Guarding Against Overorganization
Motion Not Necessarily Life—It is not orthodox theories, not
membership in the church, not the diligent performance of a certain
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round of duties, that gives evidence of life. In an ancient tower in
Switzerland I saw the image of a man that moved as if it possessed
life. It looked like a living man, and I whispered when I came near, as
if it could hear me. But though the image looked like life, it had no
real life. It was moved by machinery.
Motion is not necessarily life. We may go through all the forms and
ceremonies of religion; but unless we are alive in Christ, our work is
worthless. The Lord calls for living, working, believing Christians.—
The Review and Herald, April 21, 1903
.
Work Made Difficult by Useless Inventions—Men make the
work of advancing the truth tenfold harder than it really is, by seeking
to take God’s work out of His hands into their own finite hands. They
think they must be constantly inventing something to make men do
things which they suppose these persons ought to do. The time thus
spent is all the while making the work more complicated; for the Great
Chief Worker is left out of the question in the care of His own heritage.
Men undertake the job of tinkering up the defective characters, and
only succeed in making the defects much worse. They would better
leave God to do His own work, for He does not regard them as capable
of reshaping character....
Instead of toiling to prepare set rules and regulations, you might
better be praying and submitting your own will and your ways to
Christ. He is not pleased when you make hard the thing He has made
easy. He says, “Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me; for I
am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.” The Lord Jesus loves
His heritage, and if men will not think it their special prerogative to
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prescribe rules for their fellow laborers, but will bring Christ’s rules
into their life and copy His lessons, then each will be an example, and
not a judge.—
Manuscript 44, 1894
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