Right in the Argument

“who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously:” — 1 Peter 2:23 (ASV)

In Fuzhou, Nee found friends who wanted the same thing he did: a simpler, more New Testament kind of church. With Leland Wang and other young believers, he met in homes to pray, study the Bible and break bread together every week. They preached in schools, in the streets, in homes, wherever they could, and a revival broke out among students in Fuzhou.

They were taking the book of Acts seriously. The first believers, it says, “continued stedfastly in the apostles' teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of bread and the prayers.” No elaborate machinery, no professionals performing while everyone else watched. Just people gathered around truth, shared life, the Lord's table and prayer.

Nee was still very young, but his mind, his urgency and his growing grip on the Bible made him a natural leader. And leadership exposed exactly the thing Barber had warned him about: himself.

Disagreements broke out among the workers in 1922 and 1923, over separating from the established denominations, over what the ministry should focus on, and over who should lead. Accounts differ on the details and on who was right. What is clear is that Nee went through painful conflict and was pushed out.

According to later testimony, when he went to Barber she did not take his side or tell him to fight for his rights. She pointed him to the way of the cross. That lesson became part of his vocabulary for life: you can be right in an argument and wrong in spirit. Winning can become an idol. A servant of God can have a real case and still be called to give up the need to come out on top.

Peter writes that when Christ was insulted, he didn't insult back, but “committed himself to him that judgeth righteously.” Jesus trusted his Father's judgment more than his own self-defence.

Now, this needs care, and the biography is careful. It does not mean that a person being abused should stay in danger. It doesn't forbid telling the truth, asking for help, appealing to someone in authority or getting protection. Paul defended himself in public and appealed to Roman law. The cross is not a tool for powerful people to silence anyone who criticises them. It means something narrower: your own rights can't become the most important thing in your life.

Nee came out of those early fights convinced that God cared more about what kind of person his servant was becoming than about whether the servant won. You can lose a position and keep Christ's character. You can also win the argument and lose it.

Jesus did answer his accusers sometimes, and Paul defended himself. So the real question isn't whether you may ever speak up. It's whether you can tell the truth clearly and still hand your reputation over to God, without needing to be proved right before you can have any peace.

Have you ever won an argument and lost a friend? Most of us know the feeling of being right and still being ugly about it: the extra comment, the screenshot sent round, the need for everyone to know you were right. Being right matters. But the way you are right matters too.

One thing to do this week: the next time you're in a disagreement, at home, online or with a friend, stop before you reply and ask yourself, “Do I want this sorted out, or do I just want to win?” Then say the true thing without the extra jab.