On Receiving Admonition by A. W. Tozer
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“Better
was a poor and wise youth than an old and foolish king who no longer knew how
to take advice..” Ecc 4:13
from the book, “The Root of the
Righteous¨ chapter 7, by A. W. Tozer
Don’t think that Tozer chose
this text, looking for a sermon for his Sunday morning service in his church, or that he prepared
it for preaching in one of the annual “Councils” (as they called them) of his
denomination. That is, he wasn’t motivated by an urge to have an interesting
text to catch the attention of the thousands of people attending from all parts
of America and representatives of various parts of the world.
We lived within 300 miles of
Chicago, where Tozer was pastoring a church. I was only 19-years-old when Tozer
died and I don’t remember ever hearing him in person, but I have read every
book I could find of his and listened to dozens of his tapes. My dad heard him
on various occasion in these “Councils”, that I mentioned, or in pastoral
conventions, because he belonged to the same denomination. Also, I communicated
for at least ten years personally, by letters and by telephone with a good
friend of Tozer, Leonard Ravenhill. Len preached in Tozer’s church, prayed alone
with him and considered him his mentor.
No, from what I know about
Tozer, he didn’t write this chapter because its theme would fit nicely into his
book. He wrote it because he knew personally some of these “kings¨, just like
the one described in Ecclesiastes, and I suspect that he found some of them in
the organization that he belonged to. Tozer had enemies, who didn’t like him,
because he brought to light the situations that he knew on his back doorstep. I
had a friend, who was a student at a Bible school under the same denomination.
Tozer came to talk to the students at the school’s “spiritual life week”, and
afterwards was severely criticized by some of the professors.
I know what happened to my
father, when his convictions didn’t allow him to obey his superiors, after
being under them for over 30 years. I also know more than one of these “kings”
that have experienced success and now they cannot be contradicted or have
anyone introduce thoughts or practices than are different from what they have
taught. They have forgotten that God in His grace has allowed them to have a
part in His great work, but not so that they could insist that their own ways
and opinions should be preserved. Their followers, then, must like what they
like, pray as they pray, and believe and work as they do. He intended that they should lead their
followers to Christ, as John the Baptist did, so that they would freely serve
Him, as He would guide and teach them. Paul told the Corinthians, “I have
espoused you to one Husband”, and in Acts 14:23, we see Barnabas and him
putting his words into practice, “When
they had appointed elders for them in every church, with prayer and fasting
they committed them to the Lord in whom they had believed.” Paul and Barnabas went on to another region. The church is the bride of Christ; it is a great error
for a man to take possession of her.
The short vision of these people
does not allow them to see the extensive plan of God. They only can see, what
they have done and have invested, and they do not look behind at the history
that is always behind every one of the purposes of God. If we look at God’s big
picture, it will humble us and we will see that our part, whatever it may have
been, is so small when contrasted with His whole plan and we will also see the
great need of receiving counsel and help in light of such eternal greatness.
Let’s be thankful for those God has used to admonish us! May God receive the
glory and may we be looking fixedly to Him for the development of His work in
the future.
On
Receiving Admonition
AN ODD LITTLE PASSAGE in the
Book of Ecclesiastes speaks of "an old and foolish king, who will no more
be admonished." It is not hard to understand why an old king, especially
if he were a foolish one, would feel that he was beyond admonition. After he
had for years given orders he might easily build a self-confident psychology
that simply could not entertain the notion that he should take advice from
others.
His word had long been law,
and to him right had become synonymous with his will and wrong had come to mean
anything that ran contrary to his wishes. Soon the idea that there was anyone
wise enough or good enough to reprove him would not so much as enter his mind.
He had to be a foolish king to let himself get caught in that kind of web, and
an old king to give the web time to pet so strong that he could not break it
and to give him time to get used to it so that he was no longer aware of its
existence.
Regardless of the moral
process by which he arrived at his hardened state, the bell had already tolled
for him. In every particular he was a lost man. His wizened old body still held
together to provide a kind of movable tomb to house a soul already dead. Hope
had long ago departed. God had left him to his fatal conceit. And soon he would
die physically too, and he would die as a fool dieth. A state of heart that
rejected admonition was characteristic of Israel at various periods in her
history, and these periods were invariably followed by judgment. When Christ
came to the Jews He found them chuck full of that arrogant self-confidence that
would not accept reproof. "We be Abraham's seed," they said coldly
when He talked to them about their sins and their need of salvation.
The common people heard Him
and repented, but the Jewish priests had ruled the roost too long to be willing
to surrender their privileged position. Like the old king, they had gotten
accustomed to being right all the time. To reprove them was to insult them.
They were beyond reproof.
Churches and Christian
organizations have shown a tendency to fall into the same error that destroyed
Israel: inability to receive admonition. After a time of growth and successful
labor comes the deadly psychology of self-congratulation. Success itself
becomes the cause of later failure. The leaders come to accept themselves as
the very chosen of God. They are special objects of the divine favor; their
success is proof enough that this is so. They must therefore be right, and
anyone who tries to call them to account is instantly written off as an
unauthorized meddler who should be ashamed to dare to reprove his betters.
If anyone imagines that we
are merely playing with words let him approach at random any religious leader
and call attention to the weaknesses and sins in his organization. Such a one
will be sure to get the quick brush off, and if he dares to persist he will be
confronted with reports and statistics to prove that he is dead wrong and
completely out of order. "We be the seed of Abraham" will be the
burden of the defense. And who would dare find fault with Abraham's seed?
Those who have already
entered the state where they can no longer receive admonition are not likely to
profit by this warning. After a man has gone over the precipice there is not
much you can do for him; but we can place markers along the way to prevent the
next traveler from going over. Here are a few:
Don't defend your church or
your organization against criticism. If the criticism is false it can do no
harm. If it is true you need to hear it and do something about it.
Be concerned not with what
you have accomplished but over what you might have accomplished if you had
followed the Lord completely. It is better to say (and feel), "We are
unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do."
When reproved, pay no
attention to the source. Do not ask whether it is a friend or an enemy that
reproves you. An enemy is often of greater value to you than a friend because
he is not influenced by sympathy.
Keep your heart open to the
correction of the Lord and be ready to receive His chastisement regardless of
who holds the whip. The great saints all learned to take a licking gracefully –
and that may be one reason why they were great saints.
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