Let us now consider the character of those who served the Lord in both the Old and New Testaments. It would actually be very worthwhile for you to study the character of persons from Abraham in the Old Testament to John in the New Testament. We can select only a few of those individuals for our discussion here.
Moses’ character was nearly perfect, as we see in the Old Testament. First, he received the knowledge of God from his parents when he was young. This is a factor that contributed to the development of his character. Second, God prepared an environment, bringing him to the Egyptian palace to learn the culture of that age. This also was a factor in the cultivation of his character. Third, God sent him to the wilderness for forty years for character training. Once a prince in the Egyptian palace, he now shepherded a flock, learning patience and humility and spontaneously acquiring a lowly character. For forty years, in the freezing cold and the scorching heat, he took care of his sheep. The ordeals and suffering that he went through were all for the development of his character, to make him humble, accommodating, enduring, patient, and sensitive.
Furthermore, a shepherd must have a sense of responsibility and a caring heart; he must be fine and thorough. A shepherd must lead his flock according to the sheep’s need to drink, to graze, to rest, and to move. Later, because of his forty years of training in the wilderness, Moses was able to lead the Israelites for forty years. He learned his lessons for forty years, so he was able to lead for forty years. This shows us that the extent to which God could use him depended on how much his character had been developed before the Lord. There is no doubt that the God who filled Moses was unlimited; however, Moses’ ability to testify and minister the God who filled him was based upon the character he had developed during his shepherding years.
It is clear that later, when Moses became God’s greatest servant, his character was very strong and capable, as well as fine, thorough, and sympathetic. The law of Moses is very high and very detailed. When he spoke of offerings, he even gave instructions for handling dung. He discussed very thoroughly the way to deal with the problems a woman might face before she is engaged, after she is engaged but before she is married, and after she is married. When you read Moses’ Pentateuch again, notice that his character was strong and transparent; at the same time it was also fine, thorough, and accommodating. This is the reason that the fire of Jehovah could burn and be manifested upon him.
In Deuteronomy he recounted events from the time the Israelites received the law until his dying days. How detailed was his memory! His compassion toward the Israelites was many times deeper than a mother’s. With such a character it was no wonder that God’s fire could burn upon him. Did all this pertain to Moses’ spiritual life? Those who do not know God may say so; actually, it was a matter of his character. Since God was manifested through him, God must have been the life, but Moses needed such a character to uphold God’s manifestation.
I mention this repeatedly because through the ages those who serve the Lord have neglected the matter of character. Rising early in the morning is not an aspect of the spiritual life; neither is remembering what people entrusted to you. These are matters of character. The spiritual life is the Christ constituted in you, the Christ seen by you, the Christ known by you, the Christ with whom you are filled. The point here is that as Christ has been seen by you and is being ministered to others through you, what kind of character should you have in order to be useful?
Now we come to Paul in the New Testament. Do you not sense that you touch a special character in Paul’s fourteen Epistles? Do you not sense here a man who is tender, helpful, accommodating, and frank? He was full of Christ, and the fire of Christ was burning within him and upon him. However, what people sensed was a diligent character, a mind to work, a readiness to speak frankly, a care for others, and a willingness to accommodate others. These points of character constitute the person of Paul. At times he could be extremely severe. Once he asked, “Shall I come to you with a rod, or in love and a spirit of meekness?” (1 Cor. 4:21). At other times he was full of gentleness. He also asked, “Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is stumbled, and I do not burn?” (2 Cor. 11:29). What a responsible and conscientious person he was!
Now let us come back to consider ourselves. I have mentioned that laziness is a major shortcoming in our character. Especially with regard to the young brothers and sisters, if you do not build up a diligent character, your work will have no future. At most you can be only a pretty flower for people to admire; you can hardly be a vessel to supply God’s children. Even though you may know the cross, Christ, and the natural man, if you are not diligent enough, it will be difficult for you to minister Christ to others. Christ will be nullified by your laziness. If you do not believe my word now, you will twenty years from now. You do not know how many things you will spoil because of a lack of diligence in your character.
Many people are willing to take on grand tasks but not small ones. This also is a shortcoming in character. If you desire to do only the big things and not the trivial, you are through. Whoever is useful in the hands of the Lord must be utterly broad on one hand, and extremely fine on the other. Such was Moses’ law. You should do minor jobs well, and you should also be able to carry out major assignments. Your character needs to be dealt with on this point. If you take pleasure only in preaching the all-inclusive Christ and His all-inclusive death on the cross, yet you are not willing to engage in trivial duties in your daily life, there is a shortage in your character.
Then, there are those people who are careless in everything; this characteristic makes them unsuitable for God’s use. You should be accommodating to others, but you should not tolerate sloppiness. If you gave a poor message last night, you cannot excuse yourself and let it go carelessly. You should condemn yourself, realizing that it was not acceptable. This may be called a progressive attitude. Some people do not have this item in their character and are thus of no use to the Lord.
Some people are irresponsible. Moreover, their irresponsibility is spontaneous and not intentional. If you ask one of them to be an elder, he may agree, albeit with a shallow sense of responsibility. He would not put upon his shoulders the people, things, or matters of the church. It seems that whatever matter you entrust to him becomes lost or disappears. He takes care only of those things which he happens to come across. This is because he lacks a sense of responsibility. The unconscientious person who serves the Lord cannot expect to be able to render help to others. We should not only love and care for people but also learn and practice before the Lord to be conscientious. Once certain matters of the church are entrusted to us, our heart should be in them. We should carry on our heart those whom we prayed for. Learn to have a sense of responsibility.
There is no need to illustrate further. If you check with yourself, you will see that there are still many areas of your character which are unfit for the Lord. As one who lacks the many qualities which are useful to the Lord, you must spend sufficient time to exercise to build up your character. Only then will you be useful to Him.
Never think that it is easier to oversee the church, to preach the gospel, or to save people’s souls than to do worldly business. This is absolutely not true. When I was first saved, although I had not yet received the Lord’s calling, by His grace I already enjoyed Bible reading, going to meetings, and, at times, gospel preaching. I met a classmate who had lost his job because of his temperament and personality. He came to see me and said, “You are associated with a certain denomination; now that I have lost my job, would you please recommend me to them as a preacher?” When I heard this, I was speechless. Today the common assumption is that it is easier to preach the gospel and serve the church than to do anything else; it seems that there is no need for a proper character and that such work can be done in a heedless way. I was told that anyone who has been a preacher for three years is not able to do anything else. We should feel shameful about these things.
We must realize that for serving the Lord, preaching the gospel, overseeing the church, and saving souls, a proper human character is the topmost requirement. To do these things, more than any other kind of work, requires diligence, earnestness, endurance, boldness, self-sacrifice, self-denial, thoughtfulness, considerateness, and progressiveness with daily improvement. If these qualities are not in your character, it makes little difference whether you are available for the Lord’s service or not.
Therefore, in order to serve the Lord, to preach the gospel, and to establish churches, you must build up a character that is useful to the Lord. In your daily life you need to attend to and diligently learn everything related to character, whether it is great or small. You should not place your clothes or books sloppily; all your belongings must be put in their proper place. This will help you to build up an exact character so that you will not do things in an unclear and careless way. You need to practice to be exact, never speaking carelessly or inaccurately, even remembering precisely the words of the Bible and their references. You need to cultivate your sense of responsibility and to work it into your character. Then, when you administrate the church, you will do nothing carelessly, since a certain conscientiousness will already be in you. May the Lord have mercy upon us that we may realize what kind of character is useful to Him.