Scripture Reading: 2 Cor. 1:12; Gen. 12:11-13; Luke 20:1-8; John 6:38
Prayer: Lord, shine on us so that we will be honest enough to acknowledge what we have and what we do not have. We do not want to be empty inwardly while pretending to have something outwardly. We want to first be filled with something inwardly and then express it outwardly. We do not want to be empty inwardly while pretending to have something outwardly. Make us those who live in a spontaneous way before You. Amen.
Paul testified in 2 Corinthians 1:12 that "our boasting is this, the testimony of our conscience, that in singleness and sincerity of God, not in fleshly wisdom but in the grace of God, we have conducted ourselves in the world, and more abundantly toward you." This verse tells us that the principle of Christian living is not human wisdom but the grace of God. It is not maneuvering or politics but the will of God. The world has its principle of living; it can apply human wisdom, maneuverings, and politics. But a Christian should never resort to his own wisdom, maneuverings, or politics. Being without politics is being void of any motive of self-gain. Those who trust in their own wisdom, maneuverings, or politics are only for themselves. They only care for their own interest in everything, and they only seek their own gain.
In Genesis 12 Abraham went down to Egypt because of famine in Canaan. There he resorted to politics. He knew that his wife was fair and that when the Egyptians saw her, they would kill him to get her. He asked Sarai to tell others that she was his sister so that he could be spared and have peace. Later, Pharaoh took Sarai to be his wife, and God sent a plague to Pharaoh's household as a result of this. Eventually, Pharaoh went to Abraham and rebuked him. Abraham resorted to politics, but he failed and was rebuked by a Gentile (vv. 11-19). What a shame! Sometimes there is famine in Canaan and food in Egypt. It is all right to go to Egypt to buy food like Jacob, but one should not resort to politics for the sake of preserving his own life and peace like Abraham.
Miss Barber used to carry a walking stick and take a walk every afternoon for an hour or two. Some criticized her for indulging in sightseeing. When I told her about this, she asked me, "Does a Christian live by what others say or by what he knows?" At that time I did not know what this meant. In her early days Miss Barber returned to England once every three or five years. After she moved to Lo-hsing Pagoda, very few people visited her. She stayed there for eighteen years. She knew that it was God's will that she take a walk for an hour or two every day. She was aware of the criticisms against her. However, she would not resort to human politics; rather, she trusted in the simplicity of God. She did not explain or vindicate herself but only acted according to God's will.
Once a famous person invited me to dinner. At that time a somewhat renowned worker of the Lord was in Shanghai. He was also invited, and he wanted to go with me. At that time I was taking care of a conference. On my way to the dinner, the Lord told me not to go. I obeyed God's will and turned back. I could not brush aside God's will just because a famous man had invited me, nor could I accept the invitation just because a renowned worker of the Lord was going. God stopped me from exercising human politics and led me to act according to the singleness and sincerity of God.
The same should be true in how we serve the saints. We should not trust in human wisdom but in God's will. For example, some brothers and sisters are under God's disciplining hand. We have to render them help according to the Lord's timing. If we step in too early, we will disturb God's work. We cannot overstep the Lord to extend help to others according to our own zeal and wisdom. If we do, it will be like trying to pull a butterfly out of a cocoon. The result will be nothing but death.
Once Miss Barber dealt with a troubled sister in a very severe way. The sister cried bitterly. When I saw this, I asked Miss Barber why she rebuked the sister in such a strong way. She asked, "Is this sister crying for the Lord or is she crying for herself?" Miss Barber was very absolute for God. She did not care for human sentiment and would not do anything to save others' faces. She truly lived by God's singleness and sincerity.
Once I was preaching at a certain place, and two brothers were translating my speaking into the local dialect. One was a good translator, and the other one was not that good. At the beginning the one who was good was not present, and I had to ask the second one to translate for me. He was in fear and trembling and prayed all the time while he translated. After twelve days, with two days remaining, the first brother came. Everyone wanted him to take over the translation, and he came and told me that everyone expected him to take over the translation. I knew within me that I should not let him, but I was too polite. I made some superficial remarks and said, "There are only two more meetings left. If we change now, the other brother may feel embarrassed." Later, I had to confess to the Lord concerning this matter. I knew God's will, yet I was too sensitive to man's face and had spoken a word of politics. God was not pleased with this. A believer has to learn to suffer misunderstanding and criticism rather than forsake God's will.
The principle of Christian living is based not on natural disposition but on God's own nature. Our natural disposition should not be the guideline for our daily living. We should not live according to our looseness or caution. It is not a matter of how we feel. It is a matter of prayer and of acting according to God's will. If we do not put God's will first and do not seek after it, we will do something based on our natural disposition or character, and it will be nothing but acts of self-will.
The Lord's life on earth was a life of acting according to the will of the One who sent Him (John 6:38), not according to His self-will. He went up to Jerusalem, cleansed the temple, and cast out those who were making merchandise in the temple. Although this offended many and although others interrogated Him, He was not discouraged from carrying out God's will. The Lord did not care for man; He did not save men's faces. He only cared for God's will. It is often the clever and capable saints who get themselves into trouble. While we may face many obstacles in doing God's will, including criticism, mockery, and opposition from others, we should remain single to the Lord, obeying His will and pleasing Him alone.
A clever man often has to resort to lies, tricks, maneuverings, or politics. Luke 20:1-8 records the story of priests, scribes, and elders finding Jesus teaching the people in the temple. They asked the Lord by what authority He was doing all these things and who had given Him such authority. The Lord asked them, "The baptism of John, was it from heaven or from men?" (v. 4). They reasoned together among themselves and told the Lord that they did not know. They avoided the Lord's question, even though they knew the answer. They knew that the baptism of John came from heaven. All the people believed this, but they themselves did not believe this. They could not say that it was from heaven, because they were afraid the Lord would ask, "Why did you not believe him?" (v. 5). Neither could they say that it was from men, because the people would stone them; therefore, they said that they did not know. They did not answer because their words would have condemned them. The Lord then said, "Neither do I tell you by what authority I do these things" (v. 8). The Lord did not say that He did not know; He said that He would not tell them by what authority He did these things. The word "neither" is very interesting. This word exposed the lies of the priests, scribes, and elders. They lied when they said they did not know; therefore, the Lord said, "Neither do I tell you." The priests, scribes, and elders were men of politics. They resorted to human politics and plots to avoid hurting themselves. A person who resorts to such things is absolutely useless in the hand of the Lord.
May the Lord be merciful to us. May we learn to live by God's singleness and sincerity and not by human wisdom, maneuverings, or politics, and may we not seek our own advantage or be driven by motives of self-advancement. May the Lord cause us to live according to His singleness and sincerity, and may we carry out His will with singleness of heart.
