Is it Okay for JW's to 'Celebrate' Their Birthday With Business Promotions?

OnTheWayOut

What I mean is, is it okay to go into the ice cream parlor or tavern and accept the free product on your birthday?
Or to register your birthday on some business website and receive a coupon for a free meal or discount or something?

I ask because my wife registered her Starbucks card and got a postcard for a free birthday drink. I know she will get the drink and I wondered if that were okay for JW's. If I asked JW's, they would probably say it's a simple business promotion being taken advantage of. But nearly everytime I use such promotions, I get "Happy Birthday" from the vender's employee. At Menard's, the clerk even sang the B-day song to me.

Is it hypocritical of them to take advantage of such birthday promotions? Is it like taking a Christmas bonus?

cantleave

Since when has there been consistency with JW beliefs?

OUTLAW

OTWO..

Theres a JW Family that owns a few Music stores here in BC..

Every year during the Christmas Season,they have an "Anniversary Sale"..

JW`s can find a way to get around anything..

...................... ...OUTLAW

yknot

I suppose if you want to cause some 'guilt' just for the 'fun of it' .....

*** g76 7/8 pp. 27-28 What About Celebrating Birthdays? ***
Interestingly, the same encyclopedia says of the ancient Greeks and Romans: “The giving of presents on particular occasions was often dictated by superstitious fears, as in the case of birthday-gifts?’ The article notes that the practice of giving these gifts “was formerly accounted to possess a magic virtue.”

serenitynow!

OTWO, I always did as a JW. As far as I was concerned, it was just about getting a freebie. When I was inactive, but still not celebrating anything, a worldly friend of mine asked me why I would refuse to celebrate birthdays but accept something free from a company on my b-day. I never really saw the problem with it, it was about getting something free. I think that she was mostly irritated that I wouldn't celebrate her b-day, it just so happened that her b-day fell on my baptism date, so I definitely would not have celebrated that.

A JW friend of mine is the one who turned me onto the Loehmann's birthday discount. We would try to remember to take advantage of everyone in the group's b-day discount. I like to make the rounds during my b-day month getting all my specials at the stores.

I never did the b-day thing in the restaurant, because they would do the singing, and I did not want that.

serenitynow!

I get "Happy Birthday" from the vender's employee.

If people want to say happy birthday, I don't(didn't) care. I handle it the same like if someone tells me "bless you" after I sneeze or "have a blessed day" or "merry christmas" , I just say "thank you" and move on.

OnTheWayOut

I am not trying to give my wife guilt over this, nor do I see anything wrong with getting a freebie. But is it hypocritical to say that "celebrating" one's birthday is wrong, yet sign up for companies that use birthday celebrations to offer you a discount?

I know I stated it so slanted now, but it is a legitimate question. Others might say the company wants to offer you something to get you in the habit of going there or a restaurant wants your business because hardly anyone would eat alone on their b-day, but bring paying friends, so it's just the way business is done.

serenitynow!

But is it hypocritical to say that "celebrating" one's birthday is wrong, yet sign up for companies that use birthday celebrations to offer you a discount?

Yes. If you want to be all technical. It's one of those things that as a JW I probably felt was more a "conscience matter ™"

Mad Dawg

It is probably ok to drink it as long as she does not enjoy it and does not have any thoughts about her birthday. It would probably help if she put the money saved in the KH offering box.

garyneal

OTWO, I get the same behavior from my wife. I just ignore it now, figuring that it is between her a Jehovah The Faithful Slave.

Is it Okay for JW's to 'Celebrate' Their Birthday With Business Promotions?

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