DFO1372 14/7/75

—A disciplinary talk to Lydia with big lessons for all!

1. PERHAPS THE TENDENCY OF SOME OF US IS TO SO GREATLY DESIRE TO BE GREAT SPIRITUAL LEADERS that this not only becomes our desire, it becomes our temptation! (See "So You Want to Be a Leader?", No.31.) But "he that would be greatest among you, let him be servant of all!" (Mt.20:27) A leader must always be willing to do whatever needs to be done. If there is nobody else to do it or nobody else wants to do it or is willing to do it or can do it, he must always be willing to do anything he is asked to do or that he sees needs to be done that nobody else is doing! To me, that is the greatest sign of really great leadership.

2. NOW THERE IS NOBODY WHO CAN SAY THAT YOU HAVE NOT GONE THE 110TH MILE IN DOING THE LOWLIEST TASK—dishes, washing floors, sweating it out over a hot stove when it wasn't even your calling or talent, taking care of the baby, doing little tiny things! God was putting you through a test & you came through—while I was still there—with shining colours! And I was convinced that you could be trusted with lofty leadership because you had proved your total utter lowly humility, which is the only kind of leader that can be trusted.

3. DOING THE COOKING WAS NOT SOMETHING YOU WERE GOING TO HAVE TO DO FOREVER. The Lord might have wanted you to think you might have to do it forever just as a part of the test, just like He wanted Abraham to think he was really going to have to kill Isaac. If Abraham hadn't really thought that, it wouldn't have been a test at all! A lot of people are willing to change an occasional diaper or cook an occasional meal just to show how humble they are, but if it goes on & on & on‚ after awhile it turns out they're not so humble anymore!

4. AS LONG AS I WAS AROUND TO WATCH & SEE HOW HUMBLE & HOW WILLING YOU WERE to do all these things & gave you a little glory, you were willing to do them. But as soon as I was gone‚ what happened? How come you suddenly quit having the inspiration to do any of the humble tasks or take care of the baby? (L: My pride.) And why? What was it? (L: Thinking I was too good & had such a spiritual ministry now.) Yes, but what put that idea in your head? (L: A title, thinking I had so much more to do now.)

5. I CAN SEE HOW YOU PROBABLY FELT: That you're really somebody now & your ministry is strictly spiritual, you haven't got time to take care of babies & inconsequential things that servants should do, those who are only servants & have no spiritual responsibilities.

6. I'VE FOUND THAT GREAT LEADERS ARE USUALLY THE HUMBLEST OF ALL PEOPLE, WILLING TO DO ANYTHING, & really don't even feel worthy of their great responsibilities at all. They feel much more worthy of cleaning toilets & things like that than the big job that God has trusted them with because they were faithful cleaning toilets.

7. BUT THE MINUTE THEY GET TO THE POINT WHERE THEY'RE NO LONGER LOWLY ENOUGH TO CLEAN TOILETS, when they get so big they're now too big to do the lowly jobs, it's been our experience that they have gotten too big to do any job & they almost totally lose their usefulness.

8. AND ONE OF THE WORST THINGS IN THE WORLD ABOUT IT IS THE EXAMPLE THAT THEY SHOW TO LITTLE FOLKS AROUND THEM. What kind of an example is that to the sheep?—A shepherd or a shepherdess who is no longer willing to do little things that need to be done, no longer willing to step in & stand in the gap & do their share of the work.

9. "HE THAT IS FAITHFUL IN THAT WHICH IS LEAST, IS FAITHFUL ALSO IN THAT WHICH IS MUCH", & the inference is, he that is unfaithful in that which is least, will also be unfaithful in that which is much. (Lk.16:10.) If you can't trust somebody to take care of the baby or to do the cooking or clean the toilet when it needs to be done & there's nobody else to do it, then you can't trust them to be World leaders either!

10. JESUS SAID TO THE HYPOCRITES, THE SCRIBES & THE PHARISEES WHO WERE TOO GOOD TO DO THE LITTLE THINGS because they were such lofty religious persons in lofty church positions: "This ye ought to have done & not to have left the other undone!" (Mt.23:23.) When you get too good to do the little things, then you are too good for the big things! And if you are too good to take care of the baby & to wash the dishes & do little things around here or anywhere, for the people in whose Home you are living where you are sharing the benefits of their labours but not willing to contribute your own, then you are too big for us! Understand?

11. IF YOU'RE TOO BUSY TO HELP DAVIDITO & too busy to help cook the meals, then you've gone beyond me, Honey! You've gotten greater than I! You're too busy for me, because these people are me! "Inasmuch as ye have done it unto the least of these My brethren, ye have done it unto Me!" And inasmuch as ye have not done it unto the least of these my brethren, ye have not done it unto me! (Mt.25:40.)

12. WHAT DOES THE BIBLE CALL IT? THEY HAD A PRETENDED HUMILITY, VOLUNTARY HUMILITY (Col.2:18), a show of humility, which is nothing but a form of pride if you just do it with eyeservice, man–pleasing because you know you're going to get the credit for being humble. But as somebody has said‚ "He that is humble knoweth not that he is humble!"

13. BELIEVE IT OR NOT, I WAS WATCHING YOU TO SEE HOW FAITHFUL YOU WOULD BE IN THAT LITTLE TASK WITH MY OWN SON, because I knew that if you were really faithful in that, you would be that diligent with all of my children & all of my sheep, even on the other side of the World.

14. SOME PEOPLE SAY, "WELL, YOU SHOULDN'T JUDGE ME ON JUST THESE LITTLE THINGS!" But that's the way God judges! He judges on how faithful you are in a few things, in the least, the little things, because if you're not faithful in those‚ then He knows you're not going to be faithful in that which is most.—Even though you think you're going to be, somehow you won't.

15. THE SECRET IS: IN GOD'S EYES‚ THAT WHICH IS MOST IS THAT WHICH IS LEAST! These Colony Shepherds who are too busy writing reports to take care of their sheep are not worthy of the job! Their job is to be taking care of the sheep & the lambs & their report & their letters & their big responsibilities.

16. IF THEY CAN'T DO BOTH, THEN THEY'RE NOT WORTHY & ABLE TO BE A COLONY SHEPHERD! If they cannot take care of both that which is least & that which is most, even at the same time in an emergency, then they can't be a leader, because a leader has to be servant of all & do everything & all these things.

17. IT SEEMS A VERY SMALL THING & A VERY SMALL BOY, BUT GOD RUNS THE WORLD ON SMALL THINGS & HE JUDGES US BY SMALL THINGS. He says, "Despise not the day of small things" (Ze.4:10), because the whole World & all the Universe & God's Kingdom is made up of small things‚ very small things. And without the small things it wouldn't be here & neither would we & neither would His Kingdom! (Prays: )

18. SO, LORD, HELP HER NOW IN JESUS' NAME! Help her to eat humble pie now, to take the lowly place & be an example to the believers, of humility, lowliness, willing-spiritedness, willingness to help, willingness to work, willingness to share the burdens, not too good for anything, Lord. If she's too good for the least of these, Lord, she's too good for Thee!

19. HELP HER NOW, LORD, TO BE MELTED & MOLDABLE & USABLE as she has been in times past, that she might be able to teach others what real service is & what real love is.—That nothing is too small, nothing is too little, nothing is too unimportant for Thee nor for her.

20. YOU JUDGE US BY HOW WE HANDLE THESE LITTLE THINGS, how we handle this little child, Lord. We cannot even be too busy for this one just because we have thousands of children around the World. Otherwise it's all in vain‚ Lord‚ if we neglect even one lost sheep! You had to leave the 99 & go out & rescue just one last one, Lord, & this story has proven through the ages how much love You had for every single one!—Even the little one out there who needed more help. (Mt.18:12.)

21. HELP HER, LORD, TO HAVE SUCH A GREAT REPENTANCE THAT SHE HERSELF WILL BE SUCH A SAMPLE OF LOWLINESS, MEEKNESS, HUMILITY, FAITHFULNESS & LOYALTY that she will not even have to merely teach with her words & her letters & her lectures & meetings, but people will just simply watch her & they'll see what humility is & real service is in her. Even if she never says a word, she'll be a living example of faithful service to all, even the least.—A real leader, Lord! In Jesus' name we ask for Thy glory.

22. BLESS & STRENGTHEN HER & HELP HER TO TAKE IT NOW, LORD, & SURVIVE, IN JESUS' NAME! Give her the physical & spiritual strength & stamina to take it & help her to go through this trial & make it! Help it to both, break her & make her, Lord, amen. You're going to be better for it, Honey, because you're going to be more lowly, which is going to make you greater, really.

23. THE LOWLIER YOU ARE, THE GREATER YOU ARE IN GOD'S KINGDOM! Amen? I guess that's why I have to be such a horrible character—to keep me humble! I'm probably the worst villain of the age—as far as the World's concerned. So PTL! ILY, Honey, GBY! See this big big door? It only takes one little tiny key to open it‚ but you'll never make it through the big doors without the tiny keys! Little things are big in God's eyes!—are you faithful in the little things?

Copyright (c) 1998 by The Family