Reading sizemik's post on this YPA article, I went back and actually read the article. Thought I'd actually put down the running commentary that was goung though my head with this thing.
YOUNG PEOPLE ASK: Is it wrong to be popular?
Fill in the word that completes the following statement:
It is ________ good to be popular.
A. always
B. sometimes
C. never
I've suddenly got that old Nada Surf song stuck in my head. "If you'll just listen to my plan - THE TEENAGE GUIDE TO POPULARITY!!!!"
THE correct answer is “B.” Why? Because to be popular simply means to be liked by a lot of people — and that’s not always wrong! The Bible foretold that Christians would be “a light of the nations” You know, Nero and the Romans tested that theory and found that using Christians as torches, while entertaining, just wasn't that practical and that people would be drawn to them. (Isaiah 42:6; Acts 13:47) In that sense, it can be said that Christians are popular. Well, considering that whole "light to the world" analogy is typically used to mean "We know better than you do. Follow our religion because yours is fake", I wouldn't say it makes Witnesses popular. I'd say it makes them pretentious prats.
Did you know? Jesus was popular. Yea, and look where it got him. Strung up next to a couple of criminals Even as a young person, he gained “favor with God and men.” (Luke 2:52) And the Bible says that when Jesus became an adult, “great crowds followed him from Galilee and Decapolis and Jerusalem and Judea and from the other side of the Jordan.”—Matthew 4:25. Couldn't have been the fact that Jesus was running around "curing every sort of disease and every sort of infirmity", including "those faring badly, distressed with various diseases and torments, demon-possessed and epileptic and paralyzed persons" (Matthew 4:23, 24). Come on, while the Romans were doing really well in terms of health care in 30 A.D., illness was still typically attributed to divine annoyance and your best bet at anesthetic was to get drunk beforehand. And here Jesus is, running around curing paralyzed people. Painlessly. For free. Of course he was popular. Can you imagine the amount of followers he would have gotten if he had thought to offer boob jobs too?
Why was that proper? Because Jesus wasn’t seeking glory or pursuing popularity, and he wasn’t desperate for others’ approval. Jesus simply did what was right — a stance that sometimes brought him favorable attention. Again, he was curing leprosy and handing out free fish and chips! If I were running around Atlanta with a free, instant cure for the clap I'd be popular too. (John 8:29, 30) At the same time, Jesus realized that any approval he won from the often-fickle public would be temporary. He acknowledged that in time people would put him to death!—Luke 9:22. He should have stayed a carpenter. Better to build that crucifixion setup than get stuck on it. And wasn't that "popularity" what pissed off the Romans and Pharisees and got him killed after all? Can't be labeled a treasonous "King of the Jews" if your followers are limited to a drunken hooker and Jesus' brother Bob.
The Bottom Line: Popularity is like wealth. Having it isn’t always wrong. The problem lies in what people do to obtain—or maintain—it. Woah, woah, woah, hang on here. Didn't Jesus himself said "It is easier for a camel to get through a needle’s eye than for a rich man to get into the kingdom of God."? And haven't the Witnesses always been more or less against the main ways that anyone actually acquires wealth - through education and time spent advancing your secular career? How the f*ck else to you think people get money? Oh, wait, you start a religion and people happily hand over their money to you. Forgot about that one. L. Ron Hubbard must have thought you guys were geniuses.
Warning! Many young people will do anything to be popular. Oh, yea. Those were my favorite girls in high school, you know. Some are people pleasers who follow the crowd. Ummmmmmm........ yea .... I'll jump on the sheeple comment in a bit. Others are bullies who try to force people to admire them—even if only out of fear.*
* The Bible speaks of bullies called “the Nephilim,” who are also referred to as “men of fame.” Their primary interest was in promoting their own glory.—Genesis 6:4.
Oh Great Vodka Gods in the sky, grant me patience. A divine being (Zeus) comes does to earth, sleeps with a human woman (Alcmene) who goes on to give birth to a superstrong giant (Hercules) is fiction, but a divine being (angels) coming down to earth, sleeping with human women who go on to give birth to superstrong giants (Nephilim) can just be swallowed as historical fact? Guys, give rational thought some work before you go off to start tackling popularity.
On the following pages, we will consider those two treacherous paths to popularity. Then we’ll look at a better route.
PATHS TO POPULARITY
THE PEOPLE PLEASER
- I need others’ approval.
- To get it, I must imitate their behavior.
- “I tried to change my demeanor so I’d fit in with others. At ?rst, it seemed to work. But later I came to realize that you should never change who you are just to be accepted.”—Nicole.
- Bible principle: “Don’t do something just because everyone else is doing it. . . . You must not let those people persuade you to do wrong things.”—Exodus 23:2, Holy Bible—Easy to Read Version.
OK. For an organization that would fall apart if it weren't supported by hordes of brainwashed myrmidons, you really do lay it on thick. "I need others' approval."? How much peer pressure gets put on people to spend more time in field service? How much to get baptized? How many times do people hold off on asking a difficult question of the elders because not imitating the rest of the congregation will get you singled out? The whole Witness model is one of pleasing the elders, pleasing the WTBTS and fitting in with the rest of the sheeple!!! Buncha sodding hypocrites, the lot of you.
THE BULLY
- I’m already well liked, and I want to keep things that way.
- I will do whatever it takes to stay on top — even if it means trampling on others.
Sounds like just about every Elder that I ever met, frankly, and if you don't think there are bullies or "people pleasers" in the Witnesses, you need to get your head checked. There are just as many cliques in the Witnesses as there are in any high school and they're just a vicious. But there are fewer opportunities to make out in the Kingdom Hall. Of the two evils, guess where I wanted to be less.- “Kids are often mean, and because bullies are more popular, a shy kid will believe that whatever they say is right.”—Raquel. Um..... how about this analogy instead - "Because that bully can disfellowship me and cut me off from every familial and social tie I have, I should probably believe that whatever he says is right.
- Bible principle: “Just as you want men to do to you, do the same way to them.” —Luke 6:31. Just do it to them first. That's the law of proactive self-defense.
A BETTER ROUTE
- 1 Know your standards. The Bible says that mature people have been “trained to distinguish both right and wrong.” —Hebrews 5:14. But don't worry, we know that's too much effort for you, so we're more than happy to tell you what's right and wrong instead
- 2 Stick to your beliefs. Be like Joshua, who con?dently said: “Choose for yourselves today whom you will serve... But as for me and my household, we shall serve Jehovah.”—Joshua 24:15.
This being the same Joshua who ran around slaughtering men, women and children, destroying towns and "not let[ting] a survivor remain". (Joshua 10:38-41). Real nice guy. Great role model. I want my kids to grow up to be just like him.- 3 Be confident about the path you have chosen. The apostle Paul reminded Timothy: “God gave us not a spirit of cowardice, but that of power.” —2 Timothy 1:7.
And if God tells you to burn the village and kill the children, enjoy the power and watch out for the cops.
- By applying the three points to the left, you may lose some popularity Well, at least among those you're striking down with the sword if you're following Joshua's example —but you will be likable to the right kind of people! The other sheeple, you mean.
WHAT YOUR PEERS SAY
Melissa —Sure, you can try to be just like every other kid walking down the school hallway. But that’s so boring! Being a Christian makes you stand out in a good way. It doesn’t make you weird. It makes you likable.
Ashley — I used to feel unpopular at school, but then I’d go to a Christian meeting and be with friends who loved me for who I was. At that point, any interest I had in winning the approval of my schoolmates would fade away.
Phillip —The key to being accepted by others is to take a personal interest in them. Recently I’ve been trying to do small things for my friends, and this has drawn me closer to them.
Damn. Melissa and Ashley are hot.