Date:September 13, 1948Place:Kuling
In order to be a worker of the Lord, the first thing we have to learn is to manage affairs in a proper way. Those who cannot manage affairs can never work for the Lord. Everyone who is good at the Lord's work is also good at managing affairs. Beginners in the Lord's work should learn in particular how to manage affairs properly. We will mention seven things in connection with the management of affairs.
Those who are involved in management of business must be clear first of all that this activity is by no means unspiritual. Even Peter and John were involved in the distribution of food at one time. Stephen, who was filled with the Holy Spirit, was also a server of tables. The proper management of affairs is a necessary lesson that a beginner in the Lord's work must learn. If a man cannot manage affairs properly, he cannot work effectively. A young person must not offer himself simply "in prayer and in the ministry of the word." In many cases this is an excuse for idleness under the name of "prayer and ministry of the word." We have to uproot this. A person who is learning to serve the Lord should learn to "serve tables." Otherwise, he will not be able to do anything except preach. A learner in the Lord's work must learn to handle business properly, or else he will give ground to disdain and contempt. We must never consider the management of affairs as something unspiritual. It is something that a servant of the Lord must learn.
Second, before we touch any matter, we have to know that it is God who has placed us there, and that we have to put our heart to the task. Those who are lazy with their hands are useless, and those who are lazy with their brain are also useless. Some people never give enough consideration to what they are about to do. It is harder to ask them to think about what they are going to do than to ask them to give up their lives. Such ones never accomplish anything. We have to consider carefully everything that pertains to the church. This does not mean that we must have an opinion about everything, but it does mean that we must be mindful of everything. Those who have not considered but who are quick to give opinions are counselors; they are not believers. Expressing an opinion means making proposals and having an instant reaction to matters. Being mindful of matters means to consider the causes and consequences of everything in a thorough way. Unless we think things over carefully, we will encounter many problems. In managing affairs, the more we think things over, the less problems we will face. Anything that we have considered well beforehand is handled judiciously. We should not be hasty in our opinions concerning any matter. We should not react lightly or propose quickly. Instead, we have to sit down and think things over carefully. No one should do anything without first considering and planning. Before a man builds a house, he must first sit down and plan. We have to be careful and sober in dealing with matters, and we should strive to glorify God in managing these affairs. Those who are careless in handling business affairs will be careless in preaching and studying the Scripture as well. The first thing we should do when we face a situation is to think the whole thing over. Those who are lazy in thinking are lazy in everything. In order to learn to serve God, we can never be lazy in our thinking.
After we have thought over the whole matter, we have to make a plan and write this plan down. Thinking enables us to understand the problem at hand, and planning enables us to come up with a solution to deal with the problem. The first thing to plan is our time, next is money, and third is the manpower needed to do the work. Whenever a job comes to us, we have to budget the time, money, and number of people needed. For example, if a man wants to build a house, he has to calculate the time, money, and number of workers needed to finish the job. He must also factor in all the possible changes that may occur throughout the course of the project. This planning provides the necessary information for building his house.
Fourth, in addition to being mindful of possible problems that one may encounter and counting the cost, one has to make constant decisions. He has to be clear in his mind as to how he should place the right people in the right place, and what they should do. The previous point deals with gathering information; one estimates the time, money, and manpower necessary to do a job. All these are information. They give us an idea of the different kinds of problems that need to be solved before we can accomplish a task. We must write down these points one by one. For example, if we are going to leave the mountain now, we have to find out how many people need to leave on sedan chairs and how many chairs we now have. We need an accurate count of all these things. When all the facts are in place, we can go on to the fourth point, which is to make the proper arrangements. If the facts are wrong in the first place, it is impossible to make the right judgments. Therefore, before we can talk about a proper arrangement, we must have reliable facts. This means that there is the need for much thinking and deliberation. No one can accomplish anything without giving thought to his work. The Lord Jesus taught His disciples how to manage business affairs when He was on the earth. Once He asked them to distribute bread to five thousand people. Another time He asked them to distribute bread to four thousand people. This is the reason they were able to baptize three thousand and then five thousand people at Pentecost. In feeding the five thousand, the Lord asked them to arrange the crowd into rows; there was no confusion. At that time the crowd was hungry, and if the people had pressed against one another, it would have been chaos. The Lord asked them all to sit down so that there would not be any confusion. He made them sit down in groups of fifty and one hundred. There was no confusion, and there was no monotonous repetition; everything was in order. After the disciples learned this, they repeated the lesson again at a later time. This is the reason that there was no confusion at Pentecost, even though three thousand and later five thousand were baptized. They had a pattern to follow. The multiplication of the bread was a miracle, but the distribution and consumption of the bread depended on human arrangement. The Lord performed a miracle in the multiplication of the bread, but He did not perform a miracle in the distribution and consumption of it. He did not perform a miracle by dropping the bread into each person's stomach directly. He trained the disciples to do things in the proper way.
In doing things we must first find out the facts in a detailed way and then make arrangements accordingly. When we face a task, the first thing we should do is think it over and then find the proper way. Only after we have taken these steps should we make the proper arrangements. Many people fail to get things done because they have never come up with the proper way. We must first think things over carefully and then do a detailed analysis. After we are clear about all the facts, we have to pray much. We have to ask the Lord what we should do with all the things that are laid before us. The Lord told the five thousand to sit down. Once they sat down, they became stationary. This was wisdom on the Lord's part. The crowd was already trampling upon one another when they listened to the word. How much more would they have trampled each other if they had started squabbling for the bread! The Lord told them to sit down. Once they sat down, all the problems were solved. The Lord was very wise in making these arrangements. In making arrangements there is much need of prayer. We have to pray until we get wisdom. The Lord's arrangement not only allowed the crowd to eat in an orderly fashion but also took care of all the crumbs expeditiously. Hence, in doing things we have to know how to make proper arrangements. We should never leave anything to chance, and it is not enough to exercise just our mouth. In finding the proper way of doing things, it is better to be as specific as possible; one should not be general in anything.
The fifth crucial thing to remember in doing things is that we need a good plan of execution. Before carrying out a job, we must first have enough information, and this information must be accurate and reliable. Our assignment of personnel must be suitable; everyone should have his or her own responsibility, and there must not be confusion of any kind. In building a house, we put one stone upon another. If one stone falls, all the ones attached to it will fall as well. Those making the arrangements should consider who is capable of doing each aspect. The arrangements should suit the capacity and aspiration of each person. It is important that in charging anyone to do anything, we have to speak to them ahead of time. Everyone should understand what they are supposed to do. We should not assume that others understand; we should explain with our own words. We should not be afraid of being repetitious. It is not a matter of how many times we repeat a statement, but a matter of how much the charged ones have understood. We should not wait until others encounter problems in the work before opening our mouth. Rather, we should clearly explain the method and the way ahead of time and then assign the jobs. Those who are giving orders are responsible for making perfectly clear what the charged ones are supposed to do. If the ones giving the orders are not explicit in their explanation, they bear the responsibility for any failure. If a leader does not have the assurance that he can take the lead, he should not be a leader in the first place.
Explaining things clearly and making the assignments is not enough. We have to arrange for drills and practices. Others should not only understand what to do, but they must also be given the opportunity to practice and make trial runs. This is very important. A worker must not only be capable of working by himself but must also be able to direct others to the work. The work of "prayer and the ministry of the word" is not for everyone. Even Stephen had to remain a server of tables. Hence, every one of us has to practice doing things in the proper way. This is particularly true for doing things which are difficult, unfamiliar, and new; there is the need to have practice sessions ahead of time.
Some may ask, "What should we do with those who have committed mistakes?" There are two kinds of people who make mistakes. The first are the lazy ones; those who are lazy often make mistakes. The second are the proud ones; those who are proud also make mistakes easily. A lazy person is uncaring and unconcerned, while a proud person thinks that he can do everything. Those who are proud should be given some form of punishment when they make a mistake. They can be told that they will no longer be assigned such a responsibility. Everyone else will have an assignment in the service; they alone will be left out. They must humble themselves before they will be given another assignment. If a lazy person commits a mistake, he should be exhorted; he must not be allowed to give up. The more he wants to give up, the more we have to force him to do it. We have to perfect him. If he makes a mistake again, we have to go to him again. We have to force him to take up responsibilities; he cannot remain an uncaring and irresponsible person. The prouder a person is, the less he should be assigned responsibility, but the lazier a person is, the more he should be assigned work. It is a sign of laziness to refuse to work by using preaching as an excuse. More than half of the reason for neglect among the co-workers is laziness.
The above seven guidelines are principles of managing affairs. They are methods of doing things. If we follow these principles and carry them out properly, we will be of great use to the Lord's work. There is always room for more learning in the church.
