We need to be strict in this term of the Full-Time Training. For twenty years we have suffered damage because the training has not been strict enough. This time I hope that we would have a completely new and strict beginning in the training. Anyone who has ever served in the military knows that once a person joins the military, he loses all his freedom. All his exercises and activities are directed by a single word of command. He is thoroughly changed from head to toe so that he may be freshly equipped to receive strict military training. Without rigorous training, an army cannot fight a battle. No looseness is allowed, because the improper conduct of one person during a battle could lead to the destruction of the whole army.
I asked you to thoroughly study the three books of 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, and Titus before coming to the training. In 2 Timothy 2:3-4, Paul told Timothy, “Suffer evil with me as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No one serving as a soldier entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please the one who enlisted him.” Verse 4 clearly points out that the primary matter for a soldier is that he must not entangle himself with the affairs of this life.
Every contestant who runs on a racecourse does his best to dress as simply as possible. He does not want to bear any excess weight that can become an entanglement to him during the race. This makes it easier for him to finish the race and receive the crown. Similarly, in order to win a battle, a soldier must not allow himself to be entangled with the affairs and burdens of this life. Since you have come to the training, you must hold the same kind of attitude as that of an athlete running on a racecourse and a soldier fighting on a battlefield. If you do not have this kind of spirit, I would urge you to go back to your job.
In the world, people can relax after completing their military service. However, as good soldiers serving the Lord in the church, we have been enlisted not merely for two years of preparatory service but for a lifetime of service. Therefore, do not think that you can relax after graduating from two years of training. Remember, you must be a good soldier for your entire life. From now on you must all have such a spirit. You must make a determination before the Lord, saying, “Lord, I am joining Your army to be a good soldier for my whole life.” First Peter 4:1 says that we should arm ourselves with a mind to suffer. Every soldier expects hardship. No one serving as a soldier expects a life of pleasure.
In 1953 we held a training in Taipei that was very strict at the time. Later, however, I was troubled, because in my view none of those who were in that training had become useful. The primary reason was that they failed to build up a proper character. The work of the Lord’s recovery in the Far East has been greatly frustrated mainly because of the Chinese character.
The Lord has been quite merciful in giving the Chinese people very intelligent minds. The whole world recognizes the intelligence of the Jews. However, according to what I have observed in the United States over the years, the minds of the Jews are not necessarily sharper than those of the Chinese. No one can deny, though, that the Jews are firm in their will and strong in their determination. This is the secret of their success. Once they decide on a matter, they will press on resolutely and will not give up until they reach their goal. This is the life-pulse that enables them to stand. Secondly, the Jews are very enterprising and diligent. For much of the past two thousand years, the Jews were without a nation. This was a suffering to them, and they wandered from place to place. They were rejected and persecuted by the entire world, especially during World War II when millions of them were massacred by Hitler. However, because of their diligence and endeavoring, they have reached the peak in their attainments in the United States and have become the focus of the world.
The Chinese people in America today are the same. The reason they are successful is because they are smart, enterprising, diligent, and determined. Even though there are laws in the United States that protect minorities from discrimination, in actuality, minorities are not that protected. This compels the Chinese students who study in America to make even more of an effort to succeed. If it were not for this situation, it would be difficult for them to succeed. The Jews are successful because of their determination and diligence. The Chinese are smart but lack determination. Those Chinese students who study abroad are successful because they are compelled to be determined and diligent. However, if they were to stay in their own country, they would readily become loose and lazy under the influence of the environment. A major weakness of the Chinese character is that Chinese people do not strive to improve unless they are forced and pressed by the circumstances to improve.