!
Well I grew one not to thumb it in the nose of JW's but to express my natural being becoming relaxed gradually after leaving that cult!
Hell it's gray now though ,when it used to be lustrous black , but hey it seems to belong to me and echos the passing years ,and do you know what? people don't treat me any different than before and my wife loves it!