Furthermore, we should not have the thought that the elders, co-workers, or responsible ones are capable of doing everything. No one among us can do everything. The elders are not necessarily more capable than the other saints. Who can dare say that he is the most capable one among the saints? We should learn to submit to one another; in some situations I should submit to you, and in other situations you should submit to me.
Recently, a brother has been helping me with my needs related to transportation. On the one hand, he submits to me by taking me to a specific destination, but on the other hand, when I ride in his car, I submit to him. If he says, “Please, sit in the front.” I reply, “Yes,” and I sit in the front. If he says, “Please, sit in the rear,” I say, “Yes,” and I sit in the rear. I submit to him because he is driving the car, but he submits to me by driving where I need to go. Furthermore, if I were driving the car, he should submit to me.
There are problems in the church because everyone has an opinion about how to drive the car. This means that everyone wants to be the driver. As a result, the car remains idle because no decision can be reached concerning how to drive it. One person, for example, may say that we should take Highway 1, but another suggests Highway 2, and still another proposes Highway 3. In the end the car cannot move, because each insists on his own way. In fact, there may even be an argument that lasts longer than it would to make the trip. This illustration is not an exaggeration.
There are many different routes that can be taken to a particular destination. Some routes are shorter, while others are longer, and some routes are easier to navigate, while others are more strenuous. However, I would rather use more time on the road than waste it in an argument. The time that it takes for people to argue their points often is enough to complete two round trips. We should stop arguing. If the car is in your control, I will sleep while you drive, and when it is my turn to drive, you should sleep. The problem is that I want to direct when you are driving, and you want to direct when I am driving. Although this is just an example, it is quite applicable.
Today our service is not individualistic; instead, we should serve together. Consequently, we should submit to one another in the coordination. If three brothers come to the meeting hall to arrange chairs, there is a need for mutual submission. Without this, it will be impossible to arrange chairs for a thousand people. The brothers should be willing to follow the one who has been given the responsibility for arranging the chairs. Without submission, one brother may insist that the seats face each other, while another may insist that the seats face the podium. In the end, rather than arranging chairs, they will engage in an argument. We need to learn to submit to others. In arranging chairs we should not have our own preference or proposal; we should be willing to simply follow the one who has been given the responsibility of arranging the chairs. We must learn this lesson. In the church it is a fearful thing to have opinions.
Some saints may appear to submit, but inwardly they disagree. Such a one may keep silent in the meeting hall, but when he is at home, he will speak, saying, “The church does not allow people to speak; this is not democratic. I am not even allowed to give my opinion on how to arrange the chairs.” Such a critical attitude confines the Lord into a small corner of our being, and it is not possible for the Lord to be our person. Furthermore, we will not be able to touch life and supply others with life.
In the church the way that something is done is a secondary matter; the primary matter is whether others touch life in the church. For example, when the elders ask a brother to help arrange chairs, he may not carry out this responsibility in an adequate way. When the elders ask the brother to adjust the way in which he has arranged the chairs, it would be wonderful if the brother would simply say, “Okay, we will change the arrangement,” and then ask the saints to help him rearrange the chairs. The rearrangement of the chairs may seem to be a waste of time and energy, but in terms of life, it is not wasteful at all. Even if the elders would ask him to rearrange the chairs once again, it can be done in a way of submission that brings in much life.
Such an experience of submission in life is not possible in society. If the way of arrangement is changed, some will complain loudly, saying, “What is the matter with you? If you wanted us to arrange the chairs so that they were facing each other, you should have said so in the first place. Why did you change your mind?” Then an argument will ensue. In society it is easy to complain and blame one another, but it should not be this way in the church. In the church every mistake is profitable in helping us to touch and supply life.