Decided Not to Ruin the Day Just to Make a Point about Education

by OnTheWayOut 15 Replies latest jw friends

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  AK - Jeff

  Nicely handled.

  My guess is that she already has massive conflict in this area under the surface. Obviously she takes a postion on education that is not the company line - though she is still able to quote the company line if she needs to - I would say her dissonance is already in full swing. You might not see it outwardly - and she may not quite know what that nagging thing is - but it is there.

  Five years from now you are both sitting there laughing about how long it took her to 'get it'. But 'get it' she will, my friend.

  Jeff
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  Scully

  It took over a decade for me to feel confident enough to return to school after I graduated high school. I don't know how many times, whenever I expressed a desire to improve my education to a JW, that my dreams were heckled with comments along the lines of how my time would be better spent Pioneering™, or that Armageddon™ is Right Around The Corner™, or that Armageddon™ would come before I graduated and I was taking a huge risk with my Spirituality™.

  Finally, it occurred to me that for me to allow my aptitude for science and medicine to go to waste would be like the parable of the slave who had been given a talent, but didn't even bother to put it in the bank to earn interest, and had nothing to show the Master upon his return. If I had been "blessed" with this "gift" but refused to develop it, I would be showing an ungrateful attitude to "god" who created me with this talent. That reasoning worked quite nicely with JWs, especially when I pointed out their own talents and how sad it was that they didn't pursue their dreams and goals... just waiting for the New System™ to develop them.
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  Lucky Calamity

  I like the way you expressed that, Scully. Skeeter said something similar somewhere earlier that I also appreciated, about jehovah making a bird who refused to use its wings to fly.

  If god gave us great minds, wouldn't he expect us to develop and use them to the maximum potential? Not pursuing education is like the bird not using its wings or you not using your talent.

  Someone once said to me that humility is knowing what you can do and doing it, and in light of all that, it's easy to understand the meaning - - just doing it and not making a big production out of it or debasing it with false humility the way the dubs do.
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  OnTheWayOut

  The slave's talent. I am going to use that somehow. Thanks.
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  nelly136

  its much nicer to have a great day so i think you made the right choice, constant nit picking just gets on the ears and nerves and makes you tune out, the occassional whisper makes you tune in and listen harder.
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  quietlyleaving

  I agree that her own dissonance will kick in one day.