The lowest point of the fall is that man has to be ruled by other people. If a wife has to be ruled by her husband, a husband has to be ruled by his wife, and the children have to be ruled by their parents, then this proves that they are fallen to the uttermost. Some people work in an organization or a company which stipulates that its employees should come to work at eight o’clock, but every day they try to find out whether or not the manager will be coming to work at eight o’clock the next morning. If he will be coming to work at eight o’clock, they also will come to work at eight o’clock; however, if the manager has to go somewhere and will not come in until eight-thirty, they will come in at eight-thirty as well. Should a Christian do such a thing? If there are some among us who do such a thing, this does not mean that they are not saved, but at least we can say that they do not live before their conscience. A saved person goes to work at eight o’clock when his manager comes at eight, but when his manager does not come at eight o’clock, he still goes to work at eight. He lives this way because God has already saved him from living by human rule and has caused him to live by his conscience. Many people are truly saved, but sadly, many Christian wives still deceive their husbands and tell lies in front of their children. This is not the proper manner and conduct of a Christian. If a Christian is thoroughly saved, he should be saved from this kind of condition.
Ten years ago I was serving in a certain locality. One day a brother came to me and said, “I have a problem that I have been unable to solve for a few days. Please help me.” Then I asked him what the matter was, and he replied, “I was saved a long time ago, but later I became backslidden. Not only did I play cards all the time, but I also stole electricity from the electric company. At that time many people did such a thing, and I did it almost every day. But now by God’s mercy, I am revived, and whenever I think of those days of stealing electricity, I feel very uncomfortable. I do not know what to do.” Please notice that formerly this person did not fear anybody; he feared neither heaven nor earth but only the meter man from the electric company. He feared man but did not fear his conscience. One day, however, he was revived to the extent that he sensed that his conscience was not at peace. As a result, he could not steal electricity anymore, and he felt that he had to make payment for all the electricity that he had stolen in the past. When he came to me, he was in this difficult situation. I told him, “It is very simple. You just need to estimate a rough amount of all the electricity that you have stolen in the past and then pay it back to the electric company.” He said, “This is really difficult. First of all, it is hard to calculate the amount accurately, and second, I do not have the face and the courage to do so.” Then I told him, “It is not too hard. First, you just calculate an approximate amount and then add a little more; as long as your conscience does not condemn you, then this is good enough. Second, even though it is a shame to do this, at the same time, it is something glorious because it pleases God when someone repents and regrets what he has done in the past.”
The brother thought about my word and found it reasonable. Then he went back and calculated the amount, signed a check, wrote a sincere letter, and told the electric company the whole story. He wrote, “I stole electricity from your company in the past, but now I have become a Christian. I have an unpeaceful feeling in my conscience telling me that I should repay you, or I will remain unpeaceful.” Shortly after this, a brother who ran an electronics store went to the electric company to talk with someone concerning a few matters. The head accountant saw this brother and said to him, “Please help me to see if this check that I received is real or fake. Is this person a mental case?” The brother answered, “I know this person; he is not a mental case.” Then the brother testified to the accountant what had happened, and the head accountant was deeply touched when he heard it.
There was once a sister who used to be very careless. In 1932, after she was revived by God, she immediately began to live by her conscience. Through the feeling of her conscience, she realized that some years ago she had committed a disgraceful act. At that time traveling from Nanking to Shanghai was very convenient; there was a direct train that went back and forth between the two cities. This train, however, required a ticket. This sister had studied in America and was a professor at a university. She was also a responsible person among the female students. Many people who worked for the Railway Administration knew her, and they helped her to get an employee pass, which enabled her to ride the train for free. Even a person who had graduated from a university, who had studied abroad, and who was a university professor could do such a poor thing and could behave like a thief and covet such a small benefit. Most rebellious and lawless people first disobey God, then disregard their conscience, and third, defy the law. Hence, when they defy the law, this indicates that they have already disobeyed God and disregarded their conscience. At this stage, as long as they are not penalized by the law, they are able to do anything. This is the condition of fallen man.
However, after this sister was saved, her conscience immediately enlightened her and gave her the feeling that she had done something unrighteous and that she owed the government for using the employee pass. She felt very unpeaceful, so she went to fellowship with the saints. The saints told her that she should calculate the amount that she owed and deal with it carefully. She said that it was not a problem to pay the money back, but she did not know how to calculate the amount or how to return the money. At that time the income of the Nanking-Shanghai Railway went to the national treasury. In light of this, everyone suggested that after she had calculated the amount, she should send the money directly to the Minister of Finance, because if the money had to be transferred from the people at the lower levels, it would easily be lost. Therefore, she wrote a letter to the Minister of Finance and sent the money to him. Later, the Nanking newspaper printed this story.