Standing Out as Different

When boarding-school students are clearly known as Jehovah's  Witnesses, this can work to their advantage. School authorities may excuse them from participation in compulsory false religious activities, which run counter to the Witnesses' faith. Fellow students may refrain from trying to involve them in unwholesome activities and conversations. Doors may open to witness to fellow students and teachers. Furthermore, those who live by Christian principles are not likely to be suspected of gross wrongdoing, and they sometimes  win the respect of teachers and fellow students.

However, things do not always work out that way. Standing out as different often makes a young person an object of persecution and ridicule from students and teachers alike. Yinka, a 15-year-old boy who attends a boarding school, says:  "At school, if you are known as one of Jehovah's Witnesses, you become a target.  Since they know our spiritual  and moral stand, they set traps to catch us." 

Next time: Parental Responsibility

From the Watchtower magazine, 1997