The slave with one talent said that his master was a hard man. In a certain sense the Lord is indeed hard. For example, the Lord has placed some young brothers and sisters in the universities. Because all their classmates want to be at the top of the class or to study abroad, very few have a heart to listen to the gospel or a heart to believe in Jesus. In such a situation the Lord is not sowing, and even if He were sowing, there would be no growth. Nevertheless, the Lord still says to these young saints, “Go and reap. If you do not reap anything, you will be disciplined when I return.” Although they may respond to the Lord, saying, “You are hard. How can You ask us to reap where it is not possible to even sow?” He will reply, “Not only will I ask you to reap where there has been no sowing, but I will also ask you to reap where seeds cannot be sown. You must reap something.” In principle, the Lord places such a demand on all of us.
Sometimes when I speak with the elders and responsible ones in the districts about preaching the gospel, they respond with excuses, saying, “It is not as easy to preach the gospel as it was twenty years ago. It is more difficult today. Twenty years ago Taiwan was not stable; many people who had fled from the mainland were in turmoil, and they were without possessions. They did not have much regard for the world, and it was rather easy for them to receive the gospel. It is different now. The political situation is stable, the society is prosperous, and everyone has the desire to make money and live in a nice house. Who is willing to listen to the gospel?” In response, I say, “You can give many reasons for not preaching the gospel, and even though I may seem rather strict and harsh, I actually am very softhearted. When I hear people speak of these difficulties, I even become sympathetic. However, I am not the Lord, and He would never agree with these excuses. Instead, He would say, ‘Since it is so difficult, you must work even harder in order to have a double return. Otherwise, you will fall short when you render an account to Me.’ In 1949 three thousand people were saved in the church in Taipei. This year four thousand people should be saved.” The Lord is indeed hard in His demands in our work.
Where is there an easy place to work? For example, the saints in Japan can find plenty of excuses for not preaching the gospel. They say that all the Japanese are wealthy and desire to follow today’s worldly trends. Consequently, on the Lord’s Day everyone is relaxing, and no one has a desire to listen to the gospel. It is even more difficult in the United States. Americans are constantly pursuing entertainment. Even though they work five days a week, they prefer to work only four days a week. They rest not only on Saturday and the Lord’s Day but sometimes even have holidays that occur on Mondays. If possible, they would fill every day before and every day after the Lord’s Day, including the Lord’s Day, with things for their entertainment. There are movie theaters everywhere in the United States. So who is willing to listen to the gospel and receive the Lord? In Southeast Asia people are wasteful and idle with their time. They get up late in the morning and often put off work until a later day. Thus, there is seemingly no possibility for the Lord to work in Southeast Asia. If we use these difficulties as excuses to justify our lack of work, the Lord will say, “I am a hard man. I want you to work in Japan. You must work there even if you do not know how. I want you to go and work in America, and you must gain some return.”
I am not joking. We all look for ways to excuse ourselves. The brothers from Panchiao say, “The situation in our locality is far worse than in Taoyuan. Taoyuan has a better environment for the gospel work.” However, the brothers from Taoyuan say, “If only our situation were as good as it is in Panchiao.” When you go to Kaohsiung, the brothers say, “Kaohsiung cannot be compared with Taipei. Taipei has so many excellent provisions for the preaching of the gospel. We do not have so many colleges, and our middle schools are also inferior.” But the brothers in Taipei say, “My goodness! No one is willing to serve in Taipei. The church in Taipei is too large. There are elders, co-workers, and responsible ones in the districts, in the homes, and in the small groups.” Some co-workers also say, “I dare not serve in Taipei because it is too difficult to work with the older saints. When I take care of an older brother, another brother shakes his head. When one older sister is happy, another one is ready to quit. I dare not serve there.” A co-worker who is asked to go to Keelung may say, “I cannot go to Keelung. I have arthritis. It rains in Keelung every day, and my body cannot handle it.” The Lord, however, is not sympathetic toward these excuses. In Matthew 25:24 the evil and slothful slave said, “Master, I knew about you, that you are a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not winnow.” The Lord never denied this. Instead, He said, “You knew,” meaning that it was true that He was a hard man, but that since the slave knew, he should have worked more diligently.