Is there somebody in your family or in your church who is doing something you think they ought not to be doing?<\/p>\n
Of course there is!<\/p>\n
Are there people around you with defects of character that you can\u2019t help but notice?<\/p>\n
Yep!<\/p>\n
Do you find it natural to try and correct the defects you see in others?<\/p>\n
If not, you need to read no further.<\/p>\n
Okay, I see you\u2019re still reading, so the following quotation is for you:<\/p>\n
\u201cMen make the work of advancing the truth tenfold harder than it really is by seeking to take God\u2019s work out of His hands into their own finite hands. They think that 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 of others, 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\u201d (Ellen White, Testimonies to Ministers, p. 191).<\/p>\n
Ouch!<\/p>\n
If that smarts your conscience like it does mine, you won\u2019t want to read it again. But you really should, and this time slower.<\/p>\n
Words couldn\u2019t be truer.<\/p>\n
Stop and think about it: have your efforts to fix people by \u201ctinkering up\u201d their defective characters\u2014by pointing out their defects, by subtly or not so subtly imposing guilt, by applying manipulative pressures\u2014ever, even once, brought about positive changes in your \u201ctarget\u201d? I\u2019d venture a guess that you can\u2019t cite a single success story.<\/p>\n
Nor can I.<\/p>\n
Why?<\/p>\n
Because the method itself is inherently flawed. People do not turn from their defects and sins when pressured to do so. In fact, the natural tendency of the human heart will be to resist or rebel when tinkering pressures are applied. God has a different method: He reveals His forgiving grace, and it transforms from the inside out.<\/p>\n
So leave God to His work. Stop tinkering with people\u2019s characters. Allow the Savior to do the saving. He\u2019s good at it, and He\u2019s the only one who knows how to approach each one with the best possible effect.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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