Quote:
Originally Posted by Ohio
For years I would hear that should anyone leave, they should be a "gentleman" and leave quietly without backstabbing the brothers, and what a shame it was for ones to leave and then betray those that loved him or her.
I still have the highest regard for those brothers and sisters who were or are still in the LC's.
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I have been told much the same. If you're going to leave, leave as a gentlemen. Really what this means, "give us grace as you leave". It does not mean the brother leaving as a gentleman will be given grace.
I think of Bill Freeman and John Ingalls and how they were spoken of years after leaving.
The phrase "be a gentleman and leave quietly" gets under my skin as I realize to leave as a gentleman does not mean it will be reciprocated. Resulting in practice as a double-standard. I see there's an aspect of Watchman Nee's ministry that was and maybe still is desperately and practically needed in the Recovery. Not just for new believers, but for the young people, and a reminder for the not so new believers.
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Many people think that they have the right to speak a certain way because others have spoken the same way. Today the world argues about who said what first, but the Lord is concerned about whether or not one has spoken at all. We may ask, "Since others have already said this, can I not say it as well?", but please bear in mind that we cannot render evil for evil or reviling for reviling. It is not a matter of who spoke first, but a matter of whether or not you spoke at all.
A new believer must learn to speak words of blessing from the very beginning. Do not allow reviling or cursing to come out of your mouth."