There is no reason not to pioneer when you are sick!!!!!!!!!!!!

by life is to short 17 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

  • life is to short
    life is to short

    I just stumbled across this and was flabbergasted it is from the November 1982 KM

    " Doing Good to Those With Special Needs "

    4 It is not unusual for those who are themselves in need to be among the first to respond to the needs of others. In fact, many have found ways they can help themselves. Self-help is a vital factor in a happy, productive Christian life. There are hundreds of pioneers who are physically ill, but they keep busy in the preaching work. Some full-time workers are blind, deaf or in wheelchairs. Many new pioneers being enrolled are older brothers and sisters, some of whom are ill and live alone. Instead of isolating themselves and focusing their attention inward with self-pity, they are optimistic and outgoing. They are intensely occupied in sharing the message of the Kingdom with others. (Acts 18:5) The same can be said for many fatherless boys who have entered the pioneer work, Bethel service or the missionary field. Of course, many of those with special needs are not in a position to undertake the full-time service. Nevertheless, the examples given underscore the spirit that all of us should have and the blessed results.-Mark 10:28-30.

    Need I say more, I do understand that getting out of the house when you aredepressed is important but to feel that pioneering is the one of the only ways to help yourself is just unreal. I was never more depressed then when I was pioneering.

    LITS

  • serenitynow!
    serenitynow!

    The stupid cult loves to apply pressure & make people feel guilty. It makes me so angry! I used to wonder how they expected folks to pioneer when they worked low wage, menial jobs. Many barely had time & energy for meetings, let alone 60-90 hours a month for fruitless door knocking!

  • flying under the radar
    flying under the radar

    Of course you should pioneer then. You don't have to work if you're on disability...

  • OnTheWayOut
    OnTheWayOut

    I knew a lady who had chronic pain similar to arthritis all the time. She was trying to catch the interests of a man and wanted to look more "spiritual" so she pioneered. It worked out for her, the guy married her. She went to pioneer school before that and swore that pioneering made her better. Sometime after the wedding, she came off the pioneer list. Her pain was overwhelming and worse than ever before. In other words, she convinced herself she could be "better" to pioneer long enough to get married, but it really made matters worse.

    I knew plenty of depressed people who were told they would feel Jehovah's blessings if they auxilary pioneered. Most of them felt even more depressed when they spun their wheels for a month with no "Bible students" to show for it and just "placed" a bunch of magazines. They said how they let all other things go that month and didn't feel the blessings.

  • Ding
    Ding

    I'm sure there's some one-armed brother somewhere who swims through alligator infested rivers to meet his pioneer quota every month.

    Given that, shouldn't you be doing even more???

  • serenitynow!
    serenitynow!

    Flying...that used to piss me off even as a JW. I felt like if you can go out in service, your ass can work! Even if you were confined to your house & did telephone witnessing, you could work, I dont care if it's just telemarketing.

  • WTWizard
    WTWizard

    First, I will say that it is much easier to pio-sneer when you are collecting a check from the government (retirement, welfare, or disability) or are supported by a parent than when you have to work 40 hours a week on a low-paying job. Many of those in business are in cleaning businesses, and there is a lot that goes into running a business to keep it operating (and that's even before Osama ObamaCare. (Which adds 2,000 pages of regulations and links to countless other pages that could trap such businesses.) You need to maintain accounts with suppliers and customers, and if you have employees, you need to make sure they are doing their job properly and getting paid (and more paperwork).

    If you are sick, there is a good reason for disability. People with certain conditions are aggravated by continual activity. Some of these conditions will resolve if given proper therapy (natural or allopathic, or blended) and the person is not expected to be out there all the time. Back problems are often aggravated by field circus--I remember having back spasms that were aggravated by boasting sessions and field circus, that would improve with gentle lifting with my back. I can work with my back like that--albeit having to be careful not to bend my back too far. However, pio-sneering would make it worse so I would become disabled with it. Out of field circus, this condition has remained a non-issue.

    And there is stress from field circus. Getting in and out of cars is hard on your back--sometimes even worse than lifting heavy weights with your back. If you are weather sensitive and it gets colder or a prolonged spell of wet weather comes, you can be sidelined for weeks at a time. Trying to work in field circus at such times is inviting the base problem to get worse. People with leg or foot problems shouldn't do much climbing stairs--particularly older people that have balance problems. It could aggravate a moderate problem into a severe one, and there is a risk of falling (especially for older people, who could break a hip). People with major breathing problems, particularly COPD, can be aggravated by drizzly or misty weather, smoke from people at the door, dry cleaning fumes, or just being out in field circus during hot muggy weather.

    Aside this, there is one big reason why anyone should not pio-sneer. What are the actual costs? It is going to cost you money on car repairs, gas, suit dry cleanings, and supplies. It is going to cost you time--that you could have done other things with. It is going to cost you health--lack of sleep, stress, and the Pio-Sneer Diet. It is also going to put you with people you may not get along with for much of the time--they seem to always arrange things so those who are domineering are with those who they seek to control. You need to also analyze the benefits--and not be excessively optimistic. Are you really going to accomplish anything worthwhile? Is your life really contingent on pio-sneering? And, if the costs exceed the benefits, you have no business doing it.

  • Bangalore
    Bangalore

    The guilt tripping never ends.

    Bangalore

  • BluesBrother
    BluesBrother

    Kingdom Ministry 1993 March , page 3

    3" Why not analyze your personal feelings toward pioneer service? Whenever the subject is mentioned, do you quickly conclude that your circumstances simply do not permit you to serve as a pioneer minister? It is true that pioneering is not possible for everyone. Scriptural responsibilities and other limitations prevent many from serving full-time. (1 Tim. 5:8) But have you recently given the matter prayerful thought? Have you discussed the subject as a family to see if at least one member can pioneer? The November 15, 1982, issue of The Watchtower made this thought-provoking statement on page 23: “Really, every Christian minister should prayerfully consider whether he can pioneer or not. A South African couple who have pioneered for fifteen years said: ‘Why are we pioneering? Could we ever justify it before Jehovah if we did not?’ Many who are not pioneers could well ask the related question: ‘Can I really justify before Jehovah the fact that I am not a pioneer?’”

    4 Another Watchtower article on the subject made this pointed comment: “Each of us should be honest with himself. Do you say, ‘The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak’? But is the spirit really willing? Let us avoid using the weakness of the flesh as an excuse for the unwillingness of the spirit.”—w78 8/15 p. 23."

  • MrFreeze
    MrFreeze

    There is no reason good enough to be taken off the list apparently as the elders in my hall demonstrated. So what if I wasnt making the hours and working full time plus overtime. They only cared about having the MS brother pioneer. Who cares about my restrictions and my time?

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