At the very least, one who wishes to be used by God must certainly receive some education. It is difficult for an unlearned person who has not developed his mind through education to be useful to God. Being educated is a condition that we must fulfill in order for God to use us. Although we all seem to acknowledge this fact, I still need to add a few words.
We have not paid adequate attention to language learning. In principle, we all should have considered this when we were young. For instance, there are some who cannot read reference materials in foreign languages. This is a big problem. Students of the sciences used to be required to read German because most of the scientific publications were in that language. It was not that they liked to speak German; rather, they needed to research the scientific materials in German. Similarly, throughout church history spiritual materials were written either in Hebrew, Greek, Latin, or English. To use these reference materials, you must know these languages. For this reason, the young people should study Hebrew, Greek, and English. They need to study some of these languages in order to use the reference books.
Moreover, I have discovered from the writings of some brothers and sisters that even their Chinese is inadequate. Actually, our language need not be complex or elegant but simply understandable and expressive of our thoughts. This matter also affects our usefulness in God’s hand.
Brothers and sisters, if you can use a reference book in Greek, read English, and write fluently in Chinese, you will see how much your usefulness will multiply in the Lord’s hand. Regretfully, you have not paid attention to this and have wasted much time. As a rule you should spend one hour each day studying a language. In a year you will be able to use reference materials in Hebrew. Similar proficiency in Greek will require only half a year. If you spend an hour a day studying English, you will be able to do translation work in three years. Since it is more difficult to translate from Chinese to English, an ability to translate from English to Chinese will be sufficient. If we do not build ourselves up in such matters, we reduce our usefulness in God’s work.
However, this is still not my point. My point is actually character development, a matter which I fear many have ignored.
When we speak of a person’s character, it is difficult to say whether it is a matter of the spirit, the soul, or the body. Actually, it involves all three. For instance, laziness is a problem of character. Some may say that it is a matter of habit; actually, it is a matter of character. Is it the spirit that is lazy, or is it the soul or the body? It is difficult to say. The spirit, the soul, and the body are all lazy. This is a problem of character. Consider another example: some people are so sloppy that they confuse the book of Mark with the book of Matthew and the book of Matthew with Galatians. If we ask them how many chapters there are in the Gospel of Matthew, they will answer that there are sixteen. While some people are this careless, others take things most seriously and perform their work meticulously. These are all matters of character.
I agree that a person who does not have a strong spirit is of little use in the Lord’s hand. The same is true of one who lacks a strong mind and a clear understanding, and of one who is weak physically. We need to be built up in our spirit, soul, and body before we can be useful to God. However, what we are discussing here concerns neither the spirit, nor the soul, nor the body, but character. If your character is deficient, you will not be of much use in the Lord’s hand. What then is character? It is the way you behave as a person, plus the person behind such behavior. A person’s character is his disposition which has become his way of living.
We have mentioned that character is composed of two things: inborn nature and acquired habits. A newborn child has only an inborn nature, not acquired habits. But you and I have both. We may say that nature is the skeleton and habits are the flesh and the skin. Together, they form one’s character. If we send a Chinese child to America as soon as he is born, when he grows up he will be full of American temperament. We can see from this that a person’s acquired habits are more influential than his inborn nature. When our inborn nature combined with our acquired habits become the way we live, the result is our character. Our character affects our usefulness to God more than our spirit, soul, and body.
When I began to serve the Lord, I did not understand this matter, and it did not seem important. In helping the brothers and sisters, I would merely tell them to study the Bible diligently, pray much, and be dealt with before the Lord. I still admit that these points definitely have their usefulness and place. But I have seen persons who prayed, studied the Bible, and pursued the Lord fervently who were not of much use to God. In the past I noticed only the result but not the cause. Now I have discovered the nullifying factor: a faulty character prevents such persons from being useful. Their character has canceled the effectiveness of their Bible study and prayer.
Dear brothers and sisters, neither your spirit, nor your soul, nor your body can replace you; nearly your whole being exists in your character. Allow me to say that, because your character is deficient, merely to have a strong spirit is not adequate. I once knew a sister and was quite familiar with her situation. She loved the Lord very much, pursued after Him, and spent time in prayer, Bible reading, and meetings. Nevertheless, one could not find much usefulness in her. Previously I was perplexed by this. Gradually I found out that it was due to an undeveloped character. Although she could pray in her room for one to two hours, and pray in a good way, once she began to take care of business, meet people, and deal with things, she was altogether sloppy. When she conversed with others, what she spoke usually differed from what she thought. Then, when asked, she inevitably denied that she had spoken a certain thing. Did she intentionally lie, or did she purposely deceive? No, that was simply her way of behaving. Please consider, could God use a person with such a character? No, absolutely not. Now we see what character is and how character is related to our usefulness. Please remember that God does not use what is of you in His work, but He needs you as His means to work. If you are not thus qualified, God cannot use you.
Let me give you another small example, something which I have observed many times. I asked a brother to take a letter to another brother. After a few days I met him again and asked him whether he had delivered the message. He replied, “Oh, I completely forgot.” Do not think that this is a small matter. It reveals his condition as well as his character. In principle, a person whose character has been dealt with and built up will first consider his own ability to do a job before he accepts a request. If he cannot do it, he will not accept the request; but if he is able, he will do it immediately. Either I should refuse a request, or I should accept it and carry it out, even if I must go to hell to do so. Do you think God can entrust anything to a person who will accept a request carelessly, but who will not fulfill his word afterwards? Can God entrust him with His work? In other words, can such a person receive God’s commission or God’s leading? Not at all.