One of the things many of us faced as we left the WTS was the loss of respect from Witnesses that we may have really liked. Some may point to us as those who have lost Jehovah's spirit and blessing in their life, and are suffering the consequences. These can be hard issues to face.
Yesterday I was discussing these ideas with a psychologist friend, and later with my wife. My wife will be attending an assembly this weekend. She has to go without me, and I was once the assembly overseer for this circuit. She has to face that "poor sister, here w/out her husband" mentality, and also the idea that some will see my leaving as the loss of holy spirit, etc.
At this point it no longer bothers me, and I discussed how I view this with the psychologist. He thought my reasoning was an effective way to take the damaging power from the Witnesses in this situation. It may be of help to some others as your facing these issues.
I see this as if I'm an adult on a playground with a bunch of little kids. Christmas is coming and they are all excited about getting presents. When they ask me, I tell them I don't really believe in Santa Claus anymore. Some of the children get upset, and tell me that it's bad to think that way and because of that Santa Claus isn't going to come to my house and bring me presents. And they pity me 'cause of what I'm going to miss out on.
Do I get mad at those kids? Do their comments hurt me? Or do I simply laugh at the absurdity of it, recognizing who really knows the score here? How do you get angry t a child who is only repeating what he has been told, and who is too young to really handle the truth?
Well, it's the same with the Witnesses. They cling like children to a belief that has no rational basis, looking to a mythical Jehovah to bring them the presents of a new system, everlasting life and so on, and thinking that this great Jehovah will soon dump the lump of coal (everlasting death) on us bad boys.
When you see the Witness belief for what it is, it loses it's power to hurt you. Like the little children on the playground, you can pat them on the head and walk away smiling, leaving them with their illusions of who is really going to put those presents under the tree Xmas morning.
The WTS had a huge power over most of us who spent years in it. Growing up spiritually is a major step in recognizing that in reality, there is only as much power in the WTS as we are willing to give it by the way we think. Once you recognize the Witnesses and the Society for what they are, this self-proclaimed mighty instrument of Jehovah suddenly appears as it really is - a floundering man-made organization desperately trying to keep itself alive. You can pat the poor little thing on its head and walk away, smiling, as it sputters and moans ineffectively on the playground.
S4