I appreciate the experience but I am wish you hadn't put his name there. I just feel it is not necessary to convey the point and could have unforseen consequences. They take a legal vow of poverty and because of that they are usually entitled to keep monetary gifts without paying tax on it. If they choose to save it for later in life that is prudent.
Former Longtime Elder- Met up with a Former CO,DO
by James Jackson 47 Replies latest jw friends
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free2Bme13
We had friends that wanted to be in the circuit work but had a fair amount of money that they couldn't have in their name if they became CO so they were going to put it in the mom's name but still have access to it so the wife could continue to buy her designer shoes. There's always a way around rules.
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Oubliette
So a CO/DO that is one of the "smart ones" proves it by living contrary to the BS that he spewed for 40 years.
Typical conman playing a typical congame.
What a screwed up religion!
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Quendi
I agree with Oubliette. This man is a hypocrite and a parasite. What do his actions say about the religion which sponsored him? But when you think about it, hasn’t the Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses done the same thing? They are living high off the hog while many other Witnesses struggle to meet ends meet, aren’t they?
Quendi
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princecharmant
C'me on! Give the man a break! If he complained that he could only now live off bread and water, many here would be gloating at his stupidity. Now that he says he was "smart" to plan for his latter days, many here are mad that he did such an awful thing as think ahead.
Some people are never happy, whichever way the dice rolls.
pc
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LisaRose
The problem I have with that is that A)while telling others to put kingdom interests first and that the end was coming very soon, he was hedging his bets. And B) How many gave money they could have been putting aside for their own retirement, assuming the CO needed it for daily expenses?
Don't get me wrong, he was smart to put money aside, but it seems hypocritical. The society should encourage people to plan for the future, but they don't because they don't want people to think the end is not coming and they don't want people to donate less to them, meanwhile, they make long range plans. They could spend more on the preaching work, supposedly the most important thing, but they are accumulating it. You have to wonder why.
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Monsieur
I think that for practical purposes he was very smart.
At some point, 'smart' people figure certain things out and actually make the system work for them. In other words, they are able to set aside the 'emotional' factor and keep things practical. He might not have concieved of the idea that armageddon would NOT come in his lifetime at the beginning of his career, but at some point he figured 'Yep, this here system is sticking around champ. better plan accordingly'.
one of the most charismatic and genuinely nice co's i ever met read the bible AND the stock market everyday. as a business man i could appreciate this. he had bought property, investments, and ran two business WHILE serving as a CO. My hats off to him, I thought.
The fact is, you can make it work in ANY situation, as long as you are smart and take the emotion out of the equation. (this is how you can in fact preach that one should not be greedy or put 'worldly' interests first, not get tangled in satan's system etc).
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AndDontCallMeShirley
No one is criticizing this DO for planning ahead. What is being criticized is the fact that he's planning for this system of things being here long enough for him to retire while telling all JWs in his district to do the opposite. I have yet to hear a CO or DO give a talk encouraging the average JW to be smart and prepare for old age in this life.
The WT Society comes right out in the literature and says if you and I invest in the stock market or real estate, or set up a retirement account, we "lack faith" and are putting our trust in "Satan's world". If you or I make make long-range plans, like going to university, we are accused of being materialistic and lacking faith. Hypocritically, the WT and it's men in leadership positions, like CO's and DO's, do the exact OPPOSITE of what they tell the Average Joe JW to do. They invest, save and make long-range plans- all to their own benefit.
Now, if this DO was known for telling JWs to save, invest and prepare for this world being here a long time, and that Armageddon probably was not coming in their lifetime, then he would be beyond reproach. However, something tells me that was not the advice he was giving. If it was, he wouldn't have retired as a DO- the WT would've removed him immediately.
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Vidiot
LongHairGal - "Sometimes being a JW really 'works' for some people."
It sure works for the GB.
I think, for a rank-and-filer, you have to be a full-on True Believer(TM) and know how to work the system for it to truly work for you.
Fewer and fewer of those these days, I suspect.
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Partisan
TO THOSE LURKING ON THIS SITE AND READING THIS:
At the very least, STOP giving your hard-earned money and subsidizing your meager incomes to fatten their bank accounts! The next time you go to put money into the contribution box thinking that it will build a Kingdom Hall in East Timor or fix the roof of a poor JW affected by a hurricane, think of this:
Picture this fellow living in a house with no mortgage, comfortably retired and using the money from the Watchtower Society to go out to a restaurant. He can order good food, sip his wine and congratulate himself for being "one of the smart ones."
If you truly believe that your God is the most all-powerful being in the Universe, THEN WHAT DOES HE NEED WITH YOUR MEASLY DOLLARS?
It's a scam. THINK for yourselves OR continue to finacially support the very prison walls that hold your minds and the minds of your children.