What enables us to maintain our happy spirit? For one thing, we fear Jehovah and we deeply respect the admonition in His Word, including what the Bible says on sexual matters. (1 Corinthians 6:9,10; Hebrews 13:4) At first, it was not easy for some of us to bring our lives into harmony with Jehovah's elevated standards. We had to make significant changes in our lifestyle before we could qualify for membership in Jehovah's clean, spirit-directed organization. Was it worth the effort? Absolutely! How happy we are to be living in harmony with God's righteous requirements!
First, I was a victim of abuse as a child, my sister was as well. Our uncle, a witness at the time, tormented us physically, sexually, and emotionally for at least a year, while he lived with us. On more than one occasion he threatened our lives at knife point. I remember him laying my sister on the dining table and threatening to cut her throat while he did unspeakable things to her and while I curled up on the floor and cried. To this day I've never told anyone who might be able to do anything about it. Neither has my sister. We are both x-dubs. Our lives have been a furious struggle to climb over that hill. As children, I was five my sister was eight, we were too terrified to tell even our parents, let alone a body of elders. To look into the eyes of a person who has mustered the courage to bring report of such abuse to the light and tell them that a second witness is required is so incredibly pharisaically legalistic, it makes me cringe. The testimony of an abused child should count as the testimony of ten men. For indeed, it takes the courage of ten men to bring such a story forward. The abject shame of confessing such a thing is something that no one other than another victim could understand.
This paragraph of the organizations letter just infuriates me. I can just picture them all waiting like drones for the society's response to be handed down from the "platform". This second paragraph just oozes selfrighteous pus, doesn't it? "We had to make changes to our lifestyle before we could qualify for membership in Jehovah's clean, spirit-directed organization." Every time I read society copy I just want to puke. It's so unbelievable that anyone could swallow this crap. Especially in response to a report like the one on 48 hours. This line here is a personal favorite: "How happy we are to be living in harmony with God's righteous requirements!" I was a witness. For 17 miserable years. I don't remember a single moment where I or any of the others could have uttered such a line and not felt like an incredible hypocrite. RIGHTEOUS REQUIREMENTS - give me a break. What are they talking about? You know I have to share a scripture in response to that dribble. You all know what the Witnesses consider to be righteous requirements. Well, here is what the living Word has to say about it: Micah 6:8 "He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God."(NIV) I ask, where is the justice for the silent lambs? And, how on this green earth could a statement like, "How happy we are to be living in harmony with God's righteous requirements!" ever be considered humble?
