Always Comparing us to Others

by JH 16 Replies latest jw friends

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  jimbob

  JH...YOU JUST OPENED A CAN OF WORMS FOR ME!! This is so much of the reason why my wife and I left. I could never stand the fact that they would tell you to never compare yourself to others, but of course when the CO came around, it was always..."your congregation's hourly average is below the national average"....which of course is a comparison!!

  Then, to compare you even further and make you feel even more guilty...they would tell you how sister so-and-so in the African Congo has no money, 6 kids, and travels 25 miles (walking of course) through alligator infested swamps in order to make it to meetings, and she never misses one....SO WHAT'S YOUR EXCUSE FOR NOT GOING TO THE MEETING? I hate this bullsh*t with a passion. They're always comparing and making you feel guilty. They tell you how good we have it in this country, so why aren't you going to every single meeting and pioneering??? If the sister in Africa can do it, brother so-and-so who owns 2 cadillacs and only lives 3 miles from the hall should be able to make it to all the meetings and since he obviously has lots of money, he should pioneer.

  I heard this crap for years and always believed it and felt guilty. Well guess what???????

  I'M NOT ONLY FREE NOW, BUT GUILT FREE!!! Life is good!
• 

  onacruse

  Like WP said:

  The last quarterly business meeting I attended, the president bragged up on how our customer satisfaction rate was at 97%, way wayyyy higher than what most other companies achieve. After much applause and congratulations, the vice-president then compared the performances of the various company divisions, took the top performer, and said "Now, we have to raise the bar to 98%" One person asked (I couldn't believe it) "What happens when we hit 100%?" The VP responded, straight-faced and poker-serious "Then we raise the bar to 101%"

  In that type of organization, enough will never be enough.

  Craig
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  jimbob

  Blondie....excellent post. What they said in the magazines is obviously a complete 180 from what they tell you from the platform.
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  freedom96

  They were always comparing us to the good examples displayed on stage. We were never good enough. They would always quote a scripture and and tell us that even if we were pioneering, and all the other stuff, we still might not make it in the new order.
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  blondie

  What they said in the magazines is obviously a complete 180 from what they tell you from the platform.

  JimBob, I once read here the one committee provides the information in the WT and a competing committee provides the information that is in the Letters to the Elders and Kingdom Ministry which is the reason for the 180. I wonder if some of our ex-elders can speak to that.

  I pointed out that information to an elder once and he said, that's old information. We were told to do this by the CO.

  Blondie
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  jimbob

  Blondie, I reread your post and noticed a few observations from the Society's quotes....

  If illness or advancing age hinders you from accomplishing as much as you would like in Christian activity, do not despair.

  Because of limitations imposed by poor health, advancing age, or other circumstances, at times some of us may feel that we are "weaker" or "less honorable" ones. But that is not how Jehovah views matters.

  If your situation permits, love will motivate you to spend much time in the ministryperhaps even as a full-time pioneer minister. If you are battling an illness, however, the time you spend in the ministry may be less than you would wish.

  The few hours that some can devote to public witnessing may represent a greater effort than the many hours that others spend preaching, in view of younger age, better health, and other circumstances.

  Did you notice how they've emphasized illness or bad health as a reason that is acceptable to not be at all meetings and get in lots of hours? IMHO, they're using this as a subliminal message that unless you have a really good excuse, like being ill, then you are expected to "perform" up to standards. Notice the last quote....

  may represent a greater effort than the many hours that others spend preaching,

  Did you notice how the ill people's efforts may be greater than the MANY hours that others spend preaching? Again, a subliminal message that unless you're sick, you should be spending many hours in the preaching work, because most others are getting in MANY hours.

  Anyway, just thought that was kinda interesting. Some may not agree with that, but that's what I happen to see. I copied and pasted your Watchtower quotes into Word and saved it. It may come in handy one day .........

  Edited by - jimbob on 8 January 2003 21:57:28
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  blondie

  That's right, JimBob. And too many JWs are using that reason, mostly because it is true.

  The elders make you feel like you need a doctor's excuse before they will believe you are really sick.

  Or they will point to someone on death's door and say that person is getting 30 hours a month in and you're not that sick.

  I just point to Jesus Christ and say we all could do more, including them, yet Jesus said that people would have differing abilities from the widow and her mite, to those with 100, 60, 30 fold.

  Those kind of elders should just put a millstone around their neck.

  Blondie