I cannot believe this

by bite me 12 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  GoingGoingGone

  I have a very devout JW friend who is the most genuinely caring person I know. A while back, a woman in her congregation was having a lot of physical problems and finally received the diagnosis of MS. She was fairly young and was completely devistated.

  My friend called and told this young woman how sorry she was, and went to her house that evening just to keep her company and offer support. However, she was criticized by other JWs because she missed the meeting that night!!! She told me the story, and was feeling guilty about missing the meeting, and I told her NOT to be. I told her that we spend 5 hours a week at meetings, learning how to be Christians (at the time she wasn't aware that I was inactive.) What you did that night, I said, was actually being Christian. What is the point of learning about being loving, and then dismissing an opportunity to act loving when the need arises?

  My friend agreed with me. But when she said this to others who criticized her missing the meeting, they told her that she could have offered support some other time. In other words: You may not show your concern for others if it interferes with the meetings.

  GGG
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  bite me

  I have a very devout JW friend who is the most genuinely caring person I know. A while back, a woman in her congregation was having a lot of physical problems and finally received the diagnosis of MS. She was fairly young and was completely devistated.

  My friend called and told this young woman how sorry she was, and went to her house that evening just to keep her company and offer support. However, she was criticized by other JWs because she missed the meeting that night!!! She told me the story, and was feeling guilty about missing the meeting, and I told her NOT to be. I told her that we spend 5 hours a week at meetings, learning how to be Christians (at the time she wasn't aware that I was inactive.) What you did that night, I said, was actually being Christian. What is the point of learning about being loving, and then dismissing an opportunity to act loving when the need arises?

  My friend agreed with me. But when she said this to others who criticized her missing the meeting, they told her that she could have offered support some other time. In other words: You may not show your concern for others if it interferes with the meetings.

  GGG

  That just totally made me upset that they would do something like that. So, if the person was in their death bed and only had who knows how long to live, rather than spending every moment with them you are supposed to " offer support some other time"
  Bull Sh*t goes to this organization.
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  WTWizard

  There is one good reason to miss a meeting. If the total cost of going exceeds the total benefit, you should not go because you would be wasting value by going. The total cost includes the money it takes to go (gas, dry cleaning bills, TV dinners, and the like) as well as the opportunity cost. Opportunity cost is one thing that people have trouble grasping. It is the value of whatever else you could have been doing instead of going to the meeting, that you must forgo because you are at the meeting.

  It is this opportunity cost that can be huge. Are your children of school age? Do they have homework that needs to be done soon? Do you have small children that seem to be fussy on meeting nights? Play time is a serious thing, because that is how toddlers learn. Your health, work, and getting things done also become opportunity costs. Not to mention that all the best TV shows are on Tuesday and Thursday evenings, and most college classes meet on Tuesday and/or Thursday evening.

  And it is serious. If you fail to account for opportunity cost, you are going to waste a lot of value. You will suffer. Children will suffer in school. If all this is greater than the real benefit, which is largely illusion, you are better off to just blow off the boasting session.