Jesus once used baking as a metaphor for the power of influence, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal till it was all leavened” (Matthew 13:33). Even the most active, vigorously bubbling leaven, or sourdough, works away in silence. The same could be said about children of God: the loud flow of many words is not necessarily a sign of spiritual activity.
The stars and their activity paint a similar picture: billions of celestial bodies moving along their tracks in silence. Creation offers other powerful statements as well. A tree’s branches grow heavy with its fruits, in silence, and the human body ticks along, in silence, with only diseased organs breaking the peace. However, there is one exception to this rule: the tongue, a small organ God enabled to speak. Taken together, these examples give us a clear indication that spiritual influence has nothing to do with speaking many words. In 1 Peter 3:1, we read, “Wives, likewise, be submissive to your own husbands, that even if some do not obey the word, they, without a word, may be won by the conduct of their wives.”
Is a quiet, meek spirit not a stronger sermon than many words? Exemplary conduct within our marriages and families, as well as in public and when dealing with difficult people, is still pleasing to God. It also has a stronger impact than just talking eloquently and often about God’s Word; that is not what spiritual influence means.
I have long thought that something is wrong with Christianity today. Every Sunday, hundreds of thousands of preachers stand before their congregations and deliver their sermons, often very good ones at that. But what is the result? The result is mostly words—an inactive sourdough. If every child of God could exert the influence to win only one soul for Christ every year, the whole world would be converted in just over 30 years.
When I first realized this, years ago, I asked God to help me be like sourdough. Only through the power of the Holy Spirit can we succeed in this, and we need daily times of quietness (Isaiah 30:15) to keep up our strength.
Look to the Lord
Right at the beginning of my spiritual journey, shortly after my conversion, the Lord showed me deep truths: to take offence at nothing and no one, to let nobody influence me, and to let nothing stop me. That is why my wish was to be all right with God, regardless of everyone else.
This attitude carried me through several years and was of great help to me. Over time, however, I noticed a shift as I began to look up to the people who were a blessing to me and whom God seemed to use in a special way. This continued until the Lord led me back to my senses. The key events concerned two people I had looked up to but who later went astray. That left me in great spiritual distress, lasting about 14 days, before I relearned to look away from people and rely only on God. When I did so, something wonderful happened: I became deeply rooted and secure in the Lord. Those experiences are a great blessing to me to this day.
In my work for the Lord, I visited many places, getting to know different people, communities, and countries. I saw a lot of good things, and a lot of bad things, but through it all, it was a blessing to me that I looked more to the Lord than to people. Anyone who does so will experience, as the psalmist wrote, “A thousand may fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand; but it shall not come near you” (Psalm 91:7). We, too, will be able to say, “He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, ‘He is my refuge and my fortress; my God, in Him I will trust’” (Psalm 91:1–2).
No one and nothing can be allowed to come between us and the Lord. The Lord wants to take the first place at all times—and He is worth it. If we give Him the first place in our lives, then we will be able to take the right position toward others through Him as well. First the Lord, then everything else: husbands, wives, children, earthly things, and also our sisters and brothers in the Lord. “But this I say, brethren, the time is short, so that from now on even those who have wives should be as though they had none, those who weep as though they did not weep, those who rejoice as though they did not rejoice, those who buy as though they did not possess, and those who use this world as not misusing it. For the form of this world is passing away” (1 Corinthians 7:29–31).
Many things are not sinful in themselves, but if we love them more than God, they become our sin. When we put them in first place, that is idolatry. Scripture says, “You shall have no other gods before Me” (Exodus 20:3). It is good to love our pastors, but even they are only guides to the Lord. For our part, as pastors, we should endeavor not to draw people to us but to Jesus. If we break this rule, we put ourselves in God’s place. How common both these failings are among congregations and pastors is obvious enough if you just look around.
1929 to 1933 were very troubled years in Germany as civil war, poverty, and unemployment ran rampant. Our brothers and sisters, including preachers, also suffered greatly from these circumstances, yet it was a good time for spiritual development. Times of need cause people to seek God more than do good days. At that time, I was responsible for the congregation of Essen. When enquiring to see who among the brothers was still able to earn a living, I realized that, even out of work and with low incomes, they were still supporting the work of the Lord financially. In light of these circumstances, I asked the community to pay me only as much as I would have received in unemployment benefits because I could not tolerate living in better conditions than my unemployed sisters and brothers. Out of those low wages, I still gave tithes as well.
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