谦卑：做工的先决条件

作者保罗·比亚布·马塞雷卡，教牧神学硕士，现任全球总会西乌干达地区首席主任、家庭事工主任，现居乌干达 霍伊马区

如果我问为主做工要具备何种资格时，得到的答案可能是业务能力、献身精神和学术背景等。然而，当我仔细阅读《圣经》时，我发现大多数蒙召为主做工的先知之所以能成为主合用的器皿，并非由于业务能力、学术水平或是任何特殊的训练。他们的事迹证明唯有谦卑才是为主做工最重要的资格。

从事圣工是与上帝一同完成救赎大工的神圣呼召。上帝要我们具备一定的品格以胜任服侍的工作。上帝呼召基甸时，“基甸说：‘主啊，我有何能拯救以色列人呢？我家在玛拿西支派中是至贫穷的。我在我父家是至微小的。’”（士6:15）扫罗王也如此回答上帝：“‘我不是以色列支派中至小的便雅悯人吗？我家不是便雅悯支派中至小的家吗？你为何对我说这样的话呢？’”（撒上9:21）保罗虽受过严苛的学术训练，但他只指着主的大能夸口，而非自己的能力。

如何胜任圣工？

在作为牧师和传道主任为教会服事的27年间，我见牧师们不断提升自己的学历。我认识其中一些人，他们的服侍生涯有着良好的开端，但最终又以失落告终。有些人认为自己堪当高位，最终却又在圣工上失败了——这大抵是因为他们缺乏谦卑。这些例证向我们显明，唯有谦卑的人才能像摩西一样将上帝的子民从地上罪恶的束缚中领向属天的迦南。摩西如何配得为上帝做工？这对今天的我们仍有指导意义。

当上帝指示摩西带领祂的百姓出埃及时，摩西已经接受了全面的埃及式教育，他受过军事训练，为岳父叶忒罗牧羊时，还积累了丰富的牧羊经验。但他认为自己还没有预备好接受这神圣的呼召。“摩西对上帝说：‘我是什么人，竟能去见法老，将以色列人从埃及领出来呢？’”（出3:11）怀爱伦评论道：“上帝下命令给摩西的时候，他是一个缺乏自信，拙口笨舌，胆小怯懦的人。他觉得自己担不起向以色列人作上帝代言人的责任。可是当他接受使命之后，他就一心一意地顺服主的呼召并完全依靠耶和华了。”¹

纵然受过军事训练和全面的教育，摩西在服侍上帝的事上仍感到能力不足。当他依靠上帝的权能与力量时，才取得了成功。怀爱伦说道：“如果摩西依仗自己的力量和智慧，并贸然接受那伟大的使命，自然就会显明他完全不配担任这样的工作。事实上，一个人若感觉到自己的软弱，至少就显明他已体会那委托给他的工作之伟大，而必以上帝为策士为力量了。” ²

与上帝同工使我认识到自己能力的有限。那些真正被上帝呼召的人都会深刻地认识到自己的无知和软弱。人们在选择领袖时看重力量、智慧、能力和自信，而上帝却不会选择强势、狂傲的人来侍奉祂。祂会拣选那些自觉软弱的人，遗憾的是，这正是一些牧师所缺乏的品格。

怀爱伦写道：“‘尊荣以前，必有谦卑。’（箴15:33）天上要拣选那像施洗约翰在上帝面前自己卑微的工人，在世人面前担任重要的位分。像小孩子一样的门徒，为上帝做工是最有成效的。那不求高抬自己，只知救人的人，必能得到上天能力的合作。那最深切地感觉自己需要上帝帮助的人，就必为此恳求。圣灵必使他得见耶稣的荣耀，加强并提高他的心灵。他与基督相交之后，就出去为那些将要在罪中沦亡的人工作。他已为他的使命受过圣灵恩膏，必能成就许多有学问和属世智慧的人不能成就的事。”³

经验告诉我们，谦卑是人为主做工所需最重要的品格，也只有谦卑的人才能在服侍工作中高举耶稣，而非自己。

不适于圣工的品格

据我观察，上帝有时无法容忍那些高举自己胜过基督的人。我们在服侍工作上取得的任何成就都应全然归于上帝，因为“但人若抬高自己，自认是完成上帝大计所不可少的栋梁之才，主必使他们被闲置在一边。这就证明：主并不依靠他们。上帝的工作非但不会因他们的撤出而稍有停顿，反而会以更大的能力前进。”⁴ 

任何牧师的成功都有赖乎上帝的帮助。若是没有，一切人的努力都将归于徒然。“在牧长手下的牧人都会具有祂的特点；他们会心里柔和谦卑。孩子似的信心给心灵带来安息，也生发仁爱，总是关心别人。基督的灵如果住在他们里面，他们就会象基督一样并且为基督工作。许多自称基督传道人的人已经弄错了自己的主人。” ⁵

从事圣工必须批戴我们主耶稣基督的品格。没有谦卑，我们就不配侍奉祂。那些没有基督品格的圣职人员可能自认为他们是在为上帝做工，殊不知，他们是在服事另一位主。他们“自称是在侍奉基督，却不知道自己正集结在撒但的旗下。他们可能有属世的聪明，热心于纷争和虚荣，炫耀自己在做伟大的工作；但上帝却用不着他们。促使行动的动机才使工作有了性质。尽管人们可能看不到这样的传道人有什么不足，但上帝却注意到了。”⁶

正因我们的所做的圣工属乎基督，我们才得享在这崇高的使命中与祂同工的特权。这神圣工作的主也纪念我们一切决定或行动背后的行为和动机。

为圣工而受训练

初到教会工作时，我还尚未获得教牧学位。但藉着认清所做之工的本质，我所服侍的教会也带领我接受了一些培训。每位老师都告诫我们，唯有谦卑，方能恒久地参与服侍。来大学拜访我们的教会领袖们无不劝诫我们，若不学习，就无法为在教会担任重职做好预备。是的，为更好地做好服侍工作，牧师必须接受训练。但是，在大学或神学院中学到的知识，应使凡甘愿在牧长耶稣基督之下做工的传道者都降为卑。任何无法使他们降卑的训练都不是真正的教育。

正如一位智慧的牧师所言：“许多人受过教，却没有学到。”当我真正接受圣工的训练时，我必须了解所服侍的教会如何运作，及教会之主的品格。祂谦卑虚己，并不高举自己。祂在世上一生的服侍工作中都活出了谦卑，并为我们留下了永恒的榜样。

非我所愿

通常圣职人员达到一定的教育水平后，就会认为自己足能胜任各样事工与圣职。在神学院取得的学位能使我们无需降卑即可胜任传道的工作吗？为谋求教会的高位提升学历，合乎主的旨意吗？ 

人们在选择领袖时可能看重能力与自信，但上帝却不会选择自认为刚强、有能力的人来侍奉祂。祂会拣选那些自觉软弱的人。适合圣工与否并不取决于教育、能力或是自信，而是谦卑的品格。这正是救灵与修复之工所需要的。

———————-

1.怀爱伦，《先祖与先知》（华盛顿特区：评论与先驱出版社，1890），255页

2. 怀爱伦，《先祖与先知》，255页。

3.怀爱伦，《历代愿望》（加利福尼亚州 奥克兰：太平洋出版社，1898），436页

4. 怀爱伦，《历代愿望》436页

5.怀爱伦，《教会证言》，卷4（加利福尼亚州 山景城：太平洋出版社，1875），377页

6. 怀爱伦，《教会证言》，卷4，377页

Humility: Prerequisite for Ministry

By Paul Byabu Masereka, MPTh, serving as ministerial, family ministries, and General Conference Initiatives director of the Western Uganda Field, Hoima, Uganda.

If I asked what the qualifications for ministry are, I would probably get answers such as competence, commitment, and a strong academic background. However, when I read the Bible carefully, I find that most prophets whom God summoned to His service did not ascribe their fitness for ministry to their competence, their academics, or any specialized training. They demonstrated that their most vital qualification for ministry was humility.

Ministry is a call to work with God in His business of restoring fallen humanity. God requires certain qualities to fit a person for the sacred task of serving in ministry. When God called Gideon, the “man said to him, ‘Oh, Lord, how shall I save Israel? Behold, my family is the poorest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house’ ” （Judges 6:15, WEB）. King Saul told God, “ ‘Am I not a Benjaminite, of the smallest of the tribes of Israel? And my family the least of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin? Why then do you speak to me after this manner?’ ” （1 Sam. 9:21, WEB）. Even though Paul had strong academic training, he boasted only in God’s power, not his own ability.

HOW TO BE FITTED IN MINISTRY

During the 27 years I have served the church as pastor and ministerial director, I have seen ministers elevate their academic credentials. I have known those with a promising start to their ministry, end up disappointed in their careers. Some who thought they would assume high positions of leadership, ultimately failed in ministry— largely because they lacked humility. Such examples have confirmed to me that only the humble can lead God’s people, as did Moses, from the bondage of this world’s sin to the heavenly Canaan. How Moses became qualified for service is instructive for how we should be fitted for ministry.

When God appointed Moses to lead His people from bondage in Egypt, Moses had a thorough Egyptian education, was militarily trained, and had had experience in taking care of his father-in-law Jethro’s flock. But he did not deem himself prepared for such a divine call. “And Moses said to God, ‘Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?’ ” （Exod. 3:11, WEB）. Ellen White comments, “The divine command given to Moses found him self-distrustful, slow of speech, and timid. He was overwhelmed with a sense of his incapacity to be a mouthpiece for God to Israel. But having once accepted the work, he entered upon it with his whole heart, putting all his trust in the Lord.”¹

Despite his military training and extensive education, Moses still felt helpless to serve God in such a capacity. Moses depended on God’s power and strength for his success. Ellen White stated, “Had Moses relied upon his own strength and wisdom, and eagerly accepted the great charge, he would have evinced his entire unfitness for such a work. The fact that a man feels his weakness is at least some evidence that he realizes the magnitude of the work appointed him, and that he will make God his counselor and his strength.”²

I have noticed that working with God forces me to recognize my own limitations. Those really called by God find themselves brought to a deep acknowledgment of their own ignorance and weakness. While humans look at power, wisdom, competence, and self-confidence when selecting leaders, God does not choose the strong and the mighty to serve Him. He chooses those who sense their weakness, a quality that some ministers sadly lack.

Ellen White states, “Before honor is humility. To fill a high place before men, Heaven chooses the worker who, like John the Baptist, takes a lowly place before God. The most childlike disciple is the most efficient in labor for God. The heavenly intelligences can co-operate with him who is seeking, not to exalt self, but to save souls. He who feels most deeply his need of divine aid will plead for it; and the Holy Spirit will give unto him glimpses of Jesus that will strengthen and uplift the soul. From communion with Christ he will go forth to work for those who are perishing in their sins. He is anointed for his mission; and he succeeds where many of the learned and intellectually wise would fail.”³

Humility has proved to be the most important qualification that fits a person for God’s ministry. Experience has shown me that only the humble uplift Jesus in their ministry instead of themselves.

UNFITTING IN THE WORK OF MINISTRY

I have observed that, sometimes, God does not tolerate those who exalt themselves instead of Him. Any success we achieve in ministry we should attribute solely to the Lord because “when men exalt themselves, feeling that they are a necessity for the success of God’s great plan, the Lord causes them to be set aside. It is made evident that the Lord is not dependent upon them. The work does not stop because of their removal from it, but goes forward with greater power.”⁴

The success of every minister depends on divine aid. Without it, every effort we make will be futile. “All the shepherds who work under the Chief Shepherd will possess His characteristics; they will be meek and lowly of heart. Childlike faith brings rest to the soul and also works by love and is ever interested for others. If the Spirit of Christ dwells in them, they will be Christlike and do the works of Christ. Many who profess to be the ministers of Christ have mistaken their master.”⁵

Ministry is all about possessing the characteristics of our Master Jesus Christ. Without humility, we are not fitted to serve Him. Clergy who continually minister without the Master’s character may assume that they are serving Him, but in a real sense, they are working for a different master. Such individuals “are not aware that it is Satan’s banner under which they are rallying. They may be worldly wise and eager for strife and vainglory, making a show of doing a great work; but God has no use for them. The motives which prompt to action give character to the work. Although men may not discern the deficiency, God marks it.”⁶

Because the ministry we are in belongs to Jesus Christ, we are just privileged to labor with Him in this noble mission. The Owner of the work marks every action and the motive that led to each and every decision or action we make.

TRAINED FOR MINISTRY

When I started to serve in the church, I did not have a ministerial degree. But seeing the nature of the work and the church I was serving led me to get such training. I do not remember sitting under any lecturer who did not advise us to be humble if we were to survive in ministry. Never did even one of those leaders who visited us at the university advise me not to study to prepare for high positions in the church. Yes, ministers need to be trained so they can serve well. But the knowledge acquired in colleges, seminaries, or universities should humble any minister who is willing to work under the Chief Shepherd Jesus Christ. Any training that does not humble them is not real education.

As one wise minister has observed, “Many people have been educated but have not learned.” When I am really trained in ministry, I have to know the church I am serving in, how it operates, and the characteristics of its Owner. Humble and lowly, He does not exalt Himself. In His ministry on earth, He exhibited humility throughout His life, leaving us an eternal example.

NOT MY WILL

Too often, once clergy have reached a certain educational level, they assume they are ready to be elected into various offices. Some campaign for positions. Do the degrees we get in seminaries qualify us to be fit in ministry without humility? Are we not mistaken if we go to schools in order to be appointed to high positions?

People may look at how competent and self-confident someone is when they elect leaders, but God does not choose the strong and the mighty to serve Him but, rather, those who acknowledge their weakness and nothingness. To be fit for ministry does not depend on education, competence, or self-confidence, but on humility. The work of soul-winning and restoration still requires it.

———————-

1. 1. Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets （Washington, DC: Review and Herald Pub. Assn., 1890）, 255. 
2. 2. White, Patriarchs and Prophets, 255. 
3. 3. Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages （Oakland, CA: Pacific Press Pub. Assn., 1898）, 436. 
4. 4. White, The Desire of Ages 436. 
5. 5. Ellen G. White, Testimonies for the Church, vol. 4 （Mountain View, CA: Pacific Press Pub. Assn., 1875）, 377. 
6. 6. White, 377. 

原文链接: https://www.ministrymagazine.org/archive/2021/10/Humility-prerequisite-for-ministry