Was the straw that broke the camels back, the workload?

by jambon1 16 Replies latest jw friends

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  Arthur

  The work load was a huge factor. I actually had an emotional break down of some sort. But it was this hitting "rock bottom" that woke me up to the fact that I needed to address all of the doubts that I had been suppressing for most of my life. I think that if the work load had been very light, I would have gotten comfortable and complacent, and never looked into all of the beliefs that had been eating at me for all of those years. But it was definately the endless, exhausting treadmill of "salvation by works" that eventually caused me to completely burn out and to fade out.

  Is this over-working of the friends deliberate and by design? I believe that the answer is both yes and no. Let me explain. Do any of you remember the well-known illustration that was used often in talks of the fence? A brother would describe the meeting schedule as a fence with five cables on it. ( five meetings ) He would usually draw a picture of a fence on a black board and would take an erasure and erase one cable at a time saying: "Look friends, don't you see that erasing just one meeting from the schedule weekens the fence that separates us from Satan?"

  This illustration was quite powerful and made people refrain from ever complaining about the schedule. I believe that the Society truly believes that it is their ordained duty to "corral" the friends in to protect them from Satan. I think that they truly believe that keeping the friends extremely busy is the only way to protect them from "worldly influences".

  To illustrate, I have heard of parents who were so terrified of their children getting germs and viruses, that they would force their children to engage in the most incredible rituals of cleaning, washing, and bathing. Often; the child because of being indoctrinated, becomes so terrified of germs, that he doesn't think twice about the rituals.

  Some parents because of having irrational fears and faulty information will do some very irrational things in trying to care for and protect their children. Some children fall in line and become comfortable with the behavior. Then, there are those few who revolt.
• 

  Arthur

  Hey, brutusmaximus,

  What the heck is going on in that picture thats under your alias. The picture is too small for me to tell. Is it a picture of you wrestling with someone? Just curious.
• 

  brutusmaximus

  To Arthur

  The guy in the picture is a friend on a stag party who had too much of the fizzy stuff and passed out on the toilet, breaking it. A quality event I think you'll find

  Yours looks a bit of an Artful Dodger type from Oliver Twist, nice

  BM
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  greendawn

  You are making an interesting point that the WTS burdens its members a great deal with all the things they have to do as part of being JWs. I never had this problem since I was a student at the time.
  
  For me it was the disgraceful way they treated some members of the anointed that made me realise they had big inconsistencies and that there was something untoward about the GB, why should all power and decision making be centralised in their hands?
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  luna2

  I like JH's preferred schedule. That five meetings a week, plus study, plus service was waaaaaay too much togetherness for me. I won't lie to ya, either, I like LOTS of time to myself. I am not a workaholic by any means. I'm sure I was often castigated as lazy...and I'd even agree.
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  DannyHaszard

  Can I go to College too? On wire JW pursue college degree in banking Community Bank & Trust announces promotions Northeast Georgian, GA - 50 minutes ago ... Georgia. She and her husband, Robert, are active members of the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses and live in Cleveland. Taylor ...

  [....Sobieski has worked in branch management, both traditional and in-store, and has been accepted into the first-year class of the Georgia Banking School held in conjunction with the Terry College of Business at the University of Georgia. She and her husband, Robert, are active members of the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses and live in Cleveland...] Danny Haszard comment: I was born 1957 and raised a Jehovah's Witnesses until my exit in 1992 from the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses Rockland Massachusetts if at any time i had pursued a college degree i would have been declared 'not exemplary' and not allowed and congregation 'privileges'.
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  evergreen

  Hi jambon 1.
  The work load was far too much. Some people may find it ok, but when you are in the thick of it week after week, talks, preparation, study, ministry. It tires just about everyone out after a while. Whats more to me it always felt like "All work no play.............."
  
  Also what about children. A childs natural desire is to play. But hey, thats up to mum and Dad because there is nothing "formally arranged" to suit the needs of witness children. No special events, no fun activities to cater for their active little lives as they are growing up. No, the important thing is that they are stuck in doors studying with mum and dad instead of mixing with those wordly kids having fun outside, they attend all the boring meetings and act like robots, and of course get out in the ministry as often as they can.
  
  Boy is it any wonder they end up leaving feeling quite bitterwhen they grow up.
  
  I think the society should review what Jesus meant when he said "my yoke is kindly and my load is light".
  
  
  Ps interesting topics keep it up
  
  Evergreen