Its wise not to be judgemental!

by acolytes 6 Replies latest jw friends

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  acolytes

  I have noticed that some posters can sometimes become critical of how another posted has behaved . I believe this critisisam is oftern based on a lack of knowledge of what is acceptable behaviour of the poster in the country they are from. (Ie in a poster could say I remember doing blah blah blah and a poster from an other land can take offence)

  It is worth remembering what is a legal in one country is ilegal in another.

  What is acceptable social behaviour in one land is unacceptable behaviour in another land.

  Having emigrated to Sweden I have discoverd this first hand. I miss working class England where people are accepted for who they are and not the organisation they represent. Thats why I loved the ministry in England . Provided a person is generally interested in another then the color of skin or the religon they belong to doesnt matter. And on that basis the ministry was so differnt to Sweden. You were individual first and only Jehovers Witness if you were more interested in the organisation than the householder.

  The great thing about the Internet is that post reaches people from all lands and cultures Instantly. The sad thing is that can lead to judgementalisam.( In advance sorry about any spelling or gramatical mistakes)

  Acolytes
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  Mattieu

  Hi Acolytes, I am being off topic, but your post reminded me of the Swedish couple who immigrated to our congo here in Australia. Their command of the English language wasn’t too good and didn’t realise that saying “shit” here in Australia was a swear or “cuss” word! One of the elders finally took him aside after he said it during the concluding prayer at the book study one night!

  True story, not some fabled JW story passed on, I was there and still remind him of it!

  Mattieu.
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  andy5421

  same here in the US. "shit" is considered a swear/cuss word
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  acolytes

  We had a elder who moved to the congregation and he had a fixation with the word srew. Everytime he answerd or gave a talk he would use phrases like "The world is screwed" "The whole thing is screwey". It became even more funny ofter he had ovbiosly been counceld about it and It became ovbiouse that more desperate he was to stop using the "Screwey phrase" the less likely he was going to succeed.

  In Sweden I learnt it was impolite not to take your shoes off when entering a householders home (Also hygynic) Where I came from in England taking your shoes off would have been considerd rude. I tell you the truth once my college bought dog shit into the living room. The guy was not offended and cleared it up.

  I always noticed that the strict elders were the least successful at the ministry. I think its because they went out in suits and ties with large brief cases and would never go into a householders simply for a tea or beer. I had 3 progressive studies comming regularly to the K.H. and because it became known I drunk a can or 2 beers regulaly whilst on one of those studies and I was counceld.INCREDIBLE.

  Acolytes
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  WTWizard

  I have noticed that different words in different cultures have different meanings. You might be able to get away with saying "damn" or "crap" in the US now, but there may be other parts of the world where these are both swear words. The word "damn" was once classified as swearing, but it seems to have lost a lot of its taboo. On the flip side, racial and gay slurs that were acceptable in the 1960s and 1970s are now taboo.

  Not to mention that some phrases that are gestures of affection in one country could just as easily be offensive or insulting in another.
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  poopsiecakes

  I agree about avoiding 'judgmentalism' (great new word, btw). The one thing that used to drive me crazy as a witness was the passive encouragement from the platform and publications to be judgmental. Out of one side of their mouths, it's wrong to judge our 'brothers and sisters' but from the other side the constant regulations and suggestions that not following them means that you're weak spiritually inevitably causes judging. Since my departure and my last couple of years as a witness, I made a personal choice to never judge another person - even if I strongly disagree with their viewpoints. It's hard sometimes and it's something I'm always working on, but it's important to remember that unless we've actually lived in another person's skin and experienced their life through their eyes, it's impossible to know how they truly feel or exactly what we would do in their shoes.

  ...just my 2 cents...
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  acolytes

  Hi poppicakes

  I think your 2 cents was WORTH its wait in GOLD.

  Acolytes