I have done alot of posting on different boards since I started on the internet. I have found that JW's are really not as "seperate" from the world as they claim to be.
As a JW I was told we had to be "seperate" from the world. We weren't supposed to do the things that worldly people did. You know, get drunk, use drugs, abuse our families, cheat on taxes, lie, be greedy, etc.
But from what I have seen in my old congregtion, and the stories I have read here and on other boards, this statement isn't really true. JW's are just as much a part of the world as anybody else. Of course the magazines won't tell you that, but it is true.
I have been lied to and about by JW's, know they cheat on taxes, seen them get drunk and abuse alcohol and prescription drugs, abuse their families,and become greedy.
Now the picture the magazines paint is completly different. I have never meet one of the people they portray in the magazines, but they sound perfect. But do they really exsist?
I remember meeting a C.O. from the Spanish circuit. I was told he had been featured in either the Awake or Watchtower magazine, and they told all about how he had changed his life and now was a shinning example for the Christian congregation.
Well come to find out he was a fan of "Rush Linbaugh, and he and one of the elders in the spanish conregation, a white guy married to a spanish lady, would sit around and listen to Rush and bash the Democrats all day. Not very "nuetral" if you ask me. Of course the elder in this story is far from being nuetral when it comes to politics!
I know elders who pay other JW's unde the table so they can stay on welfare and not have to "claim" what they make, is that being no part of the world?
One elders wife does housework, makes more in a year than he does, but they don't claim any of it. How do I know? Well I was complaining about all the forms I had to fill out because we are self employed, and I mentioned the form for paying self employment taxes by the number of the form, and he asked which form is that? I told him and he said he just filled out the easy form, no deductions etc. I asked how he could do that when his wife was working for her self. Boy did I see a sick look on his face. Made some comment about "everybody" she worked for taking out taxes and such, then changed the subject. Now I know many of the people she works for and they don't take out taxes, they pay her "cash".
The same elder also worked for a family member, got paid cash, and never turned it in. So how are they different than those out in the world doing the same things? He gets the earned income credit every year, but makes way over the alloted amount if he was being honest, so where is the difference?
He also is so far in debt he will never get out. He is really praying for the "new system" to come and he won't have to worry about it any longer.
The big thing is he was cheating on his taxes, not paying his bills, and he still became an elder 7 years ago. Things haven't changed, except he is an elder. Hmmmmm wonder if because his father in law was one elder and his boss was the other one made any difference?????????
Yep, no part of the world, thats the JW motto!!!!
Would appreciate your take on this subject.
Andyman: