I really have a problem with all those "miracle checks from God" stories they'd feature in the litterature. You know the ones I'm talking about. Sister Impoverished is out of a job, having to feed 10 kids, and the very next morning after she sends in her application to pioneer, then PRESTO! Instant job interview while in field service, and a part-time job no less! Or in a slight variation, they'd get the exact amount needed to pay the month's bills, or a little more. The common thread would be that as soon as the person sacrifices something big for the WTS, they'll be rewarded.
There are several obvious problems with these kinds of stories. The initial concerns verification; due to the anonymity of the stories, no one can call the person and ask them to verify anything. No one can do a follow up. But this problem is sidestepped because it's in a Watchtower, and "therefore true." Most importantly, even IF these stories were true, how can that be representative of the average experience of JW down on his luck? There's simply not enough data to conduct a survey, but we can make an estimation. Would a "miracle check" story be appropriate if it were true 1 out of 10,000 times? Would it be appropriate 1 out of 1,000 times? What about 1 out of 100 cases?
I found it curious that in a way, the WTS was making a parallel to those "miracle cash from Jesus" mailings we'd get from churches in Tulsa, OK. Their message was direct: pray to Jesus, and you'll miraculous blessings. How could you not doubt this? Their letters contained dozens of breathlessly typed stories from the lucky people, replete with random bolds, italics, and underlines in the text. Although the WTS's approach was more subtle, the message was essentially the same.
Consider what happens when you put the miracle check story to the test. You're in a bind for the month. You decide to go out and pioneer, and yet you get no checks and no instant job offer out in the field. You slip further into debt. You're upset, perhaps at God, who should be rewarding your magnanimous decision. But the trained response is to get mad at yourself--somehow something's wrong with you, otherwise you'd be getting what should be coming to you. After all, Sister Impoverished was blessed, and it's true, because it was in a Watchtower mag. Maybe God isn't giving you what you want because you are worrying too much about it. And therefore this is a nice outcome for the WTS. They are free to post whatever kind of outlandish stories, and when the outcome doesn't occur, the blame is put on you, because you weren't righteous enough to get your miracle check.
It's all a giant example of post hoc ergo propter hoc reasoning. After you performed sacrificial act A, you were rewarded with gift B. It sounds very succinct, but no one looks for a natural explanation. Think about Sister Impoverished who goes to every door mentioning something about her out of work status. Eventually, if she talks to 100 people, could there be one or two who are know of open positions? It could be possible. I recall being offered work on a few occasions at my old job, and I didn't even mention looking for a new job! I turned them down because the ball was rolling in a previous prospect, but the point is, I have at least a small reason to say that this could happen without any sort of divine intervention.
The money is a bit harder to imagine happening, but once again, what if you told your sob story to 50 fellow believers? Is it unreasonable to say that at least one person could take pity on you? I had to shake my head at the CO for his life story featured at a SAD. He talked about living on next to nothing and getting a free car from the congregation, right when he and his wife needed one. Well, if you're a CO and you visit a few congregations of at least 50 people and tell them your sob story, how likely are you to find at least one person who can help you? And this case is even more favorable for the CO, given that JWs (and people in general) want to impress those in authority. I say that his story more confirms the generosity of people than divine intervention. Try that same trick if you're a publisher, and you go from congregation to congregation looking for a car. You'd have a smaller probability of success.
These miracle check stories are irresponsible, but I suppose anything combining the OT concept of sacrifice with the Gospel miracles in way that boosts pioneer numbers can't be bad for business.