The May 2018 Watchtower is now out and thought I would make a few observations.
In this article we get a story about GB Sam Herd. The recurring theme throughout is the struggles he has had as a black man.
He was born in 1935 in a one roomed log cabin in Liberty Indiana. His mother raised him in the Baptist Church. He served 2 years in the USA Army stationed in Germany. He had grown up, learning to be a macho man. One day, two JW girls, who had given him Watchtower mags before, waved him over as he was driving his red convertible through town. He promised the girls that he would think about attending a book study.
He did attend and was impressed how much Bible knowledge the children had and was determined to learn more. His eyes were opened by learning that God's name was Jehovah. He was baptized in 1957 and was happy to have learnt what real manliness was. He learnt Jesus didn't fight and that he needed to be gentle to all. He started pioneering but in 1958 stopped as he married one of those young ladies that invited him to the book study, Gloria. Soon after their marriage in 1959 they applied for Bethel service but were told that they were not taking in married couples at that time. They were assigned to pioneer in Pine Bluff, Arkansas where there was one white and one black congregation, they were assigned to the black one. He states
You may be wondering why segregation would be practiced in congregations of Jehovah’s Witnesses. And the answer, put simply, is that there was little choice back in those days. There were laws in place to make it illegal for the races to mix, and there was also the very real threat of violence. In many places, the brothers had good reason to fear that if the two races met together for worship, their Kingdom Hall would be destroyed. Such things did happen. If black Witnesses preached from door to door in a white neighborhood, they would be arrested—and likely beaten up. So in order to get the preaching work done, we obeyed the laws, hoping that things would change for the better.
They had applied to be special pioneers and it was a long wait to be accepted. In 1965. He was assigned as a CO. He continued in the travelling work and in 1997 was invited to the US Bethel Service Dept. A year later he was appointed to be a helper on the service committee and in 1999 became a GB member.
The first article is about peace and this comment is made
We also contribute to peace when we approach government officials in a respectful way—including those who may oppose our work.
I'm not sure what they had in mind when they asked everyone to bombard the Russian Government with letters of protest or how respectful they were by saying that it doesn't need to be written in Russian.
The next article is about enurance in bearing fruit and the emphasize that -
Each person will receive his own reward according to his own work.” (1 Cor. 3:8) The reward is according to the work, not according to the results of that work.
The whole article seems geared towards the idea that it may be tough witnessing, with little results but that doesn't matter.
The following articles discuss Satan and his influence and makes numerous assumptions. Then the last articles are directed to young ones and the focus they must have. This comment stands out in particular -
The hope of Paradise helps me put secular goals in perspective,” she adds. “I don’t try to cash in on my talents or attempt to climb the corporate ladder. Instead, I’m investing time and energy in spiritual goals.”
Who in their right mind would not make the most of their talents when it comes to things like the secular work they do and the same for taking the opportunity to get a better job or advance because it benefits the whole family or yourself without a negative impacts.