A COMMITTEE dealing in the course of its work with men under its direction can easily "talk a man up" by speaking of his virtues, his abilities, or his strong points.
This will normally cause his stock to go up in the estimation of others. Or the same committee can "talk a man down" by dwelling upon his failures, his oddities, or his weak points. And this too will have its influence upon others, and his stock will usually begin to go down. It is therefore of the utmost importance in dealing with other workers to see that nothing be said that will unnecessarily lessen our confidence in them or unjustly weaken their influence over others. The Spirit of prophecy has spoken very directly upon this point in the following solemn words:
So frail, so ignorant, so liable to misconception is human nature, that each should be careful in the estimate he places upon another. We little know the bearing of our acts upon the experience of others. What we do or say may seem to us of little moment, when, could our eyes be opened, we should see that upon it depended the most important results for good or for evil. --Gospel Workers, p. 473.
Surely any committee upon whom rests the responsibility of planning for the work within its jurisdiction must necessarily give careful consideration to the fitness and ability of the different workers to meet the needs of the various lines of work that must be carried forward. Unless this is done, grave mistakes may be made. All have not the same abilities, and therefore careful study must be given to the placing of workers for the different lines of the work. But when it becomes necessary to point out some weakness in a worker, it should be done in love and with much kindness. It should be done with sincerity of heart that the work may be advanced and that the worker be not weakened thereby. We should not unnecessarily say anything that will depreciate another, but in all our discussions we should be kind and considerate of one another.
Then great care must be exercised by the members of the committee not to peddle abroad the discussions that become necessary regarding any workers. Usually such discussions should not be repeated outside of the committee room. Much harm may be done to the work, and the influence of the worker lessened, by repeating such discussions, and thus making them public. It should not be done! We must all recognize that none of us are perfect, only as we are in Christ. We all have our weaknesses. In ourselves we all are unprofitable servants, and this should lead us to walk in all humility and to deal kindly with others. Let us note these solemn words penned by the servant of the Lord:
Let us all remember that we are not dealing with ideal men, but with real men of God's appointment, men precisely like ourselves, men who fall into the same errors that we do, men of like ambitions and infirmities. No man has been made a master, to rule the mind and conscience of a fellow being. Let us be very careful how we deal with God's blood-bought heritage. --Testimonies to Ministers, p. 495.
As leaders we should do all we can to make our workers succeed in their work, by counsel, by helpful suggestions, and by words of encouragement. However, we recognize that not every worker will succeed in the line of work where he may be placed. But we should uphold him and help him succeed until it becomes evident to us that he should be asked to take up some other line of work. At all events we should be kind and just in all our dealings with him.
The feeble hands are not to be deterred from doing something for the Master. Those whose knees are weak are not to be caused to stumble. God desires us to encourage those whose hands are weak, to grasp more firmly the hand of Christ, and to work hopefully. Every hand should be out stretched to help the hand that is doing something for the Master. The time may come when the hands that have upheld the feeble hands of an other may, in turn, be upheld by the hands to whom they ministered. God has so ordered matters that no man is absolutely independent of his fellow men. --Ibid., p. 496.
May the Lord help us to carry well the burdens laid upon us! We must walk humbly before our God. We must rely upon Him for wisdom to carry the load. We must pray much and then our weakness may become our strength in Christ. Then we may realize the truthfulness of the words, "out of weakness were made strong,' as we place our dependence upon the Mighty One. He is our all and in all.
