As many of us are aware the WT society has done quite nicely in a material way for themselves. The sales of properties of the former " Bethel " in Brooklyn amassed them millions of more $$$$ . They have relocated into upstate New York and are building like wildmen. The " takeover of kingdom halls by the WT society through Circuit Overseers guilting elders " project is moving along quite nicely with the WT society regaining ownership of kingdom halls from local elders by pressuring elders to see they need their halls to be remodeled and be in debt to the WT society to do so - thus giving the WT society control of most all kingdom hall pursestrings. Along with this , the donations, inheritances, wills, estates, cars, jewelry, and other financial " contributions " given by elderly or otherwise wealthy or non-wealthy JW's - the WT society has amassed into being a billion $$$ corporation.
That being said how does the WT society treat their own JW members regarding their personal finances ?? Notice the quotes in this Sept. 15th WT page 26 under the article " Stand Firm and Avoid Satans traps ! ". After acknowledging in paragraph 4 that, " with the high cost of living and rising unemployment rates, you may find it difficult to make ends meet " - makes one think at first that the WT society may be understanding this time of how hard it is for JW's to earn a living. But not so fast, they aren't THAT empathetic.
In paragraph 6 it states, " The desire for riches may start innocently. Your employer approaches you and says: " I have good news ! The company has won a huge contract. This will mean working overtime quite often for the next few months. But I can assure you that the pay will make it well worth your effort. " How would you react to such an offer ? Of course , the need to provide materially for your family is a serious responsibility, but it is not the ONLY responsibility you have. There are several other concerns you HAVE to take into account. How much overtime will be involved ? Will your secular work interfere with your spiritual activities, including congregation meetings and your Family Worship evening ? " Then the WT society amps up the guiltmeter. It continues, " In weighing your decison, what would you consider to be foremost - how the overtime work would affect your bank account or how it might affect your spirituality ? Would eagerness to make more money cause you to stop putting kingdom interests first in life ? Can you see how materialism would affect you if you were to neglect your own spiritual health and that of your family ?"
O.k. Enough already ! Here we have a multi million $$$ corporation earning millions of $$$$ telling it's members to NOT work overtime to provide for their families needs- yet the WT society continues to profit off of real estate investments, money laundering schemes, and guilting JW older widows into million $$$ donations for the alleged " kingdom work ". These guys make Bernie Madoff look like a saint !
When I used to be a JW years ago- I can't tell you how many career opportunities I passed by on just because I was guilted by my then JW wife, elders, or other overzealous Witnesses to NOT accept such opportunities as I'd " fall out of Jah's favor " ! What actually happened is I was more broke financially than I should have been at those times due to following their faulty advice !
Bottom line is the WT society couldn't care less about the financial welfare of it's members . Did any of you experience being guilted into not pursuing careers or jobs as a JW and later regretted it ? As always I look forward to your takes, observations, and any experiences you had in this regard. I hope you all are well and doing better than when we were JW's. Peace out to you all, Mr. Flipper