I remember getting counseled more than a couple of times over mustache and sideburns. The rules set out for Bethel were applied to pioneers and MSs, though I tried hard to buck the tide.
Once I was on my way out, I grew a beard and challenged an elder on a sheparding call to prove from the Bible why beards were wrong for Christians. Of course he couldn't but he did say something that really opened my eyes. He talked about major corporations that had strict grooming laws (Ross Perot's company was one he mentioned) and how employees represented the company and were not allowed to appear just any ole way. Similarly, "we" represented....wait for it...no...not Jehovah...but the ORGANIZATION and we should all be similar in our grooming to make sure the message was in the forefront, not our image.
That's when I realized that we weren't Christians with a message but unpaid employees representing a publishing company.
The grooming laws have nothing to do with godliness. It has everything to do with upholding a squeeky clean reputation for a Bible publishing company.
