Why don't some members of the congregations never slow down or get tired out?

by RULES & REGULATIONS 18 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  RULES & REGULATIONS

  My uncle passed away two years ago at the age of 83. He served as an Elder from 1965 to the last day of his life. Even till the end of his life he was still reading the Bible.

  He was an Elder for 48 years. Never missed a meeting,pioneered during the summer months ( took vacation weeks),pioneered after retiring at 65 years old, never went on real vacation, went to all summer conventions and assemblies ( traveling to New York,Wisconsin, Canada and California ).

  He also conducted book studies, Watchtower meetings, gave Sunday Public Talks, Assembly parts, Elder meetings, had a weekly book study with his family,cleaned the Kingdom Hall, and donated money when the congregation was short money for the month.

  Everyone is zealous in the beginning but tire out sooner or later. You start start missing meetings, get bored, or find out the '' the truth about the truth.''

  What do you think is the reason some members of the congregation never slow down or get tired out?
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  _Morpheus

  In those cases it usually is a case of what gamblers call "chasing money". When you start loosing you make bigger bigger bets to try to win your money back and it becomes a vicious cycle.

  in the case of some witnesses it becomes that chase... Once they've invested decades it becomes nessary to believe more and work harder to make sure it wasnt all in vain.
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  Magnum

  I think there are at least several reasons and sometimes it can be mainly one reason or a combination of two or more.

  I think that some get to the age that they won't allow themselves to consider the possibility that something is wrong because they have too much invested and they're so close to the ends of their lives that they don't like to even consider the possibility that they're just going to die and be gone forever - that it was all just bologna.

  And another possibility is that some are just lacking in intelligence and they swallow it all unquestioningly. All the elders in my congregation except one are uneducated, lacking in knowledge, lacking in comprehension, lacking in intelligence, etc. The one exception seems to be level-headed and reasonable and intelligent. He's not formally educated, but he is self-educated (which can be just as good and sometimes better). He is the only one of the elders who senses something wrong. He has confided in me. He said that he has considered stepping aside aside as an elder, but he's worried because his family would be shocked.

  Others are just in the routine so deep that they just don't have time to sit back and question and analyze. When a question does arise or something doesn't seem right, they might give it a moment's thought, but then they have to move on to the next thing in their JW busy work so they won't get behind. I think the org by design makes it that way.
  

  I believe that if some of these older ones had more time in life, some would eventually start questioning and doubting. I had a very close JW acquaintance who died in his 90's and was going strong as a reg pio. He was still working hard in the field going door-to-door. He died from surgery complications. I used to argue with him all the time about the fact that the org had said for decades that the end was imminent, but nothing ever happened. He stubbornly defended the org. However, towards the very end of his life somebody said something like "the end is very near", and he responded with something like "Oh, they've been saying that for decades". It was shocking for me to hear him say that.
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  Pete Zahut

  No matter what organization, political activity, school, job or religion there are always those who are the "cream that rises to the top". Somehow their personality type coupled with their own personal circumstances makes it possible for them to go farther and longer than anyone else.

  The Olympic hopeful who gets up at the crack of dawn to practice, works a menial part time job and sacrifices his personal relationships in order to achieve his goal. The little old lady who tirelessly volunteers to feed the homeless, cleans the church, visits the sick and is raising her 3 grandchildren. The highschool drop out who goes on to found a multimillion dollar enterprise.

  When it happens among JW's they view it as proof of God's holy spirit in action and that theirs is the one true religion. If it was God's spirit causing this, why wouldn't everyone among his "chosen" people be able to do the same?
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  Xanthippe

  Power seems to keep some people going, all the assembly talks and eldering. Look at all the old men in GB1. It used to be the same in the Chinese government, they were all very, very old, I don't know if that's still the case. Lots of Premiers who keep getting repeat terms live a very long time without slowing down. I think it may be all the adrenaline from power, it seems to energise them. Power makes it very difficult for some to leave even if they suspect TTATT.
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  Simon

  Maybe they are overcompensating to mask their own doubts and disappointments or maybe they are just completely and utterly deluded and misled by the lies?
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  NVR2L8

  My mom is 81 and still pioneering and she invests all her time in the cult to fill the gap left by my dad's passing. She knows nothing else..she never had time for recreational activities, has no interest in arts and has no time to even visit or call her own children. When I last called her she said she thought I had died...so I said that I am always the one who calls her...she went on about the upcoming CO's visit and the one day assembly and how she's busy in service. I can't see many more of these die-hard witness after my mom's generation...
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  Billy the Ex-Bethelite

  she went on about the upcoming CO's visit and the one day assembly and how she's busy in service.

  By being completely engrossed in their slavery to WT, they are left with no time or intelligence to examine their situation. They're like hamsters that spend all their waking hours running in their wheel, but getting absolutely nowhere.
  

  "I'm running so fast, I MUST be getting somewhere!"
  
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  pontoon

  I know many people 100% contented living the as the picture perfect Wat org, GB obedient servant. I give those people credit for at least being true and honest for living up to their beliefs, although I don't know what keeps them going. That's in contrast to myself in that for over 40 yrs I swung from being a good witness to being not a good witness. I was more of a hypocrite. All I can say is if a person is 100% in it must be because they really, really, really......believe the truth according to JW's
  
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  RULES & REGULATIONS

  Thank you everyone for the great responses! I learn more on this site than the 40 years I attended the meetings. There is an Elder in my congregation who had a "Napoleon complex".

  Napoleon complex is a pejorative term describing a psychological condition which is said to exist in people, both men and women, of short stature. It is also known as 'Napoleonic Complex'. [1] It is characterized by overly-aggressive or domineering social behavior, and carries the implication that such behaviour is compensatory for the subject's stature. The term is also used more generally to describe people who are driven by a perceived handicap to overcompensate in other aspects of their lives.

  This Elder was the 800 pound gorilla. He would berate everyone. He would give all the ''sex talks'', "marking talks" and even had his hand in demotions of fellow elders. He would always stand and watch everyone at weddings and parties to see how they conducted themselves. He would even talk to bride and groom if the music was not to his liking. Then he would tell the D.J. to tone it down.

  I remember that he even attended the Ministry School meeting on the same day they buried his mother-in-law. I felt bad for his wife after seeing her cry sitting in the back. You would think that he would of told his wife to stay home that day.