Q:
I know that you
encourage us to stay in the organization and not leave. But I find it very
difficult to keep going to the meetings. Often I feel worse for having gone
to the meeting than if I would have just stayed home and read the Bible by
myself. Not only do I find the meetings very boring but also hardly anyone
talks to me when I’m there. It’s like I have been marked or something. Maybe
my comments haven’t been exactly what they should be for I don’t get called
on anymore when I raise my hand. What should I do? Should I keep going
anyway?
_________________________
A: Belonging to God’s
household does not mean that we must of necessity be present at the meetings.
God’s temple is not the Kingdom Hall but rather Jehovah’s worshipers themselves, as
Paul clearly states: “Do you not know that you people are God’s temple, and that
the spirit of God dwells in you? If anyone destroys the temple of God, God will
destroy him; for the temple of God is holy, which temple you people are.” (1
Cor. 3:16,17) God’s spirit is at the meetings because his worshipers, who have
his holy spirit, are gathered there. But one does not miss out on having God's
holy spirit simply because he is not in attendance. There are many who cannot be
present at the meetings because of health problems, distances they would have to
travel, their job schedule, or any number of other reasons.
Also, such as in your own case, some might experience severe discouragement because
of belonging to a congregation that is very cold; feeling worse for having gone
than if they had not attended at all. That becomes the case when there are
enough members in
the congregation who do not have God’s spirit; and the lack of the spirit
becomes apparent by the absence of its fruitage,
which would account for the situation you describe. (Gal. 5:19-23) A person
will lose
God's spirit if he has become an unrepentant sinner, perhaps being
guilty of some hidden or secret sin(s). (1 Tim. 5:24; Heb. 4:13; James 5:14-16) One might also lose the spirit over
time if he were to continue “grieving” it by persisting in stubbornly going contrary to its
leading. (Eph. 4:30; 1 Thess. 5:19) Although still attending the meetings and
participating in its activities, perhaps even being viewed as "spiritually"
mature by others, such a person may be in danger of no longer being accepted by Jehovah as
belonging to his household. They may "have the name that [they] are alive, but
[they] are dead," as was the situation with many in the Sardis congregation. (Rev.
3:1-4; compare Ezek. 33:31; Mark 7:6,7; 2 Tim. 4:3,4;
Matt. 13:41) As to our deplorable situation in this time of
the end, we should expect it for Jehovah foretold it. (2 Tim. 3:1-7;
1 Peter 4:17,18; Jude 4, 12,13, 17-19)
The apostle Paul explains that the purpose of the meetings is to encourage one
another, to “stir one another up to love”—the love that Jesus said would
identify his true disciples. (John 13:34,35) In this way the meetings should
assist us in producing fine works, not just in the preaching work but especially
in our every day life, encouraging us to put on the new personality, and helping
us to show a genuine interest in the welfare of others. “Let us consider how
we can stir up one another to love. Let us help one another to do good works.
Let us not give up meeting together. Some are in the habit of doing this.
Instead, let us cheer each other up with words of hope. Let us do it all the
more as you see the day coming when Christ will return.” (Heb. 10:24,25,
NIRV) When Jehovah’s spirit dwells with his people you will find the
meetings to be as encouraging as Paul says they ought to be.
Whose responsibility is it to provide meetings that cheer us up and build us up
spiritually, encouraging us to love and do good works, the very purpose for
attending them? Does the Bible not put that responsibility on those who are
“taking the lead,” the elders! (Heb. 13:7, 17, 24) And yet, to a great extent,
the elders themselves are limited in what they themselves can do to make the
meetings interesting or more meaningful. For the sake of unity, the Society
prides itself that in all the congregations around the world the same program
and material is “enjoyed” by all. That means that all of the meetings are
scripted, everyone reads and answers from the same pieces of paper, even to the
extent of reading or not reading certain Scriptures. There is very little room
to adjust the program for local requirements, and certainly every congregation
has it own unique needs, weaknesses and strengths. There is no place for
spontaneity, no place for God’s spirit to operate as it did in the First
Century.
When we deviate even in seemingly minor things from Jehovah’s way, there are
sure to be major negative consequences to follow, given enough time. (Luke
16:10) It was never Jehovah’s purpose to have a few of his people elevate
themselves above their brothers and dictate to them every aspect of their
worship, as is the situation within God’s household today. (Matt. 20:25,26; 2
Thess. 2:3,4) This has resulted in God’s sheep, as a whole, being starved and
consequentially becoming “lean.” As Jehovah himself foretold, the “very best
pasturage” that he has provided for his sheep is being withheld from them by the
wicked self-serving shepherds who have no regard for the well-being of his
sheep. (Ezek. 34:2-6, 17-22) He has put the “valueless shepherd[s]” on notice
that they will be held accountable by him for the condition of his sheep, as is
evident in the many congregations. (Ezek. 34:10; Zech. 11:15-17)
And yet, there are still congregations where you can enjoy the warmth of loving
brothers and sisters, where you feel truly welcome; for Jehovah’s spirit is
still upon his faithful people. He has not deserted those who are loyal to him
because of the ones who have rebelled against him. (Rev. 3:4; Rom. 8:38,39) It
seems that the ratio of loving versus discouraging congregations is about the
same as it was at the end of the First Century, when Jesus wrote his letters to
the elders of the Seven Congregations in Asia Minor, and found only two of them
worthy of his commendation. (Rev. 2:1-3:22)
In your own case you might want to seek out such a loving congregation in your
area, if there exists such a one within a reasonable distance. Do not worry
about attending one outside your “territory.” The whole earth belongs to
Jehovah. (Psalms 24:1) If that is not feasible, perhaps you can listen in on
phone hook-up. Some are “attending” the meetings in this way. Of course, another
issue is the spiritual “food” that is being presented, or rather the lack of it.
In this regard we must be patient until Jehovah replaces the present
“theocratic” arrangement with the one our master, Christ Jesus, will put in
place upon his arrival; even though we may suffer through boring meetings and be
spiritually “lean” in the meantime. To be sure, being among the lean sheep will
prove to be a blessing at that time, as indicated in Ezekiel chapter 34, a
chapter dedicated to his sheep.
Not attending meetings does not mean we are not part of God's household. Many
isolated brothers and sisters are very much spiritually alive, for Jehovah takes
good care of them. He knows every single individual who belongs to him. (2 Tim. 2:19) We do not
want to separate ourselves from that wonderful bond we have with Jehovah. Our
meetings are a provision from him to help us, but as a good friend of mine is
fond of saying, when talking
about meeting attendance (a variation on Jesus' words regarding the Sabbath): "The meetings came into
existence for the sake of man, and not man for the sake of the meetings." (Mark
2:27) In other words, attending meetings is not an act of worship in itself, as
it is being presented to us, but rather they are a provision to help us
strengthen our love for each other, to solidify our faith in God's promises, and
encourage each other to endure patiently while we are suffering.
When I mention those who remove themselves of their own accord from God's
household, I am not referring to those who are not attending meetings but rather
the many who have stumbled and no longer acknowledge that God has a household. I
know some former Witnesses who no longer believe in a Creator. Paul mentions
some former associates of his in this regard: "For there are many, I used to
mention them often but now I mention them also with weeping, who are walking as
the enemies of the torture stake of the Christ. . . and they have their minds
upon things on earth." (Phil. 3:18,19) I am sure that you are aware of the many
on the internet who were formerly our brothers and sisters but now tell us that
God does not have a people, that we must flee from the Watchtower, while
attacking and scoffing at God's people who are still loyal and enduring, even
though they themselves up until fairly recently were zealous worshipers of
Jehovah.
I hope this has somewhat addressed your concern.