Recently, we planted two small trees at the workers’ home. Because of the interior remodeling, we moved the plants again and again. Once the remodeling was complete, we thought of two brothers who majored in agriculture. One of them is the brother who said that he is loose. At that time I said to him, “Concerning the matter of transplanting trees, because you are the agricultural specialist, I will leave it to you.” He said that he is loose and accommodating; it is really true. I was very bothered by his looseness and accommodation. I am absolutely a novice in gardening, but when I saw the way he moved the plants, I knew that it would not work. I did not know whether to cry or to laugh.
About this time last year we asked the brothers to move the trees. However, some trees died after being moved; even now the trees are in a state of desolation. Consequently, I thought that it might not be a good time to move the trees this year. Then a brother brought someone from a nearby city who assured me that if I let him move the trees, they would live. Thus, the transplanting began. As I observed him, I learned the secret. The brothers who moved the trees last year uprooted the trees without leaving very much soil attached to the roots. In the end, the transplanting was not very successful, because few trees survived. The person who moved the trees this year not only kept the trees alive but even kept their leaves from falling. The wax apple tree, for example, not only is living, but its leaves are still green. The two loquat trees are not only alive but also exceptionally fruitful.
From this I learned that it is actually not a matter of who is an “expert” but of the transplanting method. The trees transplanted by the “expert” brother withered; however, the trees transplanted by the other man not only are alive but also are bearing significant amounts of fruit. Of course, the discipline of the Holy Spirit also may have played a part in the results.
Whether we succeed in a certain matter does not depend on whether we know how to do it. Rather, it depends on our ability to grasp the secret of doing everything in a practical and thorough way without being loose. I was troubled and bothered inwardly when I saw the looseness and carelessness of the “expert” brother, because he was supposed to be an expert. He should have known the secret of transplanting trees, but because he was not earnest and thorough and did things in an accommodating way, there was no result. The success of every matter does not depend on whether a person knows how to do it; this is secondary. The primary point is that he must be earnest and not loose. This is especially true when we go out to work; we must not be loose. If we are loose, we will not be able to accomplish anything.
The brothers who shared earlier are all full-time serving ones, but they all said that their work is not good. Some spoke of a lack of financial cooperation from the church, and while this may be a reason, it is not the main reason. The main reason lies in the fact that the person himself is incapable of meeting the need. A person who specializes in a certain profession should be able to do his job successfully, but if he is loose, his work will be ineffective even though he has spent much money and time to be trained. If the brothers are this way in the church year after year, how can they produce people?
All our problems relate to the fact that our being is inadequate. When a matter is considered, the time and effort are utilized and money is expended, but there is no result. This is the situation related to the brothers’ work. They “plant trees” and spend much time and effort, but nothing avails. The only good point may be that they experience the discipline of the Holy Spirit. From the fellowship of these few brothers, the Lord has shown us that our problems are related to nothing other than our looseness. What should we do? This simple time of fellowship has pointed out many loopholes and shows that we do not know how to work. If we truly knew how to work, our localities would surely take on an entirely new look. These words have exposed many loopholes, proving that we do not know how to work.
The fellowship of the responsible brothers in various places concerning their actual situation shows that their looseness, sloppiness, and accommodation has ruined the Lord’s work even though they make an effort and pay a price. I hope that all the young brothers and sisters will learn a serious lesson in this matter.
For example, I once asked a brother to sweep the room. He was very obedient, and he took the broom and began sweeping. If this brother was earnest in doing things, regardless of his skills, he should have started sweeping from the corners. However, he took the broom and swept only the middle part of the room. When I pointed to a corner, he swept the corner; when I pointed to another corner, he swept that corner. How can a person do a good work with this kind of attitude? From just this matter of sweeping, we can see whether or not he knows how to work. In the end, I had to show him how to thoroughly sweep the floor myself. This kind of person cannot work, and even if he does work, it will be useless because he does not know how to start and where to focus his effort. Cleaning the floor is a simple matter. When we clean the floor, for example, we need to consider whether we should use a broom or a mop. If we do not even know how to do a simple task, how can we handle the practical matters of the church and the work when they are placed in our hands?
The fellowship and reports of the various churches show that the problems they have are not the real problem. The greatest problem is that the serving ones do not know how to work. If we know how to work, our financial difficulties will not keep us from being able to “dig” out money when it is needed. Money does not fall down from heaven; it must be “dug” out by the workers. When some brothers go to a certain place to labor, there is no material supply; however, when others go to the same place to labor, there is an abundant supply. This shows that some do not know how to work. We should never believe that the place where we are laboring is short of financial capacity. There is much gold buried in the ground. If we know how to work, we will be able to “dig” out the gold. When we dig away all the problems, gold will appear spontaneously. We must see that our person is the problem. All the problems are related to our being.