GOSPEL OF THE DESCENT OF THE KINGDOM

“For example, if you have arrogance and conceit inside you, it will be impossible to not defy God, but instead you would be made to defy Him. You wouldn’t do it on purpose; you would do it under the domination of your arrogant and conceited nature. Your arrogance and conceit would make you look down on God, it would make you see God as being of no account …” (“Only by Seeking the Truth Can You Obtain Changes in Your Disposition” in Records of Christ’s Talks).

At a meeting of church leaders I once attended, a newly elected church leader said: “I don’t have enough stature. I feel I’m not suited to fulfilling this duty. I feel pressured by so many things, to the extent that I haven’t been able to fall asleep for several days and nights in a row….” At the time, I was carrying burdens in my pursuit of God, so I communicated with her: “All work is performed by God; man simply cooperates a little.

In the Bible, the Book of Proverbs says, “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall” (Proverbs 16:18). Just as I was diving head-first into my work with very high hopes, I felt that, in my heart, I was losing touch with God. Not only did my work fail to fall into place, but also the effectiveness of our gospel work went from soaring to taking a nosedive. I fell into an extremely painful position, but wasn’t sure what I did wrong.

Every time I saw or heard of someone having been replaced and them feeling down, weak or sulky, and not wanting to follow anymore, then I looked down on them. I thought it was nothing more than different people having different functions within the church, that there was no distinction between high or low, that we were all God’s creations and there was nothing to feel down about.