Hey there Flipper! You know I love ya bro, but I gotta put on my "defend the Watchtower" hat for just a minute.
I think you may be reading more into this than really is there.
Here are the quotes you referenced:
pg 21, par 4
Do you think that it would have been reasonable for
Noah and his family to focus their efforts
on developing a business, getting
ahead among their contemporaries, or
establishing a comfortable lifestyle? Of
course not! Knowing what lay ahead,
they avoided such distractions.
pg 21, par 6 (actual quote is at very top of pg 22)
Rather than focusing on a career or any
pleasures of this system of things, our
focus must be on Jehovah and his service.
(Pardon my bolding, but those words jumped out at me as I was wondering how my Elder dad or Elder brother would try to explain this stuff away.)
It is not wrong for a JW to develop a business, get ahead of their contemporaries or have a comfortable lifestyle. We all know plenty of JW elders who fit the bill perfectly.
The question is, where is the individual JW's FOCUS?
If you're born into money, no problem. If you were a money-grubbing, career-advancing "weak" JW for a while and now you've seen the light, no problem. We're glad you're now a Pioneer/Elder and looking good on assembly parts.
I know most here will probably say I'm splitting hairs, but, IMO, this is exactly the explanation most Elders I know would give for these quotes.
Also, there's the word "develop". It's one thing to "have" a business, it's quite another to FOCUS on it and "develop" it into something bigger. All the while letting "Kingdom Interests" (unpaid work for the WT) slide into the background.
My $.02.
Let the flames begin.
om
p.s. Looking forward to sharing the campfire flames in Tahoe!