Did you believe life was always a gift no matter what the circumstances?

LongHairGal

I had a discussion years ago with an elder about this topic.

He said life was a gift no matter what we had to endure. (We were talking about people who went through horrible things e.g. torture, serious illness, etc.) I said life was a gift but if I were going through something like that I would want death as a release. He made some trite comment about not appreciating life and so on.

I do appreciate life but I feel there is something called quality of life as you have all heard of.

Should I feel guilty?

upside/down

Gee... how many "faithful" people of da Bible prayed for death?

Most of the prophets... Jonah, Job...etc...

I guess they didn't apprciate the "gift" of life either.... what a pompous ASS... he's obviously not suffered much to make such remarks....

I call him and "arm-chair christian"...

u/d

Gill

I agree with upside/down on this. Someone has to have suffered or seen terrible suffering to understand that death can be preferable to life. It's a matter of life experience. Some people just never get to see the guts and gore of life.

Death can also be a gift, but sadly so.

rebel8

No, I don't think you are wrong. There are times when can life become unbearable and there's no hope of it getting better. If life is all about suffering and there is no possibility of it improving, then it doesn't seem much like a gift to me.

What about bringing a new life into the world? The JWs encourage people not to have babies during this "time of the end" because it isn't kind to bring a child into "this old world". Isn't that the same as saying life is not always a gift?

Do they claim a (hypothetical) 12 year old getting pregnant by a pedophile is a gift?

talesin

LongHairGal

A lot of folks will say the same thing. This attitude is not, in my experience, JW, but universal. I put this in the same file as the ones who say "Oh, just think, you could be a lot worse off ... look at the people suffering in _______".

They live in denial, and think everyone else should. Is it healthy to pretend that life is always happy? I think not. Yes, someone may want to end their suffering ... could longing for release from intolerable pain, whether psychic or physical, be natural?

Who knows? When you are in that place, then you will know. And so will the deniers.

No need to feel guilty for considering the possibilities of life and how you may deal with them .. as long as you don't dwell on the negative. I call that 'hoping for the best, and preparing for the worst'.

2 cents

t

minimus

People say "life is a gift" when THEY are feeling well.

upside/down

Just like they're being "blessed" when their hypocritically pathetic life is going well.

And it's "Devil the Satan" when things turn sour...

What a f*cked up way of viewing life... it's never you, or circumstance... but the the "Gods" f*cking with you (they'd a made good Greeks)...

How convenient.

u/d (of the life's a bitch sometimes class)

Doubtfully Yours

Life is NOT a gift.

Human life occurs because it's the order established by a creator which happens in many instances when the male sperm fertilizes the female egg.

To many in this world, life is pure torture and the biggest curse. If in doubt, ask any abused child or any child born to these deranged and most irresponsible parents.

How about all the physically and/or mentally challenged? Now there's a great GIFT!!!

DY

Markfromcali

Here is another case where when you turn something into a belief it becomes.. well, bullsh!t.

One thing is a gift may not be something you necessarily like, it's just something that's given to you. And this also does not address who the gift is given to. So of course normally we would consider what the gift is and who it is given to, and depending on those two factors the experience may either be a positive or negative one.

Spiritually speaking, life always being a gift can only be the experience of someone who has already died, so that the second factor is taken out of the equation. That is a rare state to find someone in, and it does no good to impose it as an idea to believe in. The reaction from the elder actually shows how this individual was just faking it, because if that was where he was coming from he would also consider that conversation a gift, and consider you a gift - rather than making some judgemental comment about not appreciating life. This wouldn't even make sense from the perspective of teaching because anyone who actually understands this would know it isn't a matter of belief. The spiritual maturity of such individuals reminds me of the episode of South Park where Cartman was deputized. "You will respect my authoritay!" = Believe this idea I'm telling you.

stevenyc

No, I thought life was a burden while in the cult. Now I know its a its a miraculous gift of chance, never to be repeated.

steve

Did you believe life was always a gift no matter what the circumstances?

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