Untitled article by Dudley Marvin Canright

The Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Third-day, January 21, 1868

THREE RULES FOR AVOIDING CHURCH DIFFICULTIES.

By Dudley Marvin Canright

EVERY where we go we are constantly finding trials and difficulties between brethren and sisters to be settled. This has led me to study how they might be avoided. I find three rules, which, if followed, will save the churches from a greater part of these trials.

1. When a brother or sister in any way injures us, what shall we do? The common way is to tell it to your wife and children and get them all stirred up about it. Tell it then to all your brethren and sisters, except the offending person, dwell upon it, magnify it, and make it look as bad as you can, so that all who hear you shall be thoroughly satisfied that you are right, and the other inexcusably wrong. Then when the offending brother at last hears of it through some one else, say that you never cared much about it, and that if other people didn’t tattle there would be no trouble about it now.

This is the common practice, but very different from the Bible rule. “Moreover, if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone; if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother. But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church; but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as a heathen man and a publican.” Matt. xviii, 15-18. This is an excellent rule, and given by the very best authority. If your brother in any way injures you personally, remember it must be against you, yourself, and not against any one else that the wrong is committed, then go to him alone and talk it over with him. Do this before you talk it to any one else. Generally this will put an end to the matter; if it does not, then take a couple of witnesses with you. If this does not settle it, then tell it to the church.

Whoever takes a different course from this, does wrong, and errs from the faith.

2. If we learn that our brother has anything against us, what shall we do? In this case, the general custom is to wait till he comes to us with it. We fall back upon our dignity and say, “If he has anything against me, let him come to me; I am ready to meet it; it’s not my place to run after him.” But will this excuse us if he neglects to do his duty by coming to us with the matter? No, it will not. It then becomes our duty to go to him about it. Matt. v, 23, 24: “Therefore, if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath aught against thee; leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.” When we remember that our brother has aught against us, then before we offer our gift to God it is our duty to go to him and have an understanding about it. This rule again applies to personal matters between two individuals. Hence from these two rules we see, 1st. That it is our duty to go to our brother if he offends us personally, and 2dly. That it is our duty to go to him if he is offended with us personally. These are excellent rules, and commend themselves to every man’s common sense.

3. But if we shall hear some evil report about our brother, or learn that he has wronged some one else who is not a believer, what shall we do? Here again the usual practice is to talk this over, very confidentially of course, with all the family whether believers or unbelievers, then with all our brethren and sisters and ask them what they think about it, and, last of all, if at all, go to the accused brother with it. Now, this is all wrong. “Oh no,” says one, “I don’t believe in doing that way. When I hear any such thing from outsiders against one of my brethren, I think it is my duty to go right to him with it.” But, my good brother, that is entirely wrong. You are entirely out of your place; that is not your business. “Why, then,” says one, “would you have us pay no attention to such stories? am I not interested in this matter? does it not injure the cause generally? Suppose my neighbor comes to me and says, ‘I thought Mr. B. was called a Christian, is he not a member of your church? I haven’t a particle of faith in him; he cheated me out of five dollars the other day, thus and so. Now, what shall I do in that case? Is it not my duty to go to Bro. B. and tell him about it?’” No sir; you have chosen an elder to oversee the church, and all such affairs belong to him. Go to him with it. You may lack discretion, or may not have the right spirit to go to Bro. B. with it; or if you have, others may not have. Now you have chosen for your elder a man in whom you all have confidence. Lay it before him, and then it becomes his duty to investigate the matter, but you have no further responsibility in the matter. What is the use of having church officers, and then assuming their responsibilities ourselves?

If these three rules are enforced, I can see no excuse for tattling and backbiting among brethren and sisters.

D. M. CANRIGHT.