Advantages of being a JW

by ISP 46 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  ISP

  Clearly there is a great deal of anti-JW sentiment here and elsewhere for that matter. Such feelings are generally directed at those at the heart of the organisation and there are no such feelings for the rank and file who are often very genuine people.

  In actual fact there are some advantages in being a fully loaded JW and to be fair it would be interesting to note them down. They can be factual or whimsical or both. For example............

  Answer for everything
  Its true to say when you are a R+F JW you do have an answer for everything, including all those difficult things that seem so puzzling, like why God permits suffering etc. I am not offering an objective assessment of those answers or that the JW will always find them satisfying but they will allow you to keep on doing what you want to do without much fuss or bother. When you leave the belief system you can soon realise there are many things you are now unsure of which can be disconcerting for that person.

  Saving money on Birthdays etc.
  You can sure save loads of dosh on cards and prezzies at birthdays and Christmas.

  All contributions are welcome!

  ISP
• 

  Carmel

  ISP,

  I've participated in other lists that talked about the positive effects of growing up a JW kid. Some had nothing on there list and others recognized that there were some advantages. For me there were certain core values that were given lip service by the Borg that I took to heart and believe to this day. The only problem was the WBTS didn't live up to its own claims. For instance we were taught that science and religion were in agreement, a concept I was attracted to. In reality, if "science" didn't agree with the GB then it was dismissed as "false science". How handy! We were told that there was no racial prejudice in the Society, again an ideal I was attracted to. The reality was quite the different.

  I will always be thankful for the early training in giving talks. I have no trouble addressing large or small gatherings, speaking or presiding in meetings of all kinds. Learned it as a good little dubby!

  I also gained a great deal of skepticism from the experiance yet didn't let the attitude prevent me from being open to new ideas and checking out other belief systems. Unlike many departing and departed JWs, a didn't buy into the mantra that all religion is a fraud. On the contrary, I have found the religious systems to be rather awe inspiring and another form of beauty mucked up by people.

  Guess I missed out on a lot of crap that others endured, but then I departed the mothership at the tender age of 15.

  carmel
• 

  larc

  Good Question,

  I thought of a couple more. You don't run the risk of getting killed in combat in a war. If you are smart, but too lazy to go to college, you will be seen as righteous. If you're a man, you probably don't have to worry about your wife getting mouthy with you. You can always accept presents, even if you don't give them. You also save money by not giving to charities. If you are too lazy to work over time, you can turn it down and feel holy. Also, you can spend all your money, because there is no need to save for retirement.

  Hey, I think I am going to go back.:):):)
• 

  waiting

  ok.....

  Men don't have to buy their wives expensive gifts or remember special days, well, gifts in general. Put way too much significance on anniversaries because we can't celebrate any other day. Poor single persons.

  Learn how to speed read to pick up "significant" words in an article.

  Doze at meetings without snoring or nodding of the head.

  Get over shyness - you will learn to talk to strangers and try to overcome their hostility.

  And, being from a rural, poor area originally, how to choose the proper seating in a stranger's house so that cockroaches won't climb into your clothes. That's been a great benefit to me in later years.

  waiting
• 

  trevor

  Hi ISP,

  There were many advantages to being a Witness, being part of a large brotherhood - the sisters were nice too! Friends, company, reassurance. Beleiving I had the answers to all life's mysteries when the rest of the world had lost the plot. The hope of a new world ' just around the corner'. Feeling special because God loved me and I could talk to him and call his name. Not having to strive to 'make it' in the world, just wait until Armageddon and then pick one of the millions of empty houses on planet earth for my own.

  It all seemed too good to be true. The trouble is - it was. Truth was not to be found in such a covinient ready made package. Alas I left and got on with reality.

  Hope your dream lasts for you

  trevor
• 

  Frenchy

  I will dwell only on the POSITIVE advantages.
  As a Witness you learn to cultivate humility. You can't be out in field service regularly without being humble.
  You learn to defend your convictions at an early age. When you are the only one not holding your hand over your heart over the pledge of allegiance in front of all your classmates and teachers then you know what courage is.
  You learn a respect for the Bible and become acqainted with it.
  You pray.
  You learn very high moral standards.
  You learn to think on your feet. When asked difficult questions at a door you learn to use the Bible to defend what you believe.
  You cultivate a desire to serve others.
• 

  larc

  One thing it gave me was the ability to work hard and see things through.

  It also gave me basic honesty, which is appreciated by your employer.

  It gave me verbal facility, which I see here from the rest of you, as well. Being able to speak and write articulatley is a blessing. However, I can't spell, but that's not their fault.
• 

  ISP

  I quite liked being able to go on holiday and associate with the local brothers, answering up at the Watchtower etc. That was cool.

  ISP
• 

  waiting

  This is a real one - several worldly persons have commented this to me and jw's agree wholeheartedly.

  We save a lot of money, time, and frustration by not celebrating any holidays. On the flip side - we missed a life of family & friends get-togethers, gifts, fun, enjoyment of this life.

  We know how to be thought of as odd by most other people, and learn to deal with it as if we didn't care.

  Those of us who came into the org. after marrying learned to fight over the most insignificant things with our mates. Such as Thanksgiving. Ok, I'll cook a turkey, but not make the other stuff. Ok, make the other stuff, but won't join in prayer. Ok, will sit at table but not bow my head. Ok, will drink wine, but will not share in toast. We learned to dread all holidays as a battleground with us being emotionally gutted. But we learned to stand our righteous ground and principles, and cry in the locked bathroom.

  We learn how to "use" words for our own purposes, even if we're not salesmen. Some people actually go to sales schools to learn how to do what we teach our kids from infancy.

  We saved so much time by not watching politics or voting. Of course, we don't know much about the governments or world, but we saved time.

  Some of us are learning the value of working later in life than we thought, hopefully, it'll keep us healthy. We have no retirement plans - and found out that we're nearing the retirement age. Our parents didn't plan on getting that old either - and some are quite poor, and our loving burden. We learn to show family love that way.

  Not all things we learned were beneficial for teaching, reproving, setting things straight.

  waiting
• 

  ISP

  Another one ...................

  I can say that my JW background has resulted in me not being racist etc. which I think is a good thing.

  ISP