"Stumbling Stones" in the congregation (page 2)

anewme

I basically agree with the principle behind the admonition. A true lover of God would want to inspire others to godly thoughts, not kindle envy and desires for material things of this world.

But in truth, a true lover of God is not jealous of another's wealth or circumstance.
Godliness is a deeply personal attitude and not confined to those of little means.
Even rich people can be godly. Even people driving Jags and Porches and living in the mansion on the hill can be godly and have God's blessing.

I dont think God cares too much what you drive or where you live as long as your heart is pure towards Him.

....that is if he exists.

Homerovah the Almighty

My PO in the hall that I was attending gave a main talk once on a Sunday morning regarding the ills of materialistic endeavors, after the meeting was over I

noticed he was wearing it looked like an expensive silk suit , then some of the guys my age and myself were gawking at brand new Chrysler Imperial in the

parking lot when the PO came up and said how do you like it boys and then jumped into the car and drove off.

With one of the elders directly behind him driving a brand new Cadillac.

Shortly afterward I jumped into my dad's Chevy and we were driving home when I realized the meaning of word hypocrisy and what it meant.

REBORNAGAIN

I find it interesting how just because a person has alot or top quality of whatever, this does not make him/her materialistic. You can own NOTHING and be more materialistic than those that have it all. Again....JEALOUSY!

LINDA

REBORNAGAIN

Such show-offs huh? Talk about "displaying ones means of life" It's one thing to have and another thing to flaunt. They are hypocrites.

LINDA

BONEZZ

The Cover of Stumbling Stone (with apologies to Dr. Hook)

Well we're Brooklyn clones, we've got golden tongues
We're loved at assemblies everywhere
We preach about beauty and we preach about truth
At ten thousand dollars a convention
We make all kind a rules to give to the fools
But the thrill we've never known
Is the thrill that'll get you when you get your picture
On the cover of the Stumbling Stone

Wanna see my picture on the cover
Stumbling Stone
Wanna buy five copies for my mother
Stumbling Stone
Wanna see my smilin' face
On the cover of the Stumbling Stone

I've got a freaky overseer named Brother Fullofear
Who's got the biggest bible I've ever seen
I've got my poor old pioneer mother
Drivin' my 4-door Cherokee
Now it's all designed to blow our minds
But our minds won't really be blown
Like the blow that'll get you when you get your picture
On the cover of the Stumbling Stone

We got a lot of little teenage wide-eyed Bethelites
Who mimic anything we hype
We got a faithful & discreet slave class
Tellin' us to get off our ass
We got all the books that money can buy
So we never have to be alone
And we keep gettin' spiritually richer but we can't get our picture
On the cover of the Stumbling Stone

(refrain)

-BONEZZ

REBORNAGAIN

I will never hear that song again in the same way. I will always think of your version. COOL!

LINDA

WTWizard

I think this is another card they use liberally to control others. You have the "right" to do something since it is not explicitly banned by the Watchtower Society, but it might "stumble" others and so you hadn't better do it. I can think of numerous examples.

One is the holiday candy. In our area, they had a big deal when I bought holiday candy. Naturally, I got it as any other seasonal item (many items are naturally seasonal, and consuming them does not necessarily reflect observation of that holiday). While there was nothing explicitly banning the issue of getting Christmas or Easter candy, they did make the stumbling others remark and tried to stop me from getting it. I just had to go to smaller stores where there was less risk of getting caught. That way I wouldn't "stumble" others.

Your choice of music is another matter. So what if you wish to listen to heavy metal or rap music in the privacy of your own home? Since when is playing an album by Led Zeppelin going to automatically stumble those who are minding their own business? And, with today's new technology, it is quite easy to have mini discs and MP3 chips with codes instead of album titles (I do that), which prevents Brother Hounder from easily finding what's on that chip or disc. This makes prying into my business necessary before someone can be stumbled, and once they pry into my business, they are already violating 1Thess 4:11 which tells people to mind their own business and, if they pry into my business, perhaps being "stumbled" would be a good punishment for them. And there is no way they can tell whether a mini disc has Barry Manilow on it...or 50 Cent...just by looking at the code (only I can tell).

pratt1

Having expensive material things were for the most part no big deal in my hall.

Many fur coats, nice cars , nice homes were owned by the elders and the rank and file.

Most of the elders I knew even encouraged their daughters to date brothers who had expensive toys.

No one objected to their daughters riding in my 911 in the 80's.

greendawn

Back where I was in the 1980's they certainly were a materialistic lot and no one would say anything against it because it was accepted as natural behaviour. They were too materialistic for my taste because what they usually talked about was cars, houses, fashion etc (but there were some exceptions) which was very boring otherwise I wouldn't be bothered with what they possessed.

Homerovah the Almighty

Hey how about false prophetic doctrines devised under a veil to sell allot of literature

Now thats what I call a stumbling and corrupt presentation to the general public !

"Stumbling Stones" in the congregation

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