by minimus 24 Replies latest jw friends
Witnesses teach that when you learn the "Truth", you finally have a purpose in life.
When some Witnesses decide to leave the religion, they might experience an emptiness because they realize now that their way of life really was totally a sham.
Are Jehovah's Witnesses right about those that leave the Organization no longer having a purpose in life?
Minimus. Simply answering your post gives my life a purpose.
Acolytes
I understand.
Life is its own purpose.
W
In many cases, the wt is right. Many of those people who want others to have life purposes, want to give them a purpose, namely the purposes of those people. In other words, they want people to agree w them, work for them, support them. When a person becomes content, they don't need a purpose.
S
Are Jehovah's Witnesses right about those that leave the Organization no longer having a purpose in life
They no longer have the prepackaged, imposed purpose of selling literature door to door. That can leave an empty feeling.
They are free to determine their purpose.
That can be a little intimidating. And liberating.
In other words, people who harp on about not having a purpose want you to serve THEIR purpose. It's like those zit commercials, or most other commercials. They point out the zit on somebodies face and then sell them their antizit product.
S
Ultimately, that responsibility for a purpose in life rests with each of us. Some mine it (to death, like me sometimes) and others abdicate to a group with their own agenda, and adopt that groups purpose as their own.
Even to give up that responsibility is a decision. To just sit and wait for the heavens to open is a decision.
I realize for some, their purpose seems easier to find then others. Typically, the great books of wisdom all agree on one thing; to love one another, to forgive, and to contribute to your community is a general good rule of thumb to go by.
So yeah, my life has a purpose.
I believe it does and I'm not surprised that I'm not sure what it is. I don't need all the nicely packaged answers anymore I'm just enjoying the journey.
I believe that any major life change is going to leave one feeling empty for a while because their path has suddenly shifted and they're not so certain any more of where that path leads. For example, I feel a little empty every time I move because I no longer know what to expect out of my home environment. It's not that my old home was so much better or that it was the right place to be, it's just that I had some idea of what was going on back there and I don't know what to expect with the new home.
As for life purpose, I feel like I have more purpose now outside of the org than I did in it. I felt emptier the years I spent as a JW than the years I have spent not being one. As a female I didn't have very many options to "shine" inside the org. I could get married to an influential brother, I could pioneer, become a missionary or Bethelite, and that was it. There were no chances for me to nourish my personal talents and/or use my own ideas for things. Then again, had I been male it wouldn't have been much different, either. I would have the chance to be in closer communication with the Society but under the condition that I only said and did what they wanted me to.
