I was very surprised at the hypocrisy of that paragraph. I wonder how many JWs just nodded their heads in agreement without really thinking about what it said. If they did think, they would have realized that their pointing their finger at themselves. Jesus spoke often of needing only love and compassion (that was half of the refreshing part) instead of a list of doo’s and dont’s
Bandit
JoinedPosts by Bandit
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16
Hard To Keep Silent
by Frenchy inwas visiting this week and in his talk he got on the subject of movies.
he began by admitting that he was not familiar with the rating code but that it was wrong for a christian to see an r rated movie.
he stayed at least five minutes on the subject.. afterwards there was the usual, abbreviated wt study and i found paragraph four particularly interesting:.
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More Awake Garbage
by metatron inon the back cover of the feb. 22/02 awake, we have the.
enchanting story of a young man who won a prize for an.
essay "the space race- the world's biggest money waster".. he credits his victory in this anti-intellectual pursuit.
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Bandit
I got a kick out of them refering to the awake as a reputable journal worthy of actually using for research. See how far that reference in a research paper would get you.
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Grrr.....'Now This May Hurt' wt 1.3.02
by ISP inhave you heard those words?
perhaps a doctor or a nurse said them before administering a recommended treatment.
likely, you did not refuse to submit to the treatment simply to avoid the anticipated pain.
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Bandit
yea, i get it, we should beat the hell, i mean "foolishness" out of their kids, beat'em till the obey you. Would'nt want a small child to have any foolishness in their life. Didn't a JW couple just get arrested for handing out a biblical punishment of so many lashes, and their kid died from it. You would think after such negative publicity they would wake up.
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Bandit
I'm on it like stink on shit
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A question on counting time
by Bandit inwell after lurking for a year i figure it's time to start giving back and geting views on my own thoughts, here we go.
my wife (a jw i'm not)was saying lastnight that she felt bad because she only got 2 hrs this month so far (going out all day today).
never mind the fact she's started to volunteer at a childrens hospital.. .
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Bandit
Well after lurking for a year I figure it's time to start giving back and geting views on my own thoughts, here we go. My wife (a JW I'm not)was saying lastnight that she felt bad because she only got 2 hrs this month so far (going out all day today). Never mind the fact she's started to volunteer at a childrens hospital.
Question from readers: Is counting time out in service a proper thing for a true Christian to do?
The Bible admonishes us to "store up treasures in heaven" by doing good works. And the greatest work of all is of course the field ministry, but to keep track in the manner of a "time sheet" would not be appropriate. Jesus cautioned us to "Be careful not to do your `acts of righteousness' before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth; they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you." (Mat 6:1-4)The reasons for this are to prevent man's boastful nature from feeling superior to others if he has a larger "time sheet", secondly to prevent a person from focusing on the amount of good deeds done instead of the quality of deeds. Thirdly, since our salvation is not dependent on how many "works" we perform, we should not be so concerned with counting their numbers in order to reach a quota and gain a prize. Rather, we should strive to do good deeds since it is a loving expression of a having a Christ like nature.
A man who does many fine works is definitely pleasing to God, but there is no need for that man to keep count of them. Having a counting sheet which lists the number of hours, magazine placements or bible studies conducted is unchristian and shows a lack of faith in the Father who surely knows the man's accomplishments. The only reason for a person to keep track would be to boast over his neighbor in order to obtain special earthly honors or privileges which are based on an outward appearance of "service".
There are many reasons why one person can not perform as many good works as another (family obligations, illness etc.). Our heavenly father takes all these in consideration (Mark 12:43-45), a time sheet does not. On such a ledger of deeds, placing 30 magazines with people who may never read them seems more impressive then a honest-hearted discussion with a troubled person who finds comfort in the good news. Focusing on these numbers would lead one to be more proud of the actual number written down, then the quality of deeds done. Such a practice would unfairly give earthly honor to those with a time sheet that only impresses an accountant.
EPH2:8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-not by works, so that no one can boast. Concentrating on counting and completing a quota of works is a thing only for boasting. A good Christian is humble and has no need for boasting, nor any to count his works.