[Cal]

One of the Lee's biggest errors was his implication that God saw good works and evil works pretty much the same, and both in opposition to "life" (two trees). Although, as with most of his teaching there is some principle there, he took it way too far. He took it to the point that LRCers had little regard for manifestations of basic human goodness, seeing them as more or less worthless.

But, really, does anyone think that God is not pleased when one human being goes out of his or her way to help another human being, simply out of kindness and concern? To say he is not is almost to say he doesn't honor his own word, because God commands us to do good to one another.

So in the LRC you have a group which as a rule sneers at all the charitable works in the world. It doesn't matter what good churches or organizations do, the LRC is going to find some fault with it, if only because when the groups do good works they don't accompany it with the proper LRC-approved reasons for doing anything (e.g. "for the building up of the Body of Christ so the Lord can have his Bride" yada, yada).

You also rarely see the LRC pitching into help when the community they are a part of has need. Even the early church did this. One ancient Roman historian marveled in writing that the Christians took better care of the Roman poor than the Romans did. You don't think that was a good testimony? You don't think that was pleasing to the Lord?

This indoctrination plagued me for much of my post-LRC life. Anytime I saw good works being done in the Lord name, I had a tendency initially to sneer, thinking it's just "good human works." In the meantime, what was I doing but sneering? It still affects me. It's like a built-in excuse to have a cold heart.

We can't work our way to heaven, and our works should be a manifestation of our relationship with the Lord. But who are we to decide someone else's basic human kindnesses are just works of the flesh? The arrogance is boggling, and I don't think the Lord likes it a bit.