Because I see this, sometimes I
question myself if perhaps I’m wrong. But then I reflect on the abuses of the
organization and I’m back to square one.
I
do that, too.
If there was a God that cared, he would pull out these good people out of
the cult first. The Bible says;
“Jehovah knows how to deliver righteous people”
But that’s not the case is it?
The following is
assuming there is a God and the Bible is what JWs claim it to be:
""Jehovah
knows how to deliver righteous people", but that's not the case is
it?"
Maybe it is. You
assume (and I do, too, at times) that a lot of these still-in JWs are
better than you. But are they really? They might be, but I kind of doubt it. I
think the situation is deeper than what we observe. I think that
Jah doesn't look at just some specific, obvious traits and that
goodness might not be as obvious as we might think. What we perceive
as goodness might be somewhat superficial. I believe that judging of goodness
is not as easy as many of might us think and that Jah looks at the whole
picture - the whole being.
JWs always taught
me (and I think this is their literature) that in order to have
God's approval, one has to have the three "H's" - honesty, humility, & hunger.
honesty - Are all JWs really honest? Sure,
they might not cheat or steal; they might return wallets full of money that
they find. But are they really
honest - to the core... like us? Do they really seek truth? Are they
really honest about the practices, policies, failures, shortcomings, outright
wrongs, etc. of the org? We might excuse them by saying that they don't
realize such or that they're blind to such or that they're sincere. But are
they honest to the core if they continually go along with something that is obviously
majorly flawed. At least they should sense that something is wrong, and if they're really
honest, they should pursue the matter further.
JWs always taught
me that sincerity alone isn't enough - that one has to have the truth. I think that point
was made in the Live
Forever book among other places. JWs apply that to everybody else,
but not themselves, when it should equally apply to them.
I think of the two
men of Luke chapter 18.
Luke 18:10-14 10 “Two men went
up into the temple to pray, the one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The
Pharisee stood and began to pray these things to himself, ‘O God, I thank you I
am not as the rest of men, extortioners, unrighteous, adulterers, or even as this
tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week, I give the tenth
of all things I acquire.’ 13 But the tax collector
standing at a distance was not willing even to raise his eyes heavenward, but
kept beating his breast, saying, ‘O God, be gracious to me a sinner.’ 14 I
tell YOU, This man went down to his home proved more righteous than that man;
because everyone that exalts himself will be humiliated, but he that humbles
himself will be exalted.”
JWs are sort of
like the Pharisee. “We have the truth. We have all these great things. We have
JWdotORG.. We have JWTV. We have the governing body. We have the NWT. We do all
these great things. We have the preaching work. We do disaster relief…..”
Some of us (like
you, John) are like the tax collector. We beat our breasts and wonder whether
we’re wrong and at least at times think others are better than we are. We
question.
Remember how JWs are.
They'll see a sweet elderly lady who truly has love in her heart and is kind and
just and cares about world suffering and deprives herself to use her little
bit of money to help the needy, feed stray animals, etc. She questions herself
and seeks answers, but because she doesn't subscribe to what JWs believe, that
seven men in NY are the God-appointed guardians of doctrine, and follow their
ever-changing, often illogical whims, they condemn her.
Can’t we
justifiably apply the same concept to them? Can we not condemn them, even if they
are “good” in many ways, since they don’t have the truth – that is the truth
that is something in wrong in JW land?
humility – Are JWs really humble? They brag and
brag and brag about their idols – the org, the GB, JWdotORG, etc. They condemn
other religions and individuals. If one questions the org or the GB, he is an “apostate”,
and the word “apostate” has very strong connotations in JWdom.
I was talking with
a prominent elder a few months ago, and he implied that I lack humility and
that’s why I’m inactive. I said that I had very high responsibilities in JWdom and
had turned down much higher ones. Doesn’t that take humility? Many JWs (definitely
not all, though) are driven by attention and glory seeking. Many want titles
and privilege and position and assignments and recognition. I gave up positions,
assignments, etc. that many could never dream of having. I did it because
I was so concerned about the decline in teaching and quality of meetings, the
poor quality of JW literature, etc. I
gave up my positions and assignments at first because I really wanted to have more
time to try to improve the situation in JWdom. Isn’t that a sign of humility?
Then, though I’ve had some doubts for many years, I really learned TTATT. I
acted on what I learned; I acted on truth. Isn’t that a sign of humility?
I think that,
though it might seem on the surface that JWs are humble and we’re not, the
truth is the opposite of that. Look at the JW cart-witnessing personnel and
those sitting at public witnessing tables. Are they really humble? On the surface, to us, it might seem so, but what about
to a higher being who can see the whole situation? Would he really see real (not
just superficial) humility in such individuals? Go to JW meetings, assemblies,
conventions. Does one find there an air of real humility or an air of
superiority?
hunger – Are JWs really hungry for truth? Jesus said 'Keep on seeking. Keep on
knocking.' The verb tense indicates continuing
action. Are JWs continuing to seek, to knock? No, they think they’ve found.
They’re self-satisfied. They have the truth (even though they can’t back it up),
and everybody else is wrong. They sit at their meetings gloating over the “fact”
that their spiritual bellies are stuffed and everybody else is starving.
I think we’re the ones that are hungry. JWs aren’t. Are the GB members or
whoever control the org really hungry for truth or do they seek to align
doctrine and policy with whatever will benefit/promote the org? Are individual
JWs really hungry? No, they have at times literally stopped up theirs and made
noises so they couldn’t hear the words of others who were attempting to reason
with them and impart truth to them.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Didn’t mean for
this to be so long. It just came out. Bottom line: John, I think you are better
than you realize.
