Do more! Not enough! Sacrifice of praise! Inspired by Minimus' thread

by 5thGeneration 8 Replies latest jw friends

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  5thGeneration

  My father was well off. Elder for 40 years.

  He pioneered for 25 years and the attitude was, 'well it's nothing for him, no sacrifice, he has money!"

  When he quit for health reasons the attitude was, 'Why isn't Bro. 5th Dad pioneering, he can afford to!"

  He went to the Elder school one year and I asked him what was new. He said "same 'ol thing... your not doing enough, do more!'

  His response surprised me because he's so hardcore.

  So I believe that a lot of hardcore J Dubs feel this.

  5th

  " Take my yoke upon YOU and learn from me, for I am mild-tempered and lowly in heart, and YOU will find refreshment for YOUR souls. For my yoke is kindly and my load is light.” - Matthew 11: 29,30

  - YEAH RIGHT!
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  lepermessiah

  With apologies to Lou Reed's Dirty Blvd:

  Give me your hungry, your tired your poor I'll piss on 'em
  that's what the Statue of Bigotry WT says
  Your poor huddled masses, let's club 'em to death
  and get it over with and just dump 'em on the boulevard outside of the KH
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  5thGeneration

  LOL
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  mindmelda

  There's only one reason you'd be constantly guilted into feeling you're not doing enough, and you'll find it's the same in all high control religious groups.

  It's because there is someone benefitting from all your hard, freely given labor. And it's not you.
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  minimus

  JWs are a cult. Cults do this sh*t.
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  5thGeneration

  If the R&F feel this way, it's amazing how many keep it up for so long.

  It used to feel like a dead-end job to me. Worked like crazy for the cong and then get bashed by the elders for not doing more.
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  WTWizard

  They tried that on me. When I was first going in, they tried to bring me in by the strictest possible interpretation, using the lame excuse that it would give me the best possible chance for salvation (in fact, it would do the exact opposite because I have "learned" the more restrictive version and not a more moderate version). They wanted me to give up my music, and throw it away instead of selling it. They wanted me to have zero tolerance for others' celebrating holidays because my responsibility was their salvation. They wanted me out in field circus at 9 in the morning after knowing I could well be at work until after 2 AM. They worried that I was not going to do field circus for the month as of September 3, when they knew I didn't go out on weekends for work and I didn't get a ride to the Kingdumb Hell for Labor Day witlessing.

  And not only did they try to extract more out of me, but they wanted to drive a wedge between me and the opposite sex. By bringing me in with the strictest interpretation, I would come across as a potential tyrant to any potential mate. Things like having zero tolerance for groups like Led Zeppelin (which is not all that bad, after all they bashed them), not tolerating the watching of Christmas TV specials and driving around to see the Christmas lights, and always doing more. And they wonder why they aren't getting anything out of me at all now.
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  AudeSapere

  You know... I just had a conversation about this with someone else today. I wonder if this is a seed that can be planted in the mind of people when we are confronted with a JW who wants to 'help' or witness to us.

  The load that the org puts on its members is not light. The yoke is burdensome. And the good work that we do is NEVER enough. Never is there a thank you for all your hard work.

  Doing more in the service of a greedy organization has not ever made a person really happy.

  Back in the mid-80's I was working fulltime and started regular pioneering. I was trying to reach out as far as a single woman in that or could. I thought I was sacrificing for Jehovah. Instead of feeling more a part of the cong, I started to become bitter. A workmate noticed the difference and called me on it. Noting that most people who get more involved in their religion usually get happier and more relaxed, the opposite was happening to me. The more I did, the worse I felt. And it showed. I should have taken note but kept on pioneering for 3 years. Took me another 10 years to step away from the org and start healing from the spiritual abuse.

  -Aude.
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  teel

  If you do a sacrifice, it will seem all too natural. It's like in the joke: "If you do the impossible, tomorrow your boss will put it on your daily todo list".

  Because of my work it was every week a fight to get to the KH in the middle of the week. On the meeting day I came from home fully dressed in suit, worked all day, then skipping the last half an hour I rushed to the KH to get in just in the last minute, then I got home late at night. Because now and then there was urgent work, I missed the meeting (every 2-3 months one). So what do the elders say to that?

  On one visit the elder wanted to "encourage" me by telling experiences about "brothers" who took their day off, or switched with someone else just to get to the meeting. I was at loss of words. Did he had no idea of my sacrifice, or this was a rehearsed script he had to follow? Right, the guy who relaxes at home all day is the spiritual one, me who puts my last bit of energy into making it to the meeting could do better.