what I got from the JWs....structure

drew sagan

I was inspired to post this because of another post my minimus.

Many have wondered how a 15 year old kid gets interested and hooked into being a Jehovah's Witness. I was having a conversation with my wife the other day (mainly talking about my parents) and she made a pretty interested observation that I thought I would share.

The house that I grew up in was highly disorganized. My parents had little structure. There were not commands to "brush your teeth" before you go to bed or "do your homework". They would suggest that we should do those kinds things from time to time, but never with any passion. They instead usually seemed pretty absorbed in their own day to day problems. My wife seemed shocked when I told her that I many times didn't have a lunch or lunch money because no one had planned on either getting us lunch money or lunches. Last minute dad would check his wallet to see if he anything to give and sometimes he would complain. He was always complaining, life was just "to hard". Blah blah blah

Anyway, it was in this atmosphere that I got connected with the JWs. Not only was I young, naive, and idealistic, I also had a yearning for some sort of structure. It was actually this structure (and seeing people who lived structured lives, or so i thought) that I believe really attracted me to the Kingdom Hall.

This was my wifes observation. She remarked that both me and my brother enetered into highly structured lifestyles during our early adult lives. I went into the Jehovah's Witnesses and he went into the United States Marine Corps.

I have to say that from time to time by desire for a "structured" life still comes back to me. It has absolutly nothing to do with belief (although when I was JW I did believe what I was taught). It's not about theology or "truth", but rather it was an attraction to the structured lifestyle that the JWs live by. Other groups that function in such a way are equally attractive in their own way to me. Of course, all of this is a rather weak desire these days, a passing interest that goes away rather quickly. But back when I was a naive teenager I really do believe that the structured lifestyle of the JWs was a major reason that I was attracted to the group.

AllTimeJeff

Drew

What you experienced is not uncommon at all. I think your wife to be very perceptive to notice this.

This link below is from Scott Peck, discussing the 4 stages of Spirituality. I found it very compelling. It used to be on escapefromwatchtower but they took it off, it is now on this Buddhist website.

Again, I think there are many good observations here, no matter what stage you identify yourself at, or if you consider yourself a theist, agnostic, or atheist.

The 4 Stages of Spirituality by Scott Peck

keyser soze

I think it played a part for me, too. My parents were very similar to yours, in that there wasn't a lot of structure, or discipline. I saw what that lack of structure did to my older brothers when they were in school, and living at home, and I didn't want it to be that way for me. So I was a good J-dub, who followed the rules.

Satanus

Very insightful writing by peck, jeff.

S

WTWizard

To go from no rules to everything you do being what you are told to--.

Better to simply plan ahead for necessary things, and not go to the opposite extreme of having everything planned for you. Especially when that includes giving all your lunch money to the Worldwide Pedophile Defense Fund, and all your time for boasting sessions and field circus.