I thought about this over the weekend, and it seems to me that Jehovahs Witnesses, and even other Christian/non-Christian groups, have looked Gods gift horse in the mouth. For the purposes of this small "thesis", I will focus on Jehovahs-Witnesses.
What is Gods "gift horse"? Gods "gift horse" is TIME. Raw, un-refundable TIME. Jehovahs Witnesses like to apply Matthew 25:14-30 towards themselves as they are this "good and faithful slave" who are deserving of the 5 talents, or all things from God.
Matt 25:14-30 "For it is like a man, going into another country, who called his own servants, and entrusted his goods to them. To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one; to each according to his own ability. Then he went on his journey. Immediately he who received the five talents went and traded with them, and made another five talents. In like manner he also who got the two gained another two. But he who received the one went away and dug in the earth, and hid his lord’s money. "Now after a long time the lord of those servants came, and reconciled accounts with them. He who received the five talents came and brought another five talents, saying, ‘Lord, you delivered to me five talents. Behold, I have gained another five talents besides them.’ "His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a few things, I will set you over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’ "He also who got the two talents came and said, ‘Lord, you delivered to me two talents. Behold, I have gained another two talents besides them.’ "His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a few things, I will set you over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’ "He also who had received the one talent came and said, ‘Lord, I knew you that you are a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not scatter. I was afraid, and went away and hid your talent in the earth. Behold, you have what is yours.’ "But his lord answered him, ‘You wicked and slothful servant. You knew that I reap where I didn’t sow, and gather where I didn’t scatter. You ought therefore to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received back my own with interest. Take away therefore the talent from him, and give it to him who has the ten talents. For to everyone who has will be given, and he will have abundance, but from him who has not, even that which he has will be taken away. Throw out the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’"
Yet, Jehovahs-Witnesses, in general do not look beyond, to the REAL meaning of this scripture. Lets look at this from another perspective. The talents here are TIME. God gives these talents freely to everyone. Its dependant upon us as to how we will use them. Do we use these talents in a benefical way, or are we wasting them?
Does God expect us to use these talents for HIS benefit or OURS? If we say HIS, then have we looked this "gift horse" in the mouth? If we say OURS, are we selfish? Is it REALLY selfish to use them to our benefit since we are creatures of time to begin with? I don't believe so.
God is omnipotent and omniscent, so he should be able to understand our needs, right? The question becomes, how do we USE these talents? JW's would have you believe that God wants you to live the life of a pouper, contribute every waking minute to His service. But is that really so? Did not Jesus, the son of God say that God wanted Mercy and not Sacrifice? Did not Jesus, the son of God say that we should do unto others as we would have them do onto us? Did not Jesus, the son of God say that the whole law hinged on TWO things - love your neighbor and love God?
Time is a non refundable Gift given to us by god. It does not matter if this life is all there is, or if an after life exists, TIME is NONREFUNDABLE!! If we use our TIME talents properly, and apply the golden rule, we can have a life full of many pleasures, with many possibilities. Can you imagine being judged by God and he wants to know how you used the talents he gave you? You might say, "I used the talents you gave me for YOU". Unfortunately, you would be like the wicked slave who selfishly buried his talent. God will then tell you that you should have invested it into the "human bank", which is giving yourself to others in a truely BENEFICIAL way (services for the poor, helping others achive their goals, etc. - TANGIBLE ACCOMPLISHMENTS). It would be better to tell God that you used his talent of TIME and made it grow for YOU. YOU took advantage of TIME and made yourself a better person, achieved your goals in life, and reached your apex before dieing. This is what God wants to hear. He doesn't want to hear you say you pissed the only NON REFUNDABLE asset you had down the drain. He doesn't want you to give back to HIM what he already has an infinite amount of. He wants you to take the gift horse he gave you and turn it into a racing horse, farm horse, or even a buggy horse. HE DOES NOT want you to take the gift, inspect it over, and give it back because you feel He does not want you to have it.
So, live life, be happy, make your own doors, and stop wasting your ONLY commodity on truely nonsensical actions such as preaching, ad nausum, etc.