| I agree with everyone here. I judged in my heart everyone but treated everyone the same regardless. In my mind though, there was a file for every perceived infraction from noticing a person's WT not having enough underlining or highlighting or not marked at all as being not read or studied at all to honoring the DF'ing thing by a small smile but no hello for them. I judged harshly in my mind but not in practice. I'm a much better person and freer too now that I simply accept people for who they are and what they want to be. |
Did being a JW make you overly judgemental?
by Frequent_Fader_Miles 36 Replies latest jw experiences
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White Dove
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shopaholic
No, I wasn't judgemental. In fact I was often judged for not being judgemental...LOL...I've always had the opinion that people should do whatever they want as long as it does interfere with the well-being of others.
Believe it or not, in my congregation you were talked about if you only picked up a few magazines a month or if you didn't have a rubbermaid tub of mags in your trunk, after all that is the sign of true spirituality.
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Maddie
No I wasn't very judgemental, never have been.
Maddie
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trevor
This was my experience -
All members, even children, are expected to raise their hand and comment when questions are addressed to the congregation. The quality and frequency of comment is seen as an accurate gauge of one’s “heart condition.” It is very easy to tell if a member is in tune with the latest thinking by his comments. If a brother is disturbed or annoyed over something he will remain silent. If he does answer any discord will usually show. All the members watch one another closely and listen for any signs of rebellion or independence developing. If two families should get together for say, Sunday tea, then the conversation will revolve around things to do with the congregation or the Society. These are termed “spiritual matters.”
However close one may be to fellow members they must remain on their guard. If one confides a doubt or grievance, the friend will see it as his duty to report the conversation. It is seen as a test of loyalty. Will the member be loyal to his friend and remain silent or be loyal to Jehovah, alias the Society? Reporting a friend is not seen as a betrayal but rather a display of deep principled love for the friend. Members are encouraged to report each other so the weak member can be identified by the elders and helped. This involves adjusting his or her thinking to be in line with the others. Members who are not totally in line find that they are unable to make friends within the congregation. Even if they do keep up appearances and keep their thoughts to themselves, they still do not have close friends.
Taken from the book, ‘Opening the Door to Jehovah’s Witnesses.’ By Trevor Willis.
For your Free Download of this honest and informative insight into the world of The Watchtower Society Just go to go to Lulu.com and enter 196558 in the search box at the top of the page. It is in Adobe reader format.
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shopaholic
Interesting comment about commenting. I was at one congregation that judged people by how often they commented or raised their hands. If you were single and participated very little in the meetings you were suspected of having a problem with masturbation. I'm not kidding. It was even mentioned in a local needs part. I felt bad for the really shy folks in the hall.
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blondie
Trying to be perfect makes people judge others. The pressure is on at the KH to be a perfect human now when it is impossible. So jws take the pressure of failure and place it on others in the congregation. Once out of that cult type thinking, you can improve and be content with your achievements. What is perfect, anyway?
Blondie
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Frequent_Fader_Miles
If you were single and participated very little in the meetings you were suspected of having a problem with masturbation
That's absolutely hilarious!!!! Not to mention absurd!
Maybe they thought your arm would've been too tired. lol
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bobld
They say....like father... like son.Like GB....like R&F slave.Why would a JW be any less judgemental than what the GB feeds them.The world has different help groups like AA.I wonder if there is a help group for recovering X-WBTS members.
Bob
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changeling
Yes.
changeling
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Finally-Free
If you were single and participated very little in the meetings you were suspected of having a problem with masturbation.
That explains why I almost never commented at meetings.
...even after I was married.
W