«　WEEK 1　DAY 5　»

　　Matt. 10:37-39 He who loves father or mother above Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter above Me is not worthy of Me; and he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. He who finds his soul-life shall lose it, and he who loses his soul-life for My sake shall find it.

　　The primary elements of human culture are religion, politics, and the family life. Human culture is the best invention of mankind. However, we have to realize that Satan in a subtle way utilizes human culture to oppose God’s kingdom…. [Culture] has become the stronghold of Satan. Satan maintains a hold on human culture, utilizing it as his kingdom. Human culture has become a basic part and a great portion of the kingdom of Satan. We need a revelation of this fact. (CWWL, 1972, vol. 2, “The Kingdom, ” p. 189)

　　In Matthew 10:16-22 the Lord said that He was sending the kingdom people forth as sheep in the midst of wolves. He went on to say that they will be delivered up to sanhedrins and scourged in the synagogues. The Lord also said that they will be brought before governors and kings, a clear reference to the political people. These verses tell us that both religion and politics are against the kingdom of God. Why are they opposed to God’s kingdom? It is because they have their own kingdoms; religion is a kingdom for religious people, and politics is a kingdom for political people…. The situation is the same today…. If we go along with human culture and religion, we will be welcomed and not persecuted. But if we are for the Lord’s kingdom, religion will oppose us.

　　After the Lord spoke about religion and politics, He referred to the family (v. 21). The Lord spoke about fathers and sons, mothers and daughters, and other family relations (vv. 35-37). Not all of your relatives will be in favor of the kingdom. The situation is the same today as then. Do not think that people are nicer today than then. The cultured people may be even tougher and more severe than the uncultured people. I am not encouraging you to damage your family life, to be an enemy toward your father, or to persecute your wife. If you read the Lord’s word carefully, you will see that the kingdom people should be the persecuted ones, not the persecuting ones. We should not be the enemies, and we should not be the persecutors. We have to be the persecuted ones. We should flee if we can, but if we cannot, we must suffer. According to other portions of the Bible, we must pray for the opposers and the persecutors (5:44). We must love them and pray that they will become the same as we are. Mainly, we need to realize this principle: the whole of human culture opposes the kingdom of God.

　　We should not be disturbed by this, because the opposition of human culture can become our “gasoline station” where we can purchase the extra portion of oil for our vessel (25:9). This means that we take the opportunity to pay the price of losing our soul-life (10:38-39). The price we must pay is our soul-life. Sometimes a husband is caught for the kingdom, but his wife remains a part of human culture. In such a case the husband must lose his soul-life. The Lord Jesus spoke clearly about these matters. He has never cheated us. He said that He did not come to bring peace, but a sword (v. 34).

　　The Lord Jesus really troubled Judaism, including all the priests. And He created many “troublemakers”—first twelve, then seventy—and sent out these “troublemakers” to create even more trouble. If we in the local churches mean business with the Lord about His kingdom, and if we are faithful to the kingdom, we will cause more trouble to today’s Christianity, because today’s Christianity has become a constituent of human culture. Since Christianity is a strong factor of contemporary culture, it becomes the strongest opposition to the kingdom of God. (CWWL, 1972, vol. 2, “The Kingdom, ” pp. 189-191)

　　Further Reading: CWWL, 1972, vol. 2, “The Kingdom, ” ch. 22