Over the past week, we’ve been exploring a question that seems to be on the minds of many Counting On fans:
Namely, why have the Duggar children failed to succeed as adults?
That may sound unnecessarily harsh, but we’re judging the Duggars by their own standards of success.
It might seem strange for a family that seems to be guided primarily by their religious principles, but the Duggars are very big on material wealth.
In fact, they believe financial success is a sign of divine grace, and that God bestows wealth upon his favorite children as a reward for their piety.
So Jim Bob has multiple reasons to be upset by the fact that most of his children have failed to follow in his footsteps by launching lucrative careers.
And the whole situation has probably resulted in some very confused feelings toward his most rebellious daughter, Jinger.
Her open defiance of her parents’ worldview began when Jinger started wearing pants.
Not long after, she and husband Jeremy Vuolo moved to Los Angeles, a nightmare scenario for her parents, both of whom regard large coastal cities as the devil’s playground.
In fact, they were so upset by this development that there was a period of time in which Jim Bob and Michelle disowned Jinger and cut off all contact.
Of course, the banishment didn’t last long, and that’s likely due to the fact that as the most financially independent of his children, Jinger is one of Jim Bob’s favorites.
If you’re a Counting On fan, you know that she’s continued to shoot scenes for the show, despite the fact that she now lives about 1,500 miles from Tontitown.
Insiders say Jinger’s husband, Jeremy Vuolo, has seized the reins of her career and negotiated a separate deal with TLC that has her earning more than any of her siblings.
And so, the Vuolos are living pretty well in the City of Angels — and many fans aren’t happy about it.
You see, the couple moved to LA so that Jeremy could study at a local divinity school.
They were given a free place to stay, and between their TLC salaries and the sponsored content that Jinger posts on Instagram, they make a lot of money without doing any real work.
Many fans feel it’s inappropriate for a preacher and his wife to live so comfortably, particularly when they seem to put in such minimal effort.
Last week, Jeremy posted this photo to Instagram:
“There’s just something I love about having bags packed, ready to travel and explore … even if it’s simply heading east to visit family. It’s a big world with much to be discovered,” he captioned the pic.
He’s probably headed to his hometown of Philadelphia to visit family, but many commenters saw the photo as inappropriately boastful.
“Most pastors don’t have enough money to travel!!” wrote one follower.
“But here you guys are traveling the country, have a beautiful home in a very nice area, nice cars. And the most important thing is you do everything for a fee. That not how you serve the lord.”
“Yes you’re right. The pastors I’ve known would have no money to travel. Traveling is SO pricey no matter whether my car, plane. Etc.,” another chimed in.
Others, came to Jeremy’s defense, writing “Pastors arent required to be poor,” and, “Maybe the luggage was a gift. Maybe he’s had it for a long time or maybe it was purchased second hand or from a discount store.”
Yes, it seems some Jinger’s fans want her to remain in the spotlight, but not make too much money from her TV career.
They might be as conflicted in their attitude toward money as Jim Bob is.