What you didnt have to worry when you were a JW

berylblue

"The truth will set you free."

That is what we were always told when learning the wonderful bible truths tm . Freedom from ancestor worship, worrying about an eternity in hell (well, now you had to worry about getting nuked at A. but never mind), if the world would be destroyed in a nuclear holocaust, etc.

What are some of the things you felt you did not have to worry about when you were in, but do now?

I'm ashamed to admit mine.

I pushed concern for the ecology out of my mind, rationalizing that Jehovah would take care of that someday.

That's just for starters.

StinkyPantz

Hell

berylblue

SP, congrats on the job.

Do you worry about hell now?
I guess I should have clarified that.

StinkyPantz

Beryl-

Thanks.

I am agnostic, but yes I worry about "the afterlife". I figure if the Bible is right, my not accepting Jesus means that I'm going to hell ; that bothers me.

blondie

The JWs I knew worried all the time. Quite a group obsessed with health.

Blondie

Lady Lee

I didn't have to worry about growing old, becoming disabled or planning for retirement in this system of things

I'm dealing with it all now

happyout

I ponder my mortality a lot. I don't really believe in the Bible, per se, but since it's been drilled into my head all my life, there is still that niggling thought that it might be right. Especially since I haven't found anything to replace it with. Logically, I don't think the idea of hell being a place of eternal torment makes any sense, but who am I?

However, having been a doubter most of my life, I still worried about this stuff even when I was a JW. When I was younger, I worried that I wasn't doing enough, that my heart wasn't pure, that Jehovah would somehow punish me and let the elders see my doubts and disfellowship me. I worried that I was evil, that Satan had hold of my heart, that demons would one day take me over. I didn't think Jehovah listened to my prayers, because although I begged, sometimes with tears, to have my heart believe, I just could not. What kind of person did that make me?

Since I lost my daughter, I think about it even more. Will I ever see her again? For me to survive her death, I had to convince myself that I would. I could not live thinking that I would never see her, that it was just done. I would have killed myself (and that is not hyperbole, it is the simple truth). So, I don't know in what form, but I am convinced that I will see her or her spirit in some way when this life is over.

Happyout

Wolfy

Death.

I grew up believing that if I died I would come back to a Paradise. With that belief ingrained in my mind I never gave death much consideration. Of course I was sad when a loved one passed away but I believed that I would see my loved ones again in the New Order. It saddens me to think I wasted time and energy in believing what the org taught me. I regret not having spent more time with my loved ones while they were still alive.

These days I think about how fragile human life is. I think about what will happen when I pass away. To be honest..I find it very unsettling. There are so many different beliefs about what happens at death. I think no one really knows what will happen and that people believe what makes them feel safe inside. I believe that is why people are attracted to the JW's. The hope for the future and answers about death.

I feel cheated by the org because I was lied to.I also accept the fact that being lied to was partly my repsonsiblity as I kept that belief for a long time even though I lost faith in most everything else about the org.

This really hit close to home a few weeks ago. A good friend of mine had a heart attack at the age of 42. He had quit smoking, was eating right and was working out. He had lost a ton of weight and was feeling great. He wakes up Sat. morning with really bad chest pains. He thought it might be indigestion. Took something for it but it didn't help. He called an ambulance and 3 hours later had to be brought back with the electric paddles. His heart had stopped and was later told he had no heartbeat for 45 seconds. He tells me this"You know what else...I didn't see no @#$%^%^ white light."

Sincerly

Wolfy

wednesday

I didn't have to worry about my prupose in life and what i needed to do to please God. They had all the answers. I admit i miss having all the answers. Not being so smug now, i worry about all the things that the rest of humanity worries but, world peace or the lack of. I don't quite have a purpose in life yet, but i think it may have something to do with helping those who are ill, either physicaly or emotionally. I want to return to others the care i have received . . Perhaps i can help my grandchildren grow up to have self esteem and feel like they "fit" with the rest of humanity. that is something i never had.

c5

When I was a witness, I never worried about making friends. You had all these "token" friends that you did not have to work to make as long as you remained a good witness.

Like others have posted, I did not worry about death and my health. On a funny note, I seldom brushed my teeth when I was a witness because I figured that Jehovah would give me a new set of teeth if mine fell out if the new system had not come yet. LOL.

I also did not worry about employment as I was convinced that if I put Jehovah and his kingdom first, he would always provide adequate work for me. It is a shame because now I am paying royally for my neglect back then. Any one else have similar thoughts?

Cari

What you didnt have to worry when you were a JW

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