Many of you are probably aware of the concept of Pascal's wager.
It posits that humans all bet with their lives either that God exists or does not exist. Given the possibility that God actually does exist and assuming the infinite gain or loss associated with belief in God or with unbelief, a rational person should live as though God exists and seek to believe in God. If God does not actually exist, such a person will have only a finite loss (some pleasures, luxury, etc.). - Wikipedia link, 2013-06-23
I wonder if we could turn that concept around on JWs who try to emotionally blackmail us into returning to the WTS. For example:
The WTS is either right or wrong. JWs "bet" on the likelihood that the WTS is correct, and in so doing, are required to forfeit the life they could have now (pleasures, luxury, career, family relationships, education) and put their human potential and desires "on hold" until the WTS's promises are fulfilled in the undisclosed future (i.e., Soon™).
Having discovered numerous errors and falsehoods within WTS doctrine, we choose to "bet" on the alternate side of the argument: we choose to fulfill the goals and potential we have for career, family, education, wealth in the present, because the future is uncertain, other than the certainty that we will eventually die.
Many JWs have lived through at least one failed WTS end-times "prophecy" and are now coming to terms with the eventuality that they will die before the promises they believe in will be fulfilled, in fact, WTS is telling them that this is a likely scenario. Many elderly JWs are also coming to terms with the fact that having put those goals "on hold" they are unprepared for life in their golden years. How many JWs quit their jobs to Pioneer™ and are now facing their 60s and 70s without a pension or retirement savings? How many sold their homes to Serve Where The Need Is Greater™, and now have no home of their own to live out their golden years? How many of these people, who FOOLISHLY gave up most of their material comforts and stopped preparing for a future in This Old System Of Things™, are now relying on US to help them make ends meet?
Life is about choices. We choose to live in the here and now, while preparing for a future in this world. JWs set those cares aside and choose to live for the WTS and a pie-in-the-sky promise to Live Forever In Paradise On Earth™. They are betting on something that sounds too good to be true, and it really is too good to be true. We are betting conservatively, betting on a sure thing - that we will get old and die before any so-called promises from the WTS come to pass. Who is really making the wise choice, here?
It looks to me as though we are the ones who "chose wisely", while they "chose poorly" (props to Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade).