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A T T I T U D E T O W A R D y o u r b r e t h r e n
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| The Lord is not pleased with your attitude toward your brethren. If you live by faith in Christ, your will will be under the control of the will of God. Christ will abide in your soul by faith. You will be in harmony with the divine will. Your happiness will not be found in that which you possess nor in that which you are or can be in yourself, it consists in the oneness of your will to the will of God. The happiness and glory of the inhabitants of heaven is perfect because the will of God is their supreme delight. The work of grace will be carried forward to perfection in your heart if you do not voluntarily refuse to be molded by the sanctifying influence of the truth. { 1888 233.3 }
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| You need the kindness, courtesy, meekness, and lowliness of Christ. You have many valuable qualifications that can be perfected for highest service if sanctified to God. You should feel the necessity of approaching your brethren with kindness and courtesy, not with harshness and severity. You do not realize the harm you do by your sharp, domineering spirit toward them. The ministers in your conference become disheartened, losing the courage they might have if you would give then respect, kindness, confidence, and love. By your manner of dealing you have separated the hearts of your brethren from you, so that your counsel has not had much influence over them for good. This is not as the Lord would have it. He is not pleased with your attitude toward your brethren. — Letter 3, 1888, p. 4 (January 10, 1888). { ChL 6.3}
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| He that searcheth the heart knoweth what is in the heart of every man. There must be a decided change in your attitude toward your brethren. Be assured that when this change takes place, you will see a decided change in your brethren. I feel so sorry for my Saviour. I feel such longing of soul that Christ shall mellow and change the soul-temple of His people. You need to soften. You need not feel that your brethren are all in the wrong, because they are not. You need the working of the Holy Spirit on your heart as much and even more than many of your brethren need it. When you become one with your brethren, as is represented in the seventeenth chapter of John, you may expect the love and power of God to flow in rich currents into your soul. The work of God is not divided; it is one, and if there is any separation between the medical missionary work and the ministry, it will be because the Holy Spirit is not working upon hearts. { 21MR 48.5 } |
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| You are required to have your labors correspond with the truth you profess to believe. The sufficiency of the apostle was not in himself but in the presence and agency of the holy spirit whose gracious influence filled his heart, bringing every thought into subjection to Christ. There must be the soft fillings in your character. You do not realize the harm you do by your sharp, abrupt, domineering attitude toward your brethren. You encourage certain ones to do a certain work and although they prove themselves unworthy and are an injury both by work and influence to the cause of God, you still uphold them by your confidence and virtually say to them, “It is well with you.” { 1888 234.2 }
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| Brother Underwood, you had all the responsibilities you could carry before you became interested in this Mount Vernon matter. This additional care will not help you to take a course calculated to win the confidence of your brethren. It will not help you to keep calm nerves and an even temper to do the work the Lord has for you to do. If you are a disappointed man, you will be a very unhappy man. In order to be highly useful, you need more of the love of Christ to subdue your own will. You do not feel under sound obligation to God to be patient and kind and respectful toward your ministering brethren and toward every member of the church. They lose confidence in you and then your influence is crippled. You need the kindness, courtesy, meekness, and lowliness of Christ. You have many valuable qualifications that can be perfected for highest service if sanctified to God. You should feel the necessity of approaching your brethren with kindness and courtesy, not with harshness and severity. You do not realize the harm you do by your sharp, domineering spirit toward them. The ministers in your conference become disheartened, losing the courage they might have if you would give them respect, kindness, confidence, and love. By your manner of dealing you have separated the hearts of your brethren from you, so that your counsel has not had much influence over them for good. This is not as the Lord would have it. He is not pleased with your attitude toward your brethren. { 1888 245.2 }
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| Self-righteousness not only leads men to misrepresent God, but makes them coldhearted and critical toward their brethren. The elder son, in his selfishness and jealousy, stood ready to watch his brother, to criticize every action, and to accuse him for the least deficiency. He would detect every mistake, and make the most of every wrong act. Thus he would seek to justify his own unforgiving spirit. Many today are doing the same thing. While the soul is making its very first struggles against a flood of temptations, they stand by, stubborn, self-willed, complaining, accusing. They may claim to be children of God, but they are acting out the spirit of Satan. By their attitude toward their brethren, these accusers place themselves where God cannot give them the light of His countenance. { COL 210.1} Read entire Chapter 16
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h i s A T T I T U D E T O W A R D O T H E R S
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Related Scripture: "May the God that gives endurance and encouragement give you to same attitude of mind toward each other that Jesus Christ had." Romans 15: 5
| “No man liveth unto himself.” It is impossible for any of us to live in such a way that we shall not cast an influence in the world. No member of the family can inclose himself within himself, where other members of the family shall not feel his influence and spirit. The very expression of the countenance has an influence for good or evil. His spirit, his words, his actions, his attitude toward others, are unmistakable. If he is living in selfishness, he surrounds his soul with a malarious atmosphere, while if he is filled with the love of Christ, he will manifest courtesy, kindness, tender regard for the feelings of others, and will communicate to his associates, by his acts of love, a tender, grateful, happy feeling. It will be made manifest that he is living for Jesus, and daily learning lessons at his feet, receiving his light and his peace. He will be able to say to the Lord, “Thy gentleness hath made me great.” { YI June 22, 1893, par. 1 }
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