u/Odd-Engine9637

My mom is a pioneer, the best pioneer I have ever known. Really, she is the kind of pioneer sister that takes seriously that "labor" and puts all of her effort for trying to "reach the hours"

(Disclaimer: I've started reading the Bible on my own and it is amazing to realize that those requirements are hilarious, fool, and incredibly unnecessary for the christian life. Jesus never taught something like recording every hour spent in preaching and constant monitoring from the headquarters. It is annoying to see the pressure made by men in others. Those requirements are everything less biblical).

So my mom had an accident some months ago that led her with a decrease in her hours. I mean, naturally she wasn't able to preach (c'mon, I didn't even need to explain that) because she was physically unable.

Well, in a few moments we'll have the Circuit visit. Do you know what did Elders say to my mom? "Sister, when the CO comes we will have to talk to you".

Really? Literally they have my mom there spending every morning from monday til friday, recording an almost perfect score (50 hours I think), having several "biblical courses" (that book of "enjoy life forever" is everything but less a biblical course) and trying to do all that because "Jehovah God wants that for her".

And now... they will probably tell her that she is not doing enough and that unless she does more she will be rejected from his "pioneering"? Or they will probably give her "encouraging words" for her labor but aiming finally to "do more"?

For real?

The words of Jesus in Matthew 23:4 still have compliance in our days because of these "religious organizations".

-They tie up heavy, cumbersome loads and put them on other people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them

Have any of you already read this weekend article?

I do not pretend just to demean or be cynical, but to understand what's going on with those articles.

I sincerely believe the Bible is a really really complex scripture that requires exegesis, hermeneutics and theology... especially with books such as "Job". It is amazing to see how these sciences work together in an attempt to understand how the Bible works. But..

then I go to the watchtower and I find this paragraph:

*Jehovah was in full control of that meeting. He asked Satan: “Have you taken note of my servant Job?” Yes, Jehovah was fully aware that Satan had singled out faithful Job as his target. Let us consider how Jehovah would use his supreme power in behalf of Job.*

Where does the Bible say that? Where can we find those assumptions? Because the Bible only says:

"Have you taken note of my servant Job?"

I'm saying this because the book of Job is brutally profound. It speaks of innocent suffering, of God's silence, of human integrity under extreme pain, of the limits of human understanding and all those concerns that remain until our days. It is not a "simple" reading at all.

For example the phrase "Jehovah was in full control of that meeting" is interesting. I personally still believe in God and still believe He is in full control as He is Almighty. However, we expect a considerable answer that explains that idea (overall because when we look up to Job... it doesn't immediately match the expression "He is in full control" with what happened to Job) that we don't find in the paragraph.

Another example: In Job 1:12 Jehovah stablishes a "limit" that Satan MUST (according to the paragraph) obey. However, in Job 2:2-6 Jehovah let Satan go beyond that limit in the second attempt of Satan. Does that mean that God contradicted Himself by not respecting that limit and allowing Satan go beyond it?

The paragraph doesn't explain that, as the article doesn't explain thousands of questions that haven't been answered for centuries.

And that's not even true (because I always go to preach on Sunday). It is just that sometimes my house (my family's house) is used as a meeting point. So yes, that sometimes hits because I think it is expected for me to "go out to preach" as the meeting point is right here. That happens on Saturday but... I gotta be honest: I want a single day for me to rest. I'm a student and from monday to friday I go to school.

If in addition to Sunday I also have to attend on Saturday... I just don't want that haha.

Now... I'm at the middle point because I clearly disagree with this organization's teachings, doctrines and most of what they do. But I still have faith, you know? When it is required from me to go out I usually enjoy it, but I know that method (door-to-door) shouldn't be standardized as JWs do. And I know this method may not have the enormous weight that Jehovah's Witnesses put on it because the Scriptures show us as Christians several ways in fact to preach the Word.

But sometimes the guilt comes. It's like: "Hey, your own house is the meeting point, you don't even need to take the car and go other places... you SHOULD..."

For at least something has been clear on my mind: that pressure DOES NOT come from God. I remember Ray Franz said something like that (regarding the emotional press that exists for this kind of activity) and the expectations that Jehovah's Witnesses need to fulfill.

The worst part is that my brother is an Elder, my dad is an Elder, and mom is a Pioneer so... yeah, the expectations are higher. I'm just tired of this. Then I need to listen to my mom screamings: "How is it possible none of you went out to preach?" Maybe she feels she is in the right to say so as she goes out to preach from the very Monday to the Friday! But... again, the expectations that as family we need to achieve have a cost, isn't it? And that cost is reflected in the emotional and psychological pressure that occurs when something as "not going a single day to preach" occurs.