"Put Jehovah First...." what does this mean? Anyone?

by HappyGuy 15 Replies latest jw friends

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  HappyGuy

  I was baptized at the age of 15, my father was very opposed. I loved god and wanted to be a spiritual person. So, anything in the literature which told one how to be a spiritual person was of great interest to me.

  I remember hearing and reading this phrase over and over and over again "Put Jehovah First".

  Don't get an education - "PUt Jehovah First".

  Don't take that EMT certification course that meets on Tue and Thursday for 6 weeks - "Put Jehovah First".

  Don't get a real career, be a janitor and "Put Jehovah First".

  Don't spend time with your "worldly" parents on the weekends, instead abandon them and fill your time up with field service and meetings and "Put Jehovah FIrst".

  on and on it goes.

  But WHAT IN THE FUCK DOES IT MEAN?????
• 

  OUTLAW

  In Watchtower World..

  The Watchtower=Jehovah..

  "Put Jehovah The Watchtower First"

  .................... ...OUTLAW
• 

  Billy the Ex-Bethelite

  I wasted decades "putting Jehovah first".

  In reality it means, "Put Watchtower Corporation first"

  ... then you die.
• 

  garyneal

  In dub-land, it really does mean putting the organization first.

  Don't get an education - "PUt Jehovah First".

  Translation, don't spend a lot of time studying books and attending classes in college when you could be studying WT magazines and attending meetings instead.

  Don't take that EMT certification course that meets on Tue and Thursday for 6 weeks - "Put Jehovah First".

  Do I really need to translate this? Looks pretty self explanatory.

  Don't get a real career, be a janitor and "Put Jehovah First".

  Translation, don't get a job that can take you away from or make you too tired to attend meetings and/or book studies. Get a job that does not demand much from you and therefore does not pay much in return.

  Don't spend time with your "worldly" parents on the weekends, instead abandon them and fill your time up with field service and meetings and "Put Jehovah FIrst".

  Pretty self explanatory.
• 

  villabolo

  What it means is that you put the organization first. It is common for people to project their own feelings and ideas into God and those who are manipulative in any religion (or nation, business, any group of people) treat their god as if he were a puppet that they could speak through kind of like "Oz" in The Wizard of Oz. There is another phrase used by JWs which goes "Don't leave Jehovah". They use that phrase even if you believe in absolutely everything they teach but don't want to attend the meetings. They simply cannot distinguish Jehovah from their organization literally! It's basically a spiritual Bait and Switch scam that promises you a god but instead gives you a bunch of senile imbeciles to govern your life.

  villabolo
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  frankiespeakin

  In addition to what already has been said the WT relishes the idea that Jehovah is a jealous demanding god,, that has a claim on all your affections and loyalties,, that's why they always harp on scriptures that make those points. It comes at no surpise then that they even have a weekly meeting called the "Service Meeting".

  In this way they can use guilt in combination with fear to get you to slave for the interests of the WT book publishing company and get out there and sell more books or what ever it is they need you to do to increase there size and power,, be it volunteering to work for nothing building kingdom halls, or being a CO,, or working like a slave at Bethel. It's all a marketing ploy which capitalizes on suckers.
• 

  HappyGuy

  It's all a marketing ploy which capitalizes on suckers.

  I guess I was a sucker then because the reason I had a shipwreck of faith was the guilt. And my "sins" were spotty meeting attendance due to my work schedule and stress.

  I just couldn't take feeling so guilty all the time any more.
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  Aussie Oz

  Anything that the organization, the society, wants you to do.

  It means put your self last. Anything you want to do for yourself is against 'Jehovah's will.

  It is JW speak that is designed to control not only your actions but also your mind.

  It is shameful that they baptize kids, god, who at 15 knows anything about who they are and what they want. And they will trap you for life at 15 or younger. should be illegal.

  Oz
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  dig692

  Put Jehovah First means your life is no longer yours. It belongs to the WTB&TS for them to do with it as they please. Kind of reminds me of the other phrase I never understood..."make the truth your own". Translation...believe everything the WTB&TS tells you and do as they say.
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  finallysomepride

  Outlaws got it in a nutshell