Here is another snippet from a friend-of-a-friend in Gilead school, which is now winding down. I posted several other such snippets in weeks past. Lately the e-mails have been as mundane as any old Watchtower article, but I caught something kind of interesting here:
I thought this was a good point that could be used for shepherding in
light of all the family problems today. After David sinned with
Bathsheba he was forgiven but was told that there would be problems with
his family the rest of his life. How did David react? Did he stop
serving Jehovah thinking their was no point, he was doomed to failure? Did he stop trying to help his family knowing that his efforts could
still fail? No! He kept going, he kept plugging away. Even in his last
hours of life he tried to encourage Solomon to keep serving Jehovah. What
a great example for parents. No matter what situations in the family
life happen we shouldn't loose faith or just give up because the odds
against us are many. Rather we keep doing our best and remember that
Jehovah sees our faithful example.
I find it rather interesting how David's efforts are described. Is serving Jehovah "joyful", or "stimulating", or "refreshing"? Does it lead to "enlightenment", or "inner peace", or "satisfaction"? Nope, David just "kept plugging away".
Fascinating Freudian slip, I think. I imagine a third world peasant pulling a cart with all his worldly possessions through knee-deep mud, "just plugging away". Not sure if the instructor used those words, or if it is a summation made by the student, but I think it offers insight into how JWs really think of their service. So much for "my yoke is kindly, and my load is light".