THE DANGERS OF SYSTEM INFLUENCE!         Maria #250       DO 2967  2/94
By Maria

         1. This man our folks have been in contact with in the U.S. is someone who seems very readily available, willing to talk and very potential, but I think he needs someone to explain to him that, while we appreciate his efforts and suggestions on how to make us more presentable to the public, we can only go so far with this. We can't stop being radical and controversial, as he has advised.
         2. Dad's Letters, revolutions, radical moves, and willingness to follow the Lord, regardless of what anybody says, have been what has made us the Family. Without all of our "strange" doctrines, we never would have been any different than the churches. Without our radical sex doctrines, nobody would have even been interested in us! If we weren't preaching the Endtime and so militantly exposing the plan of the Antichrist, we would not be getting all this persecution, and therefore would not have been pushed into these battles which have brought us to the forefront and put us in the public eye.
         3. Dad is what has made the Family, and there is more strong meat to come! We are going to continue to move and change and revolute! I don't believe the Lord wants us to, nor will He allow us to get too comfortable or approved by the System.
         4. I'm a bit concerned about the constant input some of our Family members are getting from this man. From what I've heard of him, I like the man and think he's got great ideas and is in tune in many respects, but until he understands what the Family is really all about and gets sold out on the Family's leadership, he is not going to be in tune enough, and he will be making serious errors in his judgment. Either that, or he is going to fizzle out or sway our people in the wrong direction, or both.
         5. So if the Family is going to continue frequent contact with this man, they need to pour into him as much as he is pouring into them. I know it's a temptation to let these people talk more to us than we do to them, especially when they seem to have so much worldly experience, brilliant ideas and enthusiastic confidence in how they can help us. But no matter how many interesting things they have to say to us, we've got to remember that what we have to say to them is much more valuable, and they need our input much more than we need theirs.
         6. Also, I am even more concerned about our young people who accompany our adult members on their visits listening to this man than I am about the adults listening to him. Because of the inordinate desire of some of our young people for worldly knowledge and sophistication that can seem so appealing, it can be almost spell-binding to them.
         7. Our folks need to tell this man that our main objective is not to get the System to like us, but to give God's message for this day--which is not something that most people are going to like or accept! We should prepare our friends that associating with us is never going to be a very easy road, and if they don't like to buck the System and fight for unpopular causes, they'd better disassociate themselves from us now.
         8. This dear fellow suggested that we don't talk about our "Law of Love" doctrines because he thinks they get us into trouble. But talking about the "Law of Love" is part of the message that God wants us to give to the world, and we are not going to stop preaching the message just because it gets us in trouble.
         9. We've got to help this man realize that our first and foremost need is not to be accepted by the System, but it's to give out God's message! No matter how radical the message may be, getting it out is our objective. That's what we're trying to do most of all--not trying to get the System to like us! We would, of course, like to at least be tolerated by the System, but the more they accept us, the less sensational we will be, and the less they may listen to us if we aren't stirring up the pot with our controversies any longer.
         10. This doesn't mean that we are to go out of our way to purposely offend people, because Dad has often told us to be winsome. However, neither can we compromise by not preaching our message and our doctrines just to make or keep friends.
         11. Please remember that "a false balance is abomination to the Lord, but a just weight is His delight" (Pro.11:1). The above counsel is not to tell you who are pursuing fruitful ministries with these types of people to stop ministering to them, but is simply a caution to stay on guard as you do so. Love, Mama.
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More on Ministering to Our Friends!
From Peter Amsterdam
         12. (Peter:) I have the same concerns that you mentioned, Mama, about our people who are constantly dealing with our outside friends, the academics, lawyers and pastors, etc. These folks are all wonderful, well-meaning and helpful friends, and we're very thankful for their help and support.
         13. In the course of working with these people there is a lot of verbal exchange. They are experts in their fields, just as we are in ours, and they have strong opinions which they express very well and even forcefully. Some of their opinions we agree with, some we don't, but working with them on a regular basis and constantly hearing their opinions and counsel can't help but affect you in some way. On the one hand, you learn a lot and gain a perspective on certain matters that perhaps you didn't have before, which is good, but you also are subjected to derogatory or critical statements about the Family, our doctrines, the Word or the Worder.
         14. For our Family members who deal with these people, having to get immersed in the world of sociologists, psychologists and lawyers can be draining spiritually. They can't help but take in, absorb and even articulate these people's points of view, even when they're just writing a report on what happened in a meeting with them. All of that rational, logical and often carnal-minded type of input ultimately affects you and can weaken your convictions or at least be draining.
         15. Because so few Family members are in a position to deal with these kinds of people, the same ones end up working with them all the time--and it can ultimately have a negative effect on them. When you're with these people, you're not only pouring out to them, but they're pouring out to you. You're bound to get affected and absorb some of their attitudes, and it can be unhealthy.
         16. Of course, the antidote is lots of Word, as well as witnessing, Family fellowship, and good counsel and communication with teamworkers and shepherds. Unfortunately, however, our Family members who are working in these ministries haven't been getting so much of that because there are so many of these people to minister to and there's so much going on and there are so few media spokespeople who are well-trained and available to work with lawyers, academics, etc.
         17. There are many of these outsiders who are very interested in us and are trying to both help us and gather as much information about us as they can. They're trying to write their books and do all they can to help us, and they are being very helpful, God bless them. We need their help. But there is a price to pay, especially if those who minister to them don't take regular time in the Word.
         18. (Note: Since writing this, I have become even more convinced that those Family members who have frequent and intense contact with outsiders must take time in the Word to recoup their strength and keep their connection with the Lord strong. They also need to work in teamwork, so they have a partner who is not only capable but also fully informed of the situation and able to take over their duties when the other person takes time off. They also need to resist feeling self-confident, independent and indispensable, and one way to do this is for them to seek out and remain open to the fellowship, guidance and correction of their shepherds and co-workers.)
         19. I am also concerned, as you are, about having our young people spending a lot of time listening to these people. I know that YAs need to go out on some of these missions, and it's good that they do, but like our adults, they definitely need quite a bit of Word and strengthening afterwards, and I think that needs to be taken into account. We can't let it slide with the adults, even though they've been in the witnessing business a long time and have had a lot of contact with outsiders over the years; so how much more so do our young people--who haven't had nearly as much contact with the System and are not as experienced--need faithful care and guidance and shepherding so that they won't be adversely affected by constant input from these friends.
         20. Another thing to watch out for is the inferior feeling one can get when working with some of these people. Most of them are very well educated, with Ph.Ds and other respected titles. It's easy to be put on the defensive and to start thinking that your education in the Family is deficient, and that you must, of course, be intellectually inferior. For the YAs especially, the argument that they should leave the Family to pursue formal System education can seem very convincing, as that would enable them to eventually help the Family with their expertise. Again, the antidote is the Word.
         21. We need to remember that the Lord has called us out, to be separate, to follow Him, to be His bride, to fulfill the mission He has for us in the Endtime. Although these friends greatly help us, we must remember the Lord has given us treasures of His Word that we need to share with them. What we have is priceless--the Lord, the Word, the Family and our lifestyle--and no matter how educated or intelligent these friends are, we have greater riches and wisdom through the Word.

Let's Give Our Friends a Good Foundation!
         22. (Later, from Mama:) From recent reports we've heard, it seems like our folks finally got the point and got down to business with this man. It was almost as though they had read what I had said--that they need to spend more time talking to him than letting him talk to them!--And that they needed to start feeding him instead of letting him feed them.
         23. I was rather surprised to hear that he wasn't saved yet, but glad that they finally told him about the Lord and Dad and started sharing the Word with him. They said he was so full of himself before that they hadn't been able to get through to him.
         24. Often it's been the Family's own fault that some very potential people didn't make it, because instead of drawing them into the Family, the Family member has allowed himself or herself to be drawn out. The Lord may have wanted to make these outside folks into strong friends and supporters, but because of the weaknesses of our own people, they missed the opportunity to help these friends, and in fact, failed them.
         25. We can't blame our friends and contacts if they haven't been taught and given a good foundation, and if they've just been ministered to on a social level and not in the Spirit. He sounds like one of these kings that our Family never told much about Dad.
         26. The best test for these people is for us to lay everything out in the open and tell them all about Dad, that the Family wouldn't be in existence if it weren't for Dad, and that we're never going to be completely approved of by the System. In fact, we are probably going to continue to come out with shocking revelations that most people won't like.
         27. We're not going to renounce our stand on the ACs' takeover of the world, or our friendship with controversial characters, or stop talking about the "Law of Love" and our sex doctrines. If he doesn't enjoy a challenging and exciting "ride," he should discontinue his contact with us. Of course, I feel sorry for the poor fellow, because apparently they haven't fed him much at all; he has been the one doing all the "feeding"!

Concern About Our Young People!
         28. I am also concerned about one of our teen girls who is presently having daily contact with some of our lawyers in their offices, and obviously her shepherds are concerned about it too. All of the concerns that we've expressed about our adults who have a lot of contact with outsiders apply in this teen girl's case as well.
         29. Our teens are not so spiritually mature that this kind of contact would not affect them, as it affects even the strongest. That's why the Word says, "Come out from among them and be ye separate, and touch not the unclean thing" (2Cor.6:17). Of course, we have to have contact with outsiders because we are ministering to them, and in some cases we're working with them, but we must be mindful that it is going to be a case of "dirty dishes" and we are going to get somewhat "soiled" in the process. We just have to pray that the influence of His cleansing Word will counteract it.
         30. In ministering to these folks, our young people need to get the vision that, although reaching them is a wonderful ministry, they obviously can't approach it in their usual manner of straightforwardly, bluntly presenting people with salvation upon first meeting them, and asking, "Will you pray with me or not?" This kind of a ministry is a more long-term one, and thus their sample is extremely important.
         31. The little things they do and say, the comfort and encouragement they can inject into their conversations, and the counsel they can offer from their vast knowledge of the Word and in practical matters is very important. But it has to be Spirit-led, and they have to pray for the leadings of the Lord. They can't try to push or force the Word or Godly principles upon these people.
         32. At the same time, they can't expect that their sample will be enough, but they will have to look for opportunities where they can give these folks the direct comfort and encouragement from the Word that they need. They will also have to be able to stand up for the Family and our Godly ways of doing things and our Scriptural beliefs with conviction, whenever situations relating to these issues come up.
         33. The temptation in working with the System is to be like the System, so that the System will approve of us and accept us. Teens are even more subject to this than adults, so teens in this type of situation or ministry will constantly need to keep in close counsel with their shepherds and in close communication with the Lord through prayer and His Word, so that they will not be pulled down to the carnal level of these folks who live so much in the material realm, but they will be able to pull these precious people up to the level of life in the Spirit where the supernatural is an everyday occurrence. They will constantly have to keep the vision of what they are there for--not just to be a help to these busy folks, but to win them to faith in the Lord and His Family; not just a short-term salvation, but a growth of faith in their lives.
         34. They are going to have to learn to be very prayerful each step of the way, and realize that not only is it a grave responsibility to have our friends' lives in their hands, but that their own lives are at stake as well because of the great spiritual battle they will be in, in which the Devil will try to destroy them at the same time that they are trying to rescue these friends from his clutches.
         35. The System's "goodies," commendation and approval can be dazzling and tempting to our teens, so we need to pray desperately for our young people. Their immediate shepherds need to help them stay very much on guard by giving them the proper time, emphasis, counsel, Word and prayer that they need, as well as the vision for what they are doing, so that they stay on the attack with their responsibility and don't get sucked in by the seduction of the System.
         36. One meeting or pow-wow is not enough. They need a regular course of Word, prayer and counseling if we are going to help these young people. It certainly would be tragic if we were to allow the Devil to use any of our well-meaning friends or lawyers, who are fighting so hard to preserve our way of life and the wonderful training that our young people get, to inadvertently undermine our teens' faith in the Family and even eventually lead them out of the Family. How tragic that would be, not only for the Family and our poor teens, but what a sad testimony and disillusionment this would be to our lawyers and other friends.


Copyright (c) 1998 by The Family