Were your parents hypocrits?

Mysterious

Did your parents hold you up to higher JW standards than they held themselves or force you to live up to things they never did if they were raised in the truth?

I know when my mother was a teenager they used to watch Bewitched all the time and no one took it seriously. They never missed an episode. But when I go to watch it she makes me turn it off immediately.

I also was never allowed to eat birthday cake even if it wasn't at a party. But I found out that she had a piece of someone's birthday cake at work the other day. When I confronted her about it she told me that I of all people had no right to criticize her.

Anyone else have similar experiences?

lonelysheep

Yes, but they were never witnesses.

Poztate

Did your parents hold you up to higher JW standards than they held themselves or force you to live up to things they never did if they were raised in the truth?

I think parents always want and expect higher standards (jw and other) from their children.They think of their children as perfect little people who can accomplish all that their parents failed at .They want their children to pioneer or go to bethel or be a missionary.

When that doesn't happen they want their children to get the best of education,cars, houses and VIDEO CARDS.... (inside joke)

Ingenuous

My parents taught me to value truth above all else; to value my name as the only possession I truly have in this world; to train my conscience and hold to it no matter the cost; to make God the only authority who ultimately matters.

But now that I'm doing exactly what they taught me and it's lead me away from the JWs, they think I'm an ungrateful, disloyal, hard-headed and hard-hearted, satanically influenced apostate.

under74

YES. My mother expected things out of her kids she never expected out of herself. The biggest one being that she expected unconditional love from her kids but she shunned her own mother. She never let us watch certain cartoons because she said they were violent yet she always had certain shows (full of guns and murders) she couldn't miss. She expected for us to not except presents for Christmas and our birthdays...but she did. She also expected us to go out on service and go to meetings even though at a certain point she had stopped doing it herself.

Chia

Yes, in a way my mom was. She expected us all to go out in service every weekend, and her daughters to be pioneers while making excuses for her son. However, she very rarely went out in service. Granted, she is a sick woman, she has asthma and diabetes, but she has good days and bad days, and she could go out in service if she wanted to. Someone would be more than glad to take her out or even do telephone witnessing with her. She just plain and simple doesn't want to, and I'm no moron.

She also put on the "my husband is an unbeliever persecuting me" front many times. Only I knew better. My mom completely wore the pants in our family. She didn't have to fight for everything. She bullied her children and her husband into doing her bidding. But when she talked to the elders it was always, "I'm a sick woman, it's so hard."

I still love her, though.

Mysterious

Do you think it was a case of them wanting their children to be better than they were...or are they using their kids as some kind of status symbol within the congregation?

I know there was a lot of pressure here with things like my child was baptized at x years of age, my child starting giving talks when they were x years old, so and so is pioneering when they graduate, etc.

Chia

My mom definitely used us as a status symbol. I was on the Theocratic Ministry School when I was 4. My brother had a talk at a circuit assembly when he was like 8. My mom was so proud of all that crap and she definitely liked the attention that came with it. So that was probably somewhat of a motive. But she also believed she was doing the right thing. I'm not saying her motives were entirely bad.

misspeaches

Chia are you sure your not my sister? Seriously I think we have the same mother..! LOL

Chia

LOL! Well, I have always wanted to go to Australia...

Were your parents hypocrits?

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