Question: When some come together to fellowship, they are passive because they do not want to express their opinion. Is it correct to speak our opinion as long as we do not hold on to it and are willing for it to be dropped?

Answer: This is not correct. If we mean business about dropping our opinion, we have to go along with others positively. We may say that we will not do anything because we do not want to have an opinion. However, if we would not go along with others positively, we are holding back and keeping our opinion. If a brother proposes that we arrange the chairs in the meeting hall in an unusual way, would we do it? We have to learn to go along with the brothers. If we go along, the one who made the proposal will learn that he was wrong. Then he will propose that the chairs be restored to their former order. Simply go along, and do not blame him. Eventually, we will find the right way to arrange the chairs.

Ambition plus opinion builds up enmity and makes enemies. When a married couple goes on a trip, they may not agree on which route to take. They may argue, become unhappy, and cancel the trip. Arguing over opinions can also take place in the church life. In a certain denomination, the leaders came together to talk about church affairs. Eventually, they became angry with one another, and one brother threw a Bible at another brother.

If the members of a gospel team argue about which neighborhood to go to, the team will be ruined. We must be released persons. Even a little arguing will bind everyone in the team. When someone proposes something, we should go along. Then, if what we are doing is wrong, it will be exposed. To do something wrong is much better than to argue.

Question: What is the difference between having fellowship with one another and voicing our opinion?

Answer: The purpose of fellowship is to gain the Lord’s presence. If we each go our own way and take care of our own portion without fellowship, it will be hard for us to enjoy the Lord’s presence. The more we walk, work, and do things together, the more we will have the Lord’s presence.

Question: When I have opinions, I may not express them in order not to cause a problem, but I feel hypocritical in simply going along outwardly. Is it right to be political in order to keep a pleasant atmosphere?

Answer: To have an opinion yet pretend that we do not have one is hypocrisy. We should condemn this. We should condemn our opinion and learn to despise and deny it. To deny our opinion is to deny our self. When we come together with others, we must deny ourselves, have no opinion, and go along with whatever the others propose. This is not hypocrisy. When the members of a gospel team come together and no one has an opinion, this is the best time for the Lord to do something. They should pray, “Lord, lead us and guide us. We want to follow You.” In this way, something of the Lord will come out.

Question: How can we distinguish opinion from the feeling that comes from the Lord’s leading?

Answer: Many of the feelings which we think are the Lord’s leading are actually our opinion. The accuracy of our feelings depends on the breaking of our outer man through the cross and on how much we die to ourselves.

Question: I have some feeling that every week we should spend some time to visit new people by knocking on their doors, in addition to our home meetings, in order to contact new and fresh people all the time. Would it be the expression of my opinion to present this to my gospel team?

Answer: To practice the new way to meet and serve, we must first go out to knock on doors to get people saved and baptized. When we go out, we should not bring too many under our care. Each team member should have three or four people under his care. If we do not have a sufficient number to take care of, then we should go out again to knock on doors. Eventually, we should stop knocking on doors and take care of our two to four new ones for a certain period of time. After this, we should continue to follow the way given in our messages on the practice of the new way. The result will be a much better situation in the church than what we have had in the past.

However, many saints may only halfway follow the way given in our messages. They may go to visit people by knocking on their doors, but not in the way proposed in our messages. This is opinion. Only a person who does not insist on his opinion would fully take the way proposed in our messages. Because we have opinions, the Lord is not able to move quickly. Until we drop our opinions and take what is proposed in our messages, we will not see much fruit. If we practice what is proposed in our present messages, we will see the results.

The church life is different from school. When we were in school, the teachers gave us assignments which we had to do. If we did not do them, we received a failing grade. However, in the church life we may speak a message many times, yet the hearers may still only follow halfway. This is opinion. In the work, in the church, in marriage life, in private life, and in our Christian life, the greatest and the most difficult frustration is our opinion.
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