"Do not be loving the world or the things in the world."--1 John 2:15
WT comments: "Satan's system seems to be permanent and real. Nevertheless, one day it will come to an end. Nothing that Satan's world has to offer has permanence."
Not sure if there's an unspoken juxtaposition here: if Satan's system seems permanent and real, then Jehovah's system seems...unstable, in a state of constant change, and unreal? And if nothing Satan's world has to offer has permanence, then that explains the need for all those excellent Watchtower real estate deals worth hundreds of millions of dollars. It's never too late to get into the real estate market, people. The Society is just participating in Satan's "going out of business" deals, that's all! This old system is a lot like real estate, in fact--you've got to get rid of it before the value goes down too low!
And it seems like "the heart is treacherous" (Jer. 17:9) must be the only scripture in the Bible; it gets used for practically every scenario in which one might be tempted to think about something beneficial to oneself. Want to buy a new car/house, get a better job? The heart is treacherous. But not so treacherous that the Society needs to provide financial statements to show what they're doing with the donations or anything. Their hearts are obviously incorruptible in matters of finance. We have to show full trust in those appointed to take the lead, remember? Only your heart is vulnerable to treachery, not theirs.
"Therefore, should we not 'keep testing whether we are in the faith, keep proving what we ourselves are' by honest self-examination in light of what we study in the Bible? (2 Cor. 13:5)" 'Honest self-examination' can never be done in light of the Bible alone, but it is assumed that the writer of this article will never have to say that, his audience already knows. Any honest self-examination without Watchtower literature--or at least Watchtower interpretation of scripture--is automatically 'dishonest', 'haughty', 'independent thinking', and so on. So this should read "...by honest self-examination in light of what we study in the [Watchtower literature]?"
Identifying traits of a cult:
--Fear of the outside world/Satan
--Guilt/shame followers against improving their financial status
--Fear of imminent apocalypse
Until next time...
--sd-7 (I'm also an identifying trait of a cult, apparently, but this is really meant as a signature of sorts...)