We must continually see that God’s desire is that we would be those who are being built. Perhaps some will ask, “How can we be those who are being built?” First, we must be delivered from our independence and learn to be joined to others. Consider a house for example. Every piece of wood in a house is connected to other pieces of wood that are above it, below it, on its left, and on its right. Not one piece stands alone. In the same manner, we Christians need to learn to be joined to the brothers and sisters around us. No matter how different our tastes, personalities, and views are, we still have to be joined together. This joining together will take away some of our freedom. Some brothers and sisters have brought this matter up with me. One of them said to me, “Being joined together surely has its good points.” After hearing such a remark, I immediately knew what he intended to say next, so I said it for him: “But it also has its bad points.” He said, “You are altogether right.” Then I asked him, “What are the bad points?” He said, “The first bad point is that there is no freedom. When I am by myself and I feel to go and preach the gospel, I can do so freely. However, if someone is joined to me, then I am restricted in many ways.” I asked him, “What is so bad about this?” He replied, “When I act alone, I can keep everything secret, but once I am joined to someone, that one will even know how much rice I ate. How inconvenient this is!”
I have discovered something quite amazing in Europe and in the United States. People in the West are very afraid of one thing—being unable to keep a secret. They are very afraid of people knowing their private matters. While I was visiting the West, I would sometimes get letters. If I was talking with guests in the living room, the host would hand me the letters with the back side up. At first I thought that this was a great courtesy, but gradually I discovered that the host’s real intention was to guard my privacy by not letting the guests know where the letter had come from. Please do not blame me for referring to these kinds of matters. The problem with many brothers and sisters in regard to the building of the church is that they are not willing to let others know about their affairs and therefore cannot have proper fellowship with the brothers and sisters around them. They can only serve alone and are not willing to put aside their peculiarities.
There is also another kind of problem regarding the building. Some brothers and sisters are so joined together that they cannot be separated, similar to the way flesh and skin grow together and cannot be separated. We human beings are very difficult to manage. Either we cannot be joined with others, or once we are joined together, we cannot be separated. This is so difficult! In the past I have met at least three or four pairs of brothers who were inseparable in this way. Whenever they came together, they would whisper with each other as if they had some secrets that could not be told to others. You could not pull them apart no matter what. Please forgive me for speaking in very plain words. I have been in this “business” of building the church for over thirty years. When a master carpenter obtains a piece of wood, he can readily detect its problems. With only one look he can tell where the knots and blemishes are. It is the same in the process of building God’s children. An expert, with only one look, immediately knows where the problems are. Nothing can be hidden from him. When someone says, “I cannot be joined to others,” then we should be clear that this one has problems with the building. If someone says, “I can be joined to others,” then we must not believe this one too quickly. We must see whether or not he can be separated after he has been joined. If he cannot be disconnected after being joined, then this will be a problem. That kind of joining cannot stand the test. In the building of the church, the brothers and sisters should be able to be separated from others as well as joined to others. When they need to be joined, they should be able to be joined, and when they need to be separated, they should be able to be separated. In this way there will be no problems.