...text for April 20, 2020

They speak abusively of you - 1 Peter 4:4

All through my life as one of Jehovah's Witnesses, I have been pressured to do various things. But, the decision to maintain faith and dependence on Jehovah, to me, was easy. Let me give a few examples:

When I was in third grade, my teacher would always try to trick me into saying the national anthem, you know, "I pledge allegiance...." But, I always refused. She never asked why, but always tried to get me to do it. I completely ignored her, and if I got in trouble for it, it was for a good reason. I knew I was supporting Jehovah's sovereignty, even though at that age, I didn't understand it. But my mother told me I shouldn't do it, so I didn't.

Later, in middle school, I was taking a class on music history, and during the semester, we had a parents/teachers night. My teacher encouraged me to bring a guitar and play something. I was excited about it. When I saw the day it was scheduled, I was dismayed. It was on a meeting night. So, I went to my teacher and explained that as one of Jehovah's Witnesses, I wouldn't be there as I had a meeting to go to. She got angry, and told me it was "mandatory" that I be there. I ignored her and went to my meeting. The following day, she cornered me and said that I was supposed to be at tge teachers/parents night, so where was I? I said, "My meeting. I told you where I was going to be." She pointed at another girl, who was a sister in my congregation and told me, "Well , she was here last night!" I shrugged and said, "So? She can do whatever she wants. I had a meeting to go to, so I went."

Way later in life, as I worked for a living, we would have monthly meetings in the lunch room, to announce anniversaries and birthdays. I never attended. But, when I had worked there for five years, I was due to get a cute little collar pin, announcing 5 years of service. It was in April. Well, my birthday was in April also. So, I went to the gathering in the lunch room. They announced the anniversaries, said my name, and gave me my pin. I accepted it graciously, and then when the executive secretary said, "Now for the birthdays!" I walked out without a word and went back to my desk. One of my colleagues approached me later and expressed shock that I didn't stay for the cake.  I explained my beliefs to her and she was interested. Another colleague slipped a piece of cake on a paper plate on my desk when I wasn't looking. I throw the cake away.

Even later on, when I worked as a manager at another company, supervising 14 people, at Christmas-time, I let my staff know my beliefs and said they could decorate and do whatever they wanted, but don't touch my cubicle. As a manager, I was to attend mandatory manager meetings that were scheduled on my meeting night. I never went. My manager complained about it, but I ignored her also. When our C.O. visited our congregation, the meeting was switched to another night. So, I attended the mandatory meeting. Everyone was shocked that I was there. I shrugged and siad, "I don't have a meeting tonight, so why not?"

The point is this: Stick to your spiritual guns. Don't waver. Don't say, "Okay, this time, but not next time." That will weaken your stand, because they will say, "Oh, but you did it before, so why not now?" And you feel embarrassed at having to explain it.

But, let me tell a story:

In a galaxy far, far away, there were two brothers. One brother was very creative, so he designed a playing game. He created the map on a piece of large plotting paper that he got from school. He created the game pieces. So, he was explaining how to play the game, which was a role-playing game with dice. At that time, there was a mania about a similar game, "Dungeons & Dragons". So, the second brother said, "Oh, it's like "Dungeons & Dragons"! The mother heard this, and immediately pounced on him, screaming that he just put the other brother down and was expressing her anger. He was not able to defend himself saying, "But I didn't say it was the same. I said it was like that game." (He knew the difference) But the mother raged and then she said, "Do I put you down?" Well, the truth was that she did put him down on occasion and regularly called him a "dummy" or "stupid." That was the truth, and he opened him mouth to say it, but then she added, "Do I?? Do I???" in a tone of voice that meant that if he said, "Yes" the punishment would be sure and complete. So, he said, "no" to avoid being punished for the truth.

Would the rest of his life, had that really happened, be affected by psychological damage?

Walking in truth doesn't just mean obeying God. It means being honest and open with others.  We need to be willing to suffer *anything* for the truth. But, the truth huts sometimes, doesn't it? So, people don't want to know or hear the truth, about God or about themselves. That's where diplomacy comes in. When we act the truth and say the truth. Jehovah will bless you for it. The world is full of liars, so it's hard, but following the suggestions in the text comments helps. The four Hebrews who were taken to Babylon are good examples, because they resolved to do the right thing, and continued resolute until they died. We need to do the same.