The Non-Birthday People
A couple of days ago, my husband posted about something that happened to me at work this week, when I asked a co-worker to sign a birthday card for a girl in the office. Her reply was "I don't celebrate birthdays." I know she is a Jehovah's Witness so I let her be; I am extremely respectful of other people's beliefs... or the lack of them.
Talking about religion in a public weblog is not easy. There will always be people who become either aggressive, sarcastic or arrogant. I personally cannot deal with that. I keep my beliefs for myself, I share them with those who are open, and refrain from discussing them with someone who will want to attack me or throw the Catholic church priests' mistakes on my face.
I did, however, have a great conversation with my co-worker today while at lunch. We get along well, she is a very sweet girl, and I know she likes me. Even when I told her "No birthday? Boring!" She knew I was kidding. But today I told her I wanted to know the reason for it. She was surprised that I lived almost 5 years with a Jehovah's witness when I was in college, and I had no idea about it.
Her explanation came from the Bible, of course. It is about the king of Egypt, and then king Herod wanting to celebrate the dates. She carefully explained to me why, and she said something that made a lot of sense. She mentioned how many people just go and do something because everyone else does, but never stop to think about the root of certain traditions.
Now, I will keep celebrating birthdays; it is fun. But I know better than to judge people based on their beliefs. I like to learn, I like to ask. And I know my co-worker was grateful for my interest. She knows I'm Catholic, she even said that my Colombian flag rosary is cute... hah! As long as we can respect the way other people feel about the idea they have of God, or -again- the lack of it, we all can get along.
May 16th, 2008 - 02:06
I knew a JW years ago and I remember her telling me that they don’t celebrate birthdays (I don’t remember the details of why) but then she said they do keep anniversaries, eg, wedding anniversary. I remember feeling quite confused because a birthday is an anniversary and I couldn’t see the distinction!
May 16th, 2008 - 07:15
Amen!
May 16th, 2008 - 09:42
This was a nice follow up Bea. I am glad you and your coworker can have a grown up discussion about your differences without any anger. I wish others could.
May 16th, 2008 - 13:35
The problem with the JW’s using those two particular scriptures is that they totally ignore the verses in Job where it talks about ‘each one having their day’, obviously referring to birthdays. It’s like saying that since it was the nephalin that were evil and caused the flood, all tall people are evil.
Just like any religion, they pick and choose what parts of the bible they follow. Except in the JW’s, you can get kicked out of the church for disobeying.
May 16th, 2008 - 22:59
Regardless of how their beliefs came to place, my post was about respect. I may not agree with what other people believe, but it doesn’t mean I will attack them or tell them they are wrong.