How to Pursue the Truth (10)

Recently, we’ve carried out several fellowships involving the issues of innate conditions, humanity, and corrupt dispositions; primarily, we fellowshipped in detail and specifically about some manifestations of these three aspects. Through such detailed fellowship, have you gained some understanding of the specific classification of these manifestations? (Yes.) Having gained an understanding of the specific manifestations in these three aspects, is it now clearer for you why people must cast off their corrupt dispositions or what things in people need to be changed and cast off? Which aspects need to be changed, which do not need to be changed, which should be practiced according to the truth principles, and which are innate conditions preordained and arranged by God, unrelated to corrupt dispositions and not requiring people to expend effort or make any changes—are these matters now clear? (We feel somewhat clearer about them than before.) After gaining clarity, do you understand the significance of God’s work to cleanse people, transform their dispositions, and save them from Satan’s influence? Is it now clear what God’s working and speaking to provide the truth and expose various problems in people is directed at? Is God’s exposure of all the problems in people directed at their innate conditions? (No.) Is it directed at people’s natural defects in humanity? (No.) Then what is it directed at? (Primarily at people’s corrupt dispositions.) It is primarily directed at the principles by which people conduct themselves and act, their views and attitudes toward God, the truth, positive things, and other such issues. What are corrupt dispositions? Corrupt dispositions originate from Satan’s nature and are revealed from Satan’s nature. These things all go against the truth principles, are fallacious, and are actions and manifestations of resisting God. These things are the primary things that resist God and are the root causes of people being able to go against the truth, betray the truth, go against God’s intentions, and go against God’s requirements. Innate conditions, on the other hand, are merely some basic, instinctive things that people are born with; but the life on which humankind currently relies for survival is corrupt dispositions. Therefore, what God’s work aims to change is people’s corrupt dispositions. Precisely because corrupt dispositions resist God and are of Satan, and can be said to be overall manifestations of all negative things—the various corrupt dispositions revealed in people, or the various states and the detailed revelations and manifestations involving corrupt dispositions, are all related to negative things—the root cause of people resisting God, therefore, is not their innate conditions or certain defects in their humanity, but the life that takes corrupt dispositions as its foundation for survival. This life precisely originates from Satan. Thus, what ultimately needs to be transformed is people’s corrupt dispositions, and what needs to be cast off is also people’s corrupt dispositions. Of course, it can also be said that only when people’s corrupt dispositions are changed can they stop resisting God. In other words, only when people have cast off their corrupt dispositions does it mean they have been saved, and only when people have been saved can they stop resisting God and completely submit to God. Therefore, the true meaning of God’s work to save people is to enable them to cast off their corrupt dispositions. The true meaning and intended result of God telling people that pursuing the truth is viewing people and things, and conducting oneself and acting, according to God’s words and with the truth as one’s criterion is to enable people to cast off their corrupt dispositions and to view people and things, and conduct themselves and act, with God’s words as their life. Do you understand? (Yes.)

We previously fellowshipped on some specific revelations and manifestations involving innate conditions, humanity, and corrupt dispositions. Some manifestations pertain to innate conditions, some to defects in humanity, some are manifestations of vile character, and some are specific manifestations of corrupt dispositions. The defects in one’s humanity and the vile essence of one’s humanity are what people most easily get mixed up. Defects in humanity mostly fall under innate conditions. For example, some people stutter when speaking, and some people have a quick or slow temperament. These defects in humanity, as long as they do not fall under the category of vile character, basically fall within the scope of innate conditions. However, vile character is unrelated to innate conditions; it is a revelation of a corrupt disposition and should fall under corrupt dispositions, not under innate conditions. This is because, within a person’s character, God has given them two basic things: conscience and reason. If someone’s character is vile, this involves problems with their conscience and reason. This definitely doesn’t pertain to their innate conditions. It definitely falls under corrupt dispositions; it is a specific manifestation of a certain corrupt disposition. The facts are enough to show that after someone is corrupted by Satan, they lose their conscience and reason. Their heart is completely misled by Satan, and they accept many thoughts and viewpoints that come from Satan, as well as some sayings and opinions from evil trends. When things reach this point, their conscience and reason are utterly corrupted and corroded—it could be said that at this time their conscience and reason are completely lost. What is exhibited is that their character is very poor and evil. That is, before they have accepted positive things, they have already accepted many fallacious things from Satan in their heart. These things have severely corrupted their humanity, resulting in their humanity being very poor. For example, after they accept the satanic thought and viewpoint from the world which states, “Every man for himself and the devil take the hindmost,” will their conscience improve or remain the same, or will it deteriorate? (It will deteriorate.) And what are the specific manifestations of this deterioration? (They consider only their own interests in everything they do.) For the sake of their own purpose and interests, they stop at nothing. They can cheat and harm others and do anything that goes against morality and conscience. The more they do, the more ruthless their actions become, the darker their heart grows, the less sense of conscience they have, and the less humanity they retain. For their own interests, they will cheat and deceive anyone, deceiving people they know and people they don’t know alike—they will deceive colleagues, family members, and even the closest people around them, harming those who trust them the most. At the beginning, when they do these things, they experience some inner conflict and a slight feeling in their conscience. Later, they begin to think over how to take action, starting first with unfamiliar strangers, and eventually showing no mercy even to their own relatives. You see, their humanity is progressively being corrupted, it is gradually being eroded by Satan’s thoughts and viewpoints, such as “interests above all” and “Every man for himself and the devil take the hindmost.” This gradual erosion process is the process in which their conscience gradually loses awareness and ceases to function, until it ultimately reaches the point of being completely lost. In the end, they have no moral boundaries or sense of conscience in their actions, and they can deceive anyone. What is the reason they can deceive anyone? What is the root cause? It is because they have accepted Satan’s thoughts and viewpoints, and they act under the domination of Satan’s thoughts and viewpoints. Ultimately, the conscience and reason of their humanity no longer function; that is, the basic things that humanity should possess cease to work entirely, they are completely eroded and controlled by Satan’s evil thoughts. The process of erosion and control is the process of their acceptance of these thoughts and viewpoints, and, of course, it is also the process of their being corrupted. As the conscience and reason of their humanity are corrupted, what is ultimately exhibited in them is that their humanity becomes very poor, and in more severe cases, they lose their humanity. These are some manifestations of the humanity of normal corrupt humans.

There are also some special cases, where some people are not even born as humans, so they cannot be said to possess conscience and reason. To put this abstractly, they are not reincarnated from humans. Although the matter of rebirth, reincarnation, and transmigration is abstract and invisible to people, people should be able to understand this easily; it is something that people can figure out and comprehend. Such people are not reincarnated from humans, so what are they reincarnated from? Some are reborn and transmigrated from animals, and some are reincarnated from devils; they are born without humanity. People without humanity are born without conscience or reason; this is not entirely caused by corruption. They are inherently living Satans and living devils. They are reincarnated from devils. For example, antichrists are evil people; they are reincarnated from evil people. Later in life, they accept even more thoughts and viewpoints of Satan. What they originally have, combined with what they acquire later, makes them increasingly bad. Such people are born not loving positive things; they are inherently averse to positive things, and severely resist and detest positive things. Therefore, the manifestation of humanity in such people is that they do not have the slightest conscience or reason. It is entirely impossible to see any merits or strong points of humanity in them. Of course, this merit definitely does not refer to being adept at singing, adept at expressing one’s viewpoints, or adept at a certain technical skill or profession. These are not the merits referred to. Rather, it refers to merits of humanity, such as being kindhearted and good-natured, understanding others, or being empathetic. These specific manifestations within the scope of humanity’s conscience and reason are completely absent in them. So what are the main characteristics of the humanity of such people? Deviance and evil. These are the two main characteristics. They do not love positive things; when they hear about positive things, they can acknowledge that they are correct but never accept them. Everything in their hearts and everything they reveal is related to deviance and evil. This is one of the main characteristics of people whose inherent humanity essence is evil. Such people are reincarnated and transmigrated from devils and Satans. Even without artificial instillation, teaching, influence, or conditioning later in life, they are already very evil. They are inherently creatures of this sort. Their thoughts and viewpoints inherently possess many essential things that are of Satan. On top of that, they accept even more fallacious thoughts and viewpoints from Satan’s evil trends after birth. So, it can be said that fuel is added to the fire of the nature essence of such people, it becomes even more evil and worse, that is, it possesses every toxic quality imaginable and becomes even more severe. These are the two special cases of people reincarnated from animals and people reincarnated from devils. The normal situation is that regardless of what defects in humanity one is born with, as long as they exhibit some manifestations of vile character, it falls within the scope of corrupt dispositions. If they can accept the truth, practice the truth, and walk the path of pursuing the truth, eventually all their corrupt dispositions can be cast off. When their corrupt dispositions are cast off, the vile aspects of their character will be correspondingly changed. Such people are those who can be saved; they are normal corrupt humans. Even if you exhibit some manifestations of bad character, or lack integrity, or some manifestations of your humanity do not conform to the truth and are detestable to others, as long as your conscience and reason still exist and can still serve as the basic conditions for how you view people and things and conduct yourself and act—meaning your conscience and reason can still influence how you view people and things and conduct yourself and act, and your conscience and reason can still function in you—then ultimately your corrupt dispositions can be changed. If a person’s conscience and reason cannot control or steer anything they do, then it can be said that this kind of person is incapable of accepting the truth and even more so incapable of practicing it. So the corrupt dispositions of such people will not easily be cast off. Why is this? Because the conscience and reason of such people do not function whatsoever. They no longer have the opportunity to accept the truth and no longer possess the basic conditions for accepting the truth. It is very difficult for these people to cast off their corrupt dispositions. Therefore, regardless of what problems exist in your humanity, examine yourself to see whether, when you are about to act in a way that goes against humanity or the truth, you feel anything in your conscience or feel pain or reproach in your heart, and whether you have a boundary or standard in your heart to measure whether this matter should or should not be done, whether doing this matter goes against morality or conscience, and more deeply, whether it violates the truth principles. If you have a sense of conscience, can measure that this matter goes against humanity and the truth, and can, under the functioning of your conscience and reason, restrain yourself and keep your actions in check, then you have the opportunity or likelihood to be able to accept the truth and practice according to the truth principles. But if, when doing anything, you feel nothing in your conscience, cannot measure what the standard for this matter is or whether you should do it, and do not know whether doing this thing conforms to humanity, moral justice, or the truth principles—and, furthermore, when doing this thing it goes against conscience, humanity, or the truth principles, but your conscience cannot function to stop you from doing this wrong and negative thing—then people like you basically have no opportunity to accept the truth. What follows is that you have no opportunity to cast off your corrupt dispositions.

Whether people can cast off corrupt dispositions depends on whether they can accept the truth—this is quite obvious. And whether people can accept the truth depends on whether they have a sense of conscience. So how can it be discerned whether someone has a sense of conscience? It’s necessary to look at whether, when doing things, they have the most basic conscience that humanity should possess, and whether, when they do something or say something, their conscience functions. For example, when you want to say something that goes against your conscience and the facts to slander someone, or when you want to lie, your conscience reproaches you: “I shouldn’t say this. Saying this is lying and deceiving, which means that I’m not an honest person. God is scrutinizing, and my own conscience will not let me do this. It is not appropriate to say this.” Having these thoughts means your conscience is functioning. When your conscience is functioning, the words you say may still contain some adulterations or elements of human intent and may not be 100% accurate. However, under the effect of your conscience, the words you speak are already relatively appropriate. If you can further practice the truth and speak based on principles, then the words you say will be completely appropriate, and you will become an honest person. But if someone is not subject to the function of conscience, they are not necessarily able to become an honest person or speak honest words. For example, when the Above asks them about someone, they may think, “That person is indeed not bad. Their caliber is good, and their humanity is also quite good. Is the Above asking about them to promote them? If they are promoted, then that means I won’t be. I can’t tell the truth; I’ll just say they’re average”—they start thinking about how to speak in a way that benefits themselves. When they think this way, is their conscience functioning? They have no conscience, and they are not subject to the function of conscience. People without conscience have no humanity. They say whatever they want to say and lie whenever they want to lie. Why does lying not make them feel bad? Because they are not subject to the function of conscience. Thus, there is no restraint from conscience and reason in their heart, nor any restraining power. Ultimately, they can tell lies and fulfill their personal desire to lie according to their own will. In the end, what is the essence manifested by such people? It is doing things without the restraining power of conscience, which means they are not subject to the function of conscience. People who are not subject to the function of conscience make mistakes and commit evil without feeling accused or uneasy in their hearts. Therefore, they do everything using their own interests as the criterion. Such people have no restraining power whatsoever and are not subject to the function of conscience, so can they practice the truth? (No.) They cannot practice the truth. To measure what kind of humanity you have, you mainly have to look at whether your words and actions are governed by conscience and reason, and whether you can practice the truth, cast off corrupt dispositions, and achieve salvation. If your conscience and reason can still function normally, then you are a person with conscience and reason. If your words and actions are not restrained by conscience and reason, and you can even act utterly willfully and unscrupulously without any restraint, then you are not only devoid of conscience and reason but also lack humanity. If everything exhibited in a person’s humanity can basically fall within the scope of vile character, then this person basically has no humanity. The hallmark of having no humanity is the absence of conscience and reason, and doing things without the function of conscience. For example, if you tell them that one should conduct oneself with conscience and humanity, they think: “What is conscience worth? Can having conscience bring money? Can having conscience fill my stomach?” But for people with conscience, it is different. If they occasionally do something bad driven by greed, causing harm to others, they will later feel self-reproach and regret, thinking, “I’ve really wronged people by doing this to them. Isn’t this committing evil? How could I have been so deluded at that time? Why couldn’t I restrain myself? I need to find a way to make amends.” You see, they deceived someone at the time, and even though they gained some benefit, when they think about this benefit, they feel uneasy in their hearts and hate themselves, thinking, “How could I do something like this? I absolutely cannot do this again in the future. I’d rather live in poverty or go hungry than do this again. That’s not something a person should do—doing it would lead to lifelong regret!” Doing something like this once feels as disgusting as swallowing a dead fly for them. So they never do it again. They feel remorse and troubled in their hearts. People without humanity, on the other hand, will rack their brains and focus entirely on deceiving others, deceiving them completely without holding back; their conscience does not accuse them, and they show no mercy. They harm others terribly and even feel happy, thinking, “Serves them right! Who told them to fall into my hands? If I don’t deceive them, who else would I deceive? It’s just their bad luck to have run into me!” Do such people have any sense of conscience? (No.) No matter how terribly they deceive others or to what extent they harm them, they never offer a single word of apology and feel no guilt or remorse whatsoever. Instead, they feel proud and fortunate in their hearts. Each time they enjoy what they have obtained through deception, they do not feel troubled but believe it is entirely justified. They think that they are capable, skilled, and clever, that what they thought and did at the time was correct, and that they should have gotten even more through their deception. Tell Me, do such people have humanity? (No.) After committing evil, they can still think this way and exhibit such behavior. Do you think this kind of person can be saved? Will they deceive again if faced with similar circumstances? (They will.) They will only become more skillful at deception, more pleased with themselves, and feel increasingly clever the more they deceive. With each deception, their heart grows darker, their actions more ruthless, and their methods crueler. Such people are beyond salvation. It can be said that they have been completely taken captive by Satan. They are evil people, devils, and scoundrels through and through. If you talk to such people about conscience and humanity, they will sneer at you and say, “You big dope, acting with conscience and humanity—who’s going to give you money for that? Aren’t you just going to end up poor? Look at how well I’m doing, and just look at you—so pathetic!” They will sneer at you and disdain you. Such humanity is utterly devoid of conscience—the conscience of such people has been completely lost; they’ve been utterly taken over by devils, and they’ve become out-and-out living devils. Therefore, don’t talk about the truth with such people—they cannot accept it. They do not even have normal humanity, so how can they accept the truth? People who can accept the truth have a boundary when it comes to viewing people and matters, and conducting themselves and acting, especially when it involves their own interests. What is this boundary? It is being restrained and controlled by their conscience. If they can be restrained and controlled by their conscience, it can be said that such people still have a certain degree of humanity and a boundary in their self-conduct. This means that they act with a certain level of propriety. When associating with others or doing anything, if they do not understand the truth principles or do not know how to act in accordance with the truth, they can at the very least observe boundaries of conscience. In other words, their conscience still has awareness and can function. If their conscience can function, then they have the opportunity to accept the truth. Their conscience will develop in a positive direction, and ultimately the parts of their character that are not good will change somewhat. As their character gradually undergoes transformation, their various corrupt dispositions will also be cast off step by step. Is this clear now? (Yes.)

People should see clearly whom God saves and which parts of people God saves and transforms. For one thing, they should have a clear understanding of themselves, and for another, they should also have discernment regarding those around them. Regarding manifestations of vile character, some of these involve the revelations of corrupt dispositions. These primarily refer to manifestations that violate the truth and are rebellious against God and resistant to God. In the eyes of people, such actions do not violate the law and would not be condemned by the law, but they are condemned by God. These fall under corrupt dispositions. Other manifestations of vile character not only involve corrupt dispositions but also pertain to the problem of having a vicious humanity essence. Such people are capable of doing any kind of bad deed and they are utterly evil people. If a person has problems with their character in only one aspect, but they still speak and act with conscience and reason, and they only commit some evil under special circumstances, then they are not an evil person. Evil people have no conscience or reason whatsoever. Can people without conscience and reason do good things? Absolutely not. Can they practice the truth? Even less so. If a person’s conscience is functioning and has restraining power, then their character and behavior can improve to some extent. If a person has no conscience and no matter what they do they lack the function of conscience, then their character and behavior will not improve. Therefore, discerning a person cannot be entirely based on their character or integrity; the primary thing is to see whether they have conscience and reason, and whether their conscience and reason are functioning. If they have conscience and reason, and their conscience and reason can function when they act, then they still possess basic humanity. If their actions lack the function of conscience and reason, then they do not possess basic humanity—they are devoid of humanity. People who possess the basic function of conscience and basic humanity have the opportunity for salvation, while those who lack basic humanity have no opportunity for salvation. What is the main factor in whether someone can receive salvation? (The main factor is whether they have conscience and reason within them.) That’s right. So, can you discern whether someone has conscience and reason? (We can discern a little. The most important thing is to see whether a person is internally restrained by conscience and reason when they act, and whether they have moral boundaries.) In terms of doctrine and theory, this is how it is explained—do you have any concrete examples? (For example, some people, while doing their duty, violate principles and commit reckless misdeeds, and the brothers and sisters point out their problems or prune them. In such cases, if those people have conscience and reason, they will proactively reflect on and try to know themselves. However, if they lack conscience and reason, they may develop resentment or even strike out and retaliate.) This is a good example. When people with conscience and reason are criticized by others for doing something wrong, they feel ashamed and guilty. They develop remorse in their hearts, and with remorse, they will have manifestations of repentance and are willing to do better. As for people without conscience and reason, no matter how great the misdeeds or mistakes they commit are, no matter how much loss they cause to church work or how much trouble and disturbance they bring to the brothers and sisters, when criticized, they have a hundred reasons with which to justify and defend themselves, refusing to acknowledge their transgressions in the slightest. It’s obvious that they cause losses to the work, yet they feel no guilt in their hearts. Tell Me, will they feel remorse? (They won’t.) They will not feel remorse. Can people without remorse repent? (No.) Are people who cannot repent those who accept the truth? (They are not.) Will they continue to do the same things? (Yes.) Until when? (Since they lack a sense of conscience, they will keep doing it.) That’s right. They will keep doing this. No matter what others say, they won’t listen: “This is just how I do things—like it or not! What does the church’s work suffering losses have to do with me? All that matters is that I don’t suffer any losses myself.” This is their viewpoint. Alright, that’s all for our fellowship on this topic. Ponder on what we’ve fellowshipped, match it to yourself and the things and people around you, gradually understand it, and use these words to view others, view things, and view yourselves. Little by little, you will gain understanding of these things.

We previously fellowshipped about many specific manifestations involving humanity, innate conditions, and corrupt dispositions. Today, we will continue to fellowship about some specific manifestations involving these three aspects. We’ll start with the first manifestation: sleaziness. What does this term mean? (It means someone is not poised, not upright and proper, and they are secretive and furtive.) (It means someone’s behavior and demeanor appear relatively wicked.) Relatively wicked—that seems a bit abstract. Most people cannot imagine what exactly this wickedness manifests as. Are there more? (Sleaziness means one’s behavior and demeanor are relatively low-class.) How many aspects have you mentioned? Being secretive and furtive, wicked, low-class, despicable, disgraceful—aren’t these the manifestations? (Yes.) Then can the concept of sleaziness be replaced with being despicable and low-class? (It can.) Under which aspect are these manifestations of sleaziness categorized? (Vile character.) Is this a defect of humanity? (No.) This manifestation is far more serious in nature than a defect of humanity, so it cannot be categorized as a defect of humanity. Sleaziness is a manifestation of vile character. If someone acts in a sleazy manner, although it cannot be said that this person is an evil person, looking at it from the manifestations of sleaziness they always make people feel averse and disgusted. Such people who exhibit sleaziness certainly do things in a sneaky and furtive manner, without being aboveboard at all, behaving in a relatively base way, and always doing despicable things. That is, they use despicable, shameless, and disgraceful methods in doing things, methods that are not upright or open. Most people feel disgust and detestation when they see this. This shows they are despicable and lowly. Their most prominent characteristic is being especially wretched, base, and despicable. Whatever they do or say, they cannot be upright and open; they always pull some shady maneuvers and engage in some disgraceful things. For example, believing in God is universally recognized as a very proper matter, something that people can understand and approve of. But when these people believe in God, they act like they have taken the wrong path, as if it is something disgraceful. These are the kind of people who are despicable and sleazy. What role do sleazy people usually play among others? (They are negative characters, contemptible people.) They play a negative role. What characteristics do such people have? It may be that, from their appearance, you cannot tell they are very bad, or you cannot see that they have any bad intentions in what they do. However, after interacting with them for a period of time, you feel that they always speak and act in a way that is not upright and open. What they say sounds nice, but what they do behind the scenes is something different. You always feel that their intentions are not right, or that they do not speak about the things they intend to do, leaving you feeling baffled. In the end, you come to feel that such people are extremely unreliable and only do despicable, underhanded things and always ruin your affairs. These are sleazy people. You will not see these people openly express their differing views or openly voice objections. In front of others, they may even say something that sounds nice, like, “We cannot do that; we must act with conscience.” However, behind the scenes, they manipulate things, inciting some undiscerning, foolish, and ignorant people to act according to their intentions. In the end, the matter they wanted to accomplish gets done, they enjoy the results of this accomplishment, and yet no one realizes it was their doing. You see that they do not say or do anything in the presence of others, yet the course of events ultimately proceeds in the direction they have manipulated. From this perspective, such people are also somewhat insidious. Are there sleazy people around you? Are sleazy people generally easy for others to discern or see through? (No.) These people hide themselves quite deeply. The issue with them is a problem of character; they have a poor humanity essence. Have you encountered sleazy people? Are you clear about the main manifestations of such people? (Not very.) From now on, you need to pay attention and observe what kind of people around you often reveal various manifestations of sleaziness. Are the manifestations in this regard relatively abstract and hidden? (Yes.) Even if there are such people around you, because they are difficult to discern, it will not be easy for you to notice them. When one day you do identify such a person, you can observe them and record their manifestations from beginning to end to see what their characteristics and essence truly are, and then summarize them. We will stop here for now on the topic of the manifestation of sleaziness.

The next manifestation is lewdness. First, take a look—which aspect does lewdness fall under? (Vile character.) It falls under vile character. Then what kind of problems does lewdness generally refer to? (Problems with one’s interpersonal conduct.) That’s quite accurate—lewdness generally involves problems of interpersonal conduct between men and women. So does lewdness apply to men or to women? (Both men and women.) It does not only apply to one gender. There are men like this, and there are women like this. Therefore, it is not only men who can be lewd. If women have problems with interpersonal conduct, it is also lewdness. So what are the specific manifestations of lewdness? Always liking to mingle with the opposite sex and show off—what kind of problem is this? Isn’t this somewhat lewd? (Yes.) Seeing the opposite sex excites them. The more people of the opposite sex there are, the more excited they become, and the more they want to show off. Especially for some people, to what extent do they show off? Baring their chests and exposing their backs, doing provocative gestures, saying provocative words—aren’t these manifestations of lewdness? (Yes.) As long as there are members of the opposite sex around, regardless of their age or whether they are someone they like, they dress flamboyantly, seductively, or charmingly to attract the opposite sex. Isn’t this a manifestation of lewdness? (Yes.) This is the most common manifestation. These phenomena have already become commonplace and are seen as nothing unusual among nonbelievers. They do not consider this to be lewdness but instead see it as very normal and proper. They believe both sexes should dress beautifully to make themselves appealing and admired by the opposite sex, so members of the opposite sex are enticed to pursue them. Are such thoughts and viewpoints lewd thoughts and viewpoints? (Yes.) They always want to be the center of attention for the opposite sex, always wanting to attract them and make them interested in themselves; regardless of their marital status or age, they always have these thoughts and actions, and their life is filled with such thinking—isn’t this lewdness? (Yes.) These are some manifestations that most people find relatively acceptable and do not see as overly lewd—just liking to present oneself and show off in front of the opposite sex. For example, wearing nice clothes, spraying some perfume, dressing a bit alluringly, saying provocative words, or flaunting one’s charm—these lewd manifestations are things most people find tolerable. A more serious manifestation of lewdness is that, no matter the environment in which they see members of the opposite sex, such people dare to take liberties and touch them. They casually get close and touch them without considering whether the other person consents, acting as if they’ve always been familiar with each other. They are especially skilled at observing others’ expressions and reactions. If they see that someone is not repelled and is relatively docile, they dare to casually touch their head or back, or even sit close to them or, if the other person does not resist, hold their hand. Some women can directly sit on men’s laps, without caring about how others might feel when they see it. This has progressed beyond ordinary showing off to something more substantial. Isn’t this being lewd? (Yes.) Can most people accept this kind of lewdness? (They cannot accept it.) Some people don’t think this is a big deal and even say, “This isn’t lewdness. Men and women showing affection for one another is very normal. Otherwise, what’s the point of living? Men should take pleasure in women, and women should take pleasure in men—only then does life have interest.” If no one of the opposite sex makes such lewd gestures toward them, they think, “Is it that I don’t have any charm? Why can’t I attract the opposite sex?” They then feel disappointed. When such people encounter someone lewd making advances toward them, they feel very satisfied and inwardly delighted. At the very least, they feel physically and mentally gratified, thinking that having someone interested in them makes their life worthwhile. Therefore, some people can accept this kind of lewdness. For example, suppose that someone likes another person and has feelings for them; if that person always ignores them and shows no interest in them, they feel very disappointed. But if that person occasionally touches them, teases them, caresses their hand, or sits close enough for them to feel their body warmth—or, going even further, if it’s a man who has taken liberties with a woman, she then thinks, “Ah, that’s nice, he likes me. Even though we can’t be joined together as one in this world, being treated lewdly like this by him at least makes my life worth it!” You see, some people accept this kind of lewdness from the depths of their hearts rather than despising it. Their attitude depends on whether the person of the opposite sex doing these things is someone they like. If they like them and do not feel repulsed, or even long for them in their hearts, then they do not despise such lewd people or lewd actions. Instead, they can accept them and welcome them in their hearts, giving them a place in their hearts. Thus, some people inwardly accept such lewd individuals. Since lewd people are not good, doesn’t that mean those who can accept such lewd behavior are also lewd? (Yes.) They are also lewd. There are some manifestations more serious than this kind of lewdness—not just showing off a little, not just exchanging glances or having some physical caressing, but progressing even further. These people’s minds are entirely consumed with such lewd things. If this happens when someone is dating, it is a normal manifestation. But if someone’s age and actual circumstances do not permit it, and they still think entirely about such things when they see the opposite sex, then what is the essence of this manifestation? It means that when facing the opposite sex, they always have a sort of desire and craving, or they have some goal in mind—it’s not that they just want to satisfy some psychological need and that’s it; rather, they want to take substantive actions and have substantial progress. In their hearts they’re constantly chasing after these things; in addition to thinking about lewd things in their minds, in terms of their behavior they also start looking to make contact with suitable members of the opposite sex to indulge and vent their sexual desire. Aren’t such people lewd? (Yes.) Compared to the previous two types of lewd people, isn’t this type of lewd person very dangerous and frightening? (Yes.) Such lewd people can take action at any time—this already shows they are very wicked and lewd. As for the levels beyond this, we won’t discuss them further.

So, among these three types of lewdness, which one can you accept? That is, which one makes you feel that someone acting that way is normal, not a big problem, and that they’re someone you don’t feel much disgust or contempt toward and can somewhat accept? What level of lewdness can you accept? (We can’t accept any level.) Why can’t you accept any level of lewdness? (The nature of the last type of lewdness is quite vile, and although the first type of lewdness only involves showing off in front of the opposite sex, it causes disturbances to those around them.) The first type of person does not have a clear sense of gender distinction in their hearts. Most people pay attention to boundaries between men and women when interacting with the opposite sex. In particular, when it comes to women interacting with men, they should remain reserved and maintain some boundaries in front of men. However, some women enjoy interacting with the opposite sex and become excited when they see someone they fancy. As soon as they have the opportunity, they find an excuse to make contact. Anyone who deliberately seeks to interact with the opposite sex has something abnormal in their heart. Although the first type of lewdness does not involve substantive lewd ways of acting or lead to any concrete events, nor does it involve sexual assault, based on their manifestations, in terms of interpersonal conduct, these people lack clear boundaries between men and women. That is, in their hearts, they have no clear boundaries and do not understand that normal people should have a sense of shame and not make others look down on them. If someone exhibits lewd manifestations without feeling anything about it, they are not a normal person and at least lack the conscience and reason of normal people. Regardless of whether one is male or female, they must observe boundaries between genders, and it must be clear in their hearts that these boundaries cannot be crossed. God created men and women with inherent distinctions; it is not possible to blur the line between them. If someone always lacks clear boundaries between men and women and is constantly showing off in front of the opposite sex, this is not just general dissoluteness or lack of restraint—it involves an issue of interpersonal conduct. Regardless of whether the things they do involve substantive problems or not, as long as these manifestations involve issues of interpersonal conduct, they are inconsistent with the human sense of shame. Especially in matters between men and women, if a person does not know shame or lacks a sense of shame, then they are in great danger. If you can deliberately flaunt your charm before the opposite sex and try to attract them, you are very likely to progress to the next level of lewdness. You may start with showing off, but that can easily develop into getting handsy, and from getting handsy, it can easily develop into something more substantive, ultimately spiraling out of control for you. You see, regardless of the level of lewdness, as long as it falls within the scope of lewdness, it involves a problem of interpersonal conduct. Once it involves a problem of interpersonal conduct, there is no distinction between levels of severity. This is because such problems can escalate—starting with showing off and lacking a sense of shame, it can easily progress to physical contact, developing fondness, and then becoming mutually inseparable. From there, it can escalate further, spiraling out of control, making it too late for regret. Once it becomes a reality, it is hard to bring it to a proper end. So, regardless of what kind of manifestations of lewdness you exhibit, as long as they involve a problem of interpersonal conduct, if you do not restrain yourself and you lack a sense of shame—if you are completely indifferent to what others say about you, how people evaluate you, or how God views you—then you are in great danger. What does it mean to be in great danger? It means that starting from common lewd actions and manifestations, it is very easy to degenerate and do absurd things that leave you with lifelong regret. Do you understand? (Yes.) Therefore, if you cannot see through to the essence of the problem of lewdness and fail to resolve it in a timely manner, you are very troublesome. If you exhibit such manifestations or enjoy pursuing such things, it proves that there is a serious problem in your humanity. What problem? A lack of a sense of shame. The issue of interpersonal conduct is related to a person’s sense of shame. If you lack a sense of shame, then you have no boundaries when doing such things. Whatever you think of, you can act on. Your thoughts and desires will neither be controlled nor limited. As long as the environment is suitable, your thoughts and desires will take the opportunity to put themselves into play, they will gradually swell and reach a point of bursting. This will lead to terrifying consequences.

If there are such lewd people around you, whose problem of lewdness is not just occasionally making a single provocative remark, and whose lewdness is not directed at just a few specific individuals—rather, they often behave this way, having no sense of shame whatsoever, and the problem remains unresolved even when others despise, remind, or warn them, with them continuing to be lewd and with their lewdness even becoming increasingly severe—and if you encounter such people, then you must avoid them. Why should you avoid them? Because lewd people have no shame. Do people without shame have any restraint in their actions? Can they restrain themselves? (No.) They cannot restrain themselves, so you must avoid such people; do your best to avoid associating with them. If work requires you to have contact with them and it cannot be avoided, then keep it strictly business, but it is best to have several other people present when you interact with them. Do not engage with them alone, and do not give them any opportunity to exploit. Do your best to avoid being alone with them, so as not to fall into temptation and not to give Satan any opportunity to exploit. Regardless of what kind of lewd behavior it is, as long as you identify that such people have no shame in their interpersonal conduct, that they can flirt with any member of the opposite sex, and that they are even so lewd that they can make obscene jokes in the presence of many members of the opposite sex, speaking as if it is perfectly normal, leaving listeners blushing, embarrassed, and unable to bear hearing it, while they themselves feel nothing, are unaware, and do not care, then such people must be avoided. Do you understand? (Yes.) Especially when, in interacting with them alone, they show you particular care and attention, and even more so are tolerant of your flaws and defects, and then often get handsy with you, or outwardly present themselves as gentlemanly and refined, yet their words always carry an undertone of obscenity—such people are very dangerous, and you must be on guard against them. There are also some people who, for matters that clearly could be fellowshipped or inquired about with someone of the same sex, or for work that could be handled with someone of the same sex, do not do this but instead insist on seeking out someone of the opposite sex. Whichever member of the opposite sex they have their eyes on, they constantly ask them questions, pester them, initiate unnecessary conversations, and make up things to bother them with, always asking them useless questions that don’t have to be asked and going to great lengths to create opportunities for one-on-one interactions with this person. The purpose of them looking for opportunities is in order to satisfy their own desires. Regardless of whether you are male or female, what should you do when encountering such people? (Stay away from them.) You should think of a way to refuse them; explain things to them with great clarity. Do not simply stay away from them in silence and think that is enough. If they occasionally pester you once, you may not be able to determine whether they are behaving indecently. But if they repeatedly pester you, you must make it clear to them. What should you say? You can tell them: “You have pestered me more than once or twice—what are you getting at? Make yourself clear! Do we truly have that kind of work relationship? There are so many people you could ask, yet you insist on asking me and coming to me—are we really that close? Don’t do this. I’m not interested, and I don’t like associating with people in this way. Please do not disturb me again in the future. I have no interest in you whatsoever. If you continue to harass me like this in the future, I won’t be nice!” What approach should be taken toward such people? (Stay away from them and refuse them.) If such people remain incorrigible despite repeated admonishments, how should they be dealt with? They should then be dealt with according to the church’s administrative regulations, by isolating or clearing them out. Some individuals are people pleasers, who do not dare to offend others and are inwardly afraid of this sort of lewd person. This is troublesome. They can only be toyed with by them. Such lewd people must be treated gravely. Your demeanor toward them should be colder, but there is no need to get huffy—just speak calmly: “Let’s not play these childish games. I can clearly see what you’re getting at. Playing this game with me won’t work. I don’t like you, so please do not disturb me again! If you repeatedly pester me, I have plenty of ways to deal with you!” Isn’t this refusing them? (Yes.) Will you be able to refuse them in this way? (After hearing God’s words, yes. Before God spoke, we wouldn’t dare to refuse them like this.) Of course, this is just an example. Such situations are not limited to women being harassed by men; they also include men being harassed by women. In short, regardless of whether you are a male or female being harassed, if you can clearly see that such lewd people are indeed not engaging normally in interactions, heart-to-heart conversations, or consulting with you, then you can refuse them. When interacting with such people, it is very easy to sense their intention, and you should be on guard. You should say to them: “We’re not familiar with each other, so you’d better not harass me!” If they repeatedly harass you and you still feel too embarrassed to refuse them, worrying you might hurt their feelings, thinking that as brothers and sisters you should be tolerant of them, you should understand the consequences such tolerance can bring. If you like them and are willing to associate with them, that is your freedom. Of course, isn’t it foolish to sympathize with or even like a lewd person? If they can behave in a lewd manner toward you, they can do the same to others. Associating with such people is digging your own grave—courting death. Therefore, with such people, you should directly refuse them; make things clear to them, and tell them to keep their distance. Isn’t that very simple? (Yes.) Truly lewd people refer to those who lack shame in their humanity. Of course, whether male or female, people may occasionally exhibit some slightly abnormal manifestations when encountering the opposite sex. As long as it is not habitual, does not result in actions or consequences, and one can correct it when they feel it is inappropriate after a period of time, it cannot be categorized as lewdness. These slightly abnormal manifestations should not be generalized. Being lewd is a manifestation of lacking shame within one’s humanity. The primary manifestation of such people is that they have no shame in their interpersonal conduct—they are unbridled, unrestrained, and particularly wanton. This is categorized as the manifestation of lewdness within one’s humanity. Now, do you know how to deal with and handle such people? (Yes.) That’s all for our discussion on the topic of lewdness.

Let’s talk about another manifestation: sordidness. What kind of problem is this? (It is a problem of vile character.) Sordidness falls under vile character and is categorized under humanity. Is sordidness somewhat similar to sleaziness? (Yes.) This is also a manifestation of vile character. Sordidness means acting without adhering to rules, in an underhanded way, not only doing things without principles or boundaries of conscience and morality but also doing things in a manner that is especially despicable and base. What are the manifestations of sordidness? For example, a sordid person sees that someone has bought a nice car that they themselves cannot afford. When passing by, they outwardly greet the person, saying, “Nice car! You must be rich!” Their words sound pleasant, but as soon as the car owner walks away, they spit on the car—phooey. Isn’t this being sordid? (Yes.) What kind of behavior is spitting? (Being sordid.) This is called being sordid. Sordidness is being especially despicable, dirty, and lowly—it is acting shamefully, causing others to mock and despise you, making people feel that your character is low and that you’re a disgrace. Some people, for example, see that their neighbor has a good dog and feel jealous inside: “Their family has such a good dog. Why didn’t I buy that dog?” So they find a way to kill the dog, and afterward, they are over the moon. They celebrate once they go home, popping champagne and having a feast, feeling happier than they ever have before. Tell Me, is this person terrible or not? (They are.) This is being sordid. As long as others have something good happen and feel happy, they become unhappy and think of ways to ruin things for them. When they see others encountering disaster, they gloat over their misfortune. Such people are very sordid.

The thoughts of sordid people are very negative. How are they negative? For example, when you give someone something, under normal circumstances, they should feel grateful, saying, “This thing is pretty good. You used to really like it, but now you don’t need it anymore. You didn’t give it to someone else but gave it to me right away—we really are friends!” Anyone with conscience and reason would think this way; they would comprehend this matter positively. But the thinking of sordid people is twisted. They would say to themselves: “You only gave this to me because you don’t need it anymore. If you still needed it, would you have given it to me? You keep the good things for yourself and give me the bad ones—who wants that! Are you brushing me off like a beggar? Do you think I don’t know what’s good? You only gave it to me because you don’t need it anymore, and you still expect me to be grateful. Do you take me for an idiot?” You see, over such a simple matter, they think in such a despicable, dirty, lowly way. Giving them something ends up causing trouble for yourself instead. Why does it cause trouble? Because the person you gave it to is a sordid person—someone with despicable, dirty, and base thoughts. They think negatively about anyone. When they view someone, they do not view them based on principles, nor based on that person’s character or principles of self-conduct which they know from many years of spending time with them. Instead, they view others based on their own extreme, obstinate thoughts and viewpoints. Such people are very sordid. If you don’t associate with them or give them anything, things remain peaceful. But if you truly associate with them and help them, you often end up being judged and criticized by them. When they see you using something good, they always want it. If you don’t give it to them, they think you are stingy and miserly. Such people are very troublesome, and it is very difficult to get along with them. They may not say anything outright, but deep down, in secret, they are always competing with you, developing unfavorable thoughts about you in their hearts. In plain terms, such people have nasty hearts and nasty thoughts. I think the word “nasty” is quite fitting to describe a person’s thoughts and heart as dirty—it means they are not clean, not positive, and not kind. No matter how positive something is, when they speak of it, it turns into something negative. No matter how many good things you do for them, not only do they not appreciate it, but they also belittle you and frame you, saying that you have bad intentions. If you give them some benefit, they will ponder whether you are trying to exploit them. If you are lukewarm toward them, they will think that because you are wealthy and powerful, you look down on the poor. They will feel that you lack human touch, do not know how to get along with people, and are incapable of considering others’ feelings. If you distance yourself from them, that won’t work either—they will still have something to say about it. Such people are very troublesome. No matter how you associate with them, you can never satisfy them. You don’t know what they will think, and you don’t know what troubles will arise from the things you do with good intentions. So there is only one way to deal with such people—stay away and don’t engage with them. When making friends, don’t choose such people, because they are too sordid; associating with them will bring you great trouble and great distress, and all of this distress and trouble is completely unnecessary. Do sordid people have rationality? (No.) What does it mean to say they have no rationality? (They have no conscience or reason, and no moral boundaries.) What are the details of this? (They do not have the thinking of normal people.) Not having the thinking of normal people is one aspect. Tell Me, do such people have any shame? (No.) They have no shame, do not have the thinking of normal humanity, and only speak twisted and fallacious reasoning. Their reasoning is aimed at protecting their own interests—it is all twisted reasoning. If you give them something, they say you look down on them and only give them things you don’t need. If you don’t give them anything, then they say you are too miserly. Aren’t such words twisted reasoning? (Yes.) They simply cannot comprehend things correctly and think in a very negative way—this is twisted reasoning. Nonbelievers often say that people must conduct themselves reasonably—if someone is unreasonable and only speaks twisted reasoning, then they are not anything good. If someone gives you something, it means they have some regard for you; if they don’t give it to you, that is also rightful—they may give their own possessions to whomever they want. If you still find fault when they give it to you but call them miserly if they don’t, isn’t this being beyond reason? Aren’t people who engage in twisted reasoning like this sordid? (Yes.) They are extremely sordid! Sordid people are beyond reason, so no reasoning gets through to them. Acting according to conscience and reason, or based on the truth principles, simply does not make sense to them. Sordidness is somewhat similar to sleaziness, isn’t it? (Yes.) For example, some people spend money to buy something and always feel that it is not worth the price, as if they have suffered a loss. Then they ponder, “You took advantage of me, so I need to find a way to make you suffer a loss—only then will I feel balanced inside.” People like this who are despicable and sordid are always pondering how to take advantage of others. If they feel they have suffered a loss, they make things difficult for others; they always want to make sure they do not lose out, and only then do they feel satisfied. If they take advantage of someone else, they celebrate and are so happy they wake up laughing from their dreams. The amount of money you spend on something is your own choice—no one forced you to give them your money. Since you bought it willingly, why are you still resentful and still trying to take advantage of others and avoid suffering a loss? Aren’t such people very sordid? (Yes.) When they go to the supermarket to buy groceries and feel they are too expensive, in order to avoid suffering a loss, they take a few extra plastic bags. If it happens to be during the New Year or a holiday and the supermarket is giving out calendars, they have to take several more, and only then do they feel satisfied. When they take advantage of others, they feel delighted and even go around showing off how capable and skilled they are. Tell Me, what kind of mindset do such people have? No matter what it is, they always measure things based on whether they can take advantage and avoid suffering a loss. Just this kind of thought and viewpoint is very sordid and despicable. Of course, there is also an overbearing side to this, as well as an evil side. Such people are difficult to deal with and fussy. Many defects of humanity are exhibited in such people—their ways of thinking, from the perspective of humanity, do not at all conform to common sense or any rules of behavior, and fall below the basic moral baseline of normal humanity; of course, they also do not conform to the conscience and reason of humanity either. They are very distorted, very base, and also very overbearing. Aren’t such people often seen among groups of people? (Yes.) Sordid people have vile character and are very difficult to deal with. As long as something involves their interests, whether it involves material interests or their pride and status, their conduct in this regard will be revealed; it will be exhibited particularly clearly. They will start speaking twisted and fallacious reasoning, becoming completely impervious to reason. Alright, that’s all for our discussion on sordid people.

Another manifestation is selfishness. Is selfishness good? (No.) Then first, tell Me, is selfishness innate? (No.) Selfishness is not innate, so what kind of problem is it? (A defect of humanity.) (I think it’s a problem of character.) Selfishness should be categorized based on the situation. Some instances of selfishness are manifestations of human instinct; they are a kind of human instinct, a right that people ought to have, a right to protect one’s own interests. If this is a manifestation of human instinct, then it is something people ought to possess. This kind of selfishness is a manifestation of protecting one’s human rights and protecting one’s lawful rights and interests. This kind of selfishness is justified; it is not a defect of humanity. However, there is another kind of manifestation that is more serious than this kind of selfishness—it involves harming the interests of others, and this is a defect of humanity; it has escalated to a problem of character. These issues must be discerned: which manifestations of selfishness are justified, which manifestations of selfishness are a defect of humanity, and which manifestations of selfishness involve a problem of character. If these issues can be seen clearly, then one will know how to practice in accordance with principles. For example, people want to take good care of their own lives, completely fulfill their responsibilities and obligations, and manage themselves well without concerning themselves with others, just managing themselves well while not infringing on others’ interests—from the perspective of humanity, this is also a kind of selfishness, isn’t it? However, from another perspective, this is also an instinctive reaction people have. Of course, it is also an inherent right given to people by God—that is, you have the right to first take care of yourself without concerning yourself with others. By maintaining your own human life, you are maintaining your own survival. This is justified. Of course, from the perspective of humanity, only caring about oneself and not concerning oneself with others is also a manifestation of selfishness. However, this kind of selfishness is a normal manifestation of humanity and is justified. Although from a human perspective, it is seen as a defect of humanity, in actuality, it is not a defect of humanity. Only caring about yourself—being well-fed and warmly dressed, doing your work well, fulfilling your obligations, and that’s all—without being able to take care of others or wanting to take care of others, is a right you have, and it is also an instinct given to you by God. From the perspective of innate conditions, if a person does not even know to take care of themselves, if they lack this innate instinct, then they do not meet the standard of being an adult. This kind of selfishness is an instinctive reaction people have. Although they only care about themselves, only protect their own rights and interests, only look after their own basic necessities for living, as well as matters within their own sphere of life and work, nevertheless, as long as they do not infringe on the interests of others, this kind of selfishness is not condemned. The kind of selfishness that truly escalates to the level of vile character, beyond only caring about oneself, also involves encroaching upon or harming others’ interests and rights, infringing upon others’ human rights. This is true selfishness, and this is a problem of vile character. If, in order to protect your own interests, reputation, status, and pride, you stop at nothing to seize or forcibly take others’ interests—taking others’ interests as your own, only considering yourself and not others, even leaving others with no way to survive—this kind of selfishness indicates vile character. For example, at night, when everyone else is asleep, you feel excited and can’t sleep, so you want to sing a song. As you get carried away, you start singing loudly, even putting on music and dancing while singing. Your own mood improves, and you feel happy, but you wake everyone else up, leaving them unable to sleep. What is this called? (Selfishness.) This kind of behavior is called selfishness. Is this behavior indicative of vile character? (Yes.) Why is this behavior indicative of vile character? (Because they are not considering others, and they are affecting others’ rest.) In order to make yourself happy, you do not hesitate to sacrifice others’ time for rest and sleep, forcing everyone to accompany you in your singing and merrymaking. To achieve your own goals and protect your own interests, you infringe upon others’ interests and rights. That is, the condition for protecting your own interests is sacrificing other people’s interests and rights. This kind of manifestation is called selfishness. The reason this kind of selfishness indicates despicable, vile character is that this kind of behavior harms the interests of others. You use improper means to protect your own interests while harming and undermining the interests of others—this is called selfishness. For example, when everyone is eating together, some people only care about whether they get meat, and even eat others’ portions of meat as well. Are such people who eat more meat being selfish? (Yes.) They are improper in the way they conduct themselves, only considering themselves and disregarding others—this is called selfishness. Why is this situation called selfishness? Why is it considered vile character? It is because, in order to protect their own interests, they encroach upon others’ interests, seizing others’ belongings and taking them as their own. This is called selfishness, and this kind of selfishness indicates despicable humanity and vile character. Therefore, if you protect your own rights and interests by encroaching upon and harming others’ interests, then you are a selfish person, a person of vile character. It can also be said that you are a person with bad humanity. However, if you have not harmed others’ interests, have not torn down or damaged others’ relationships, and have only cared about yourself without concerning yourself with others, then this kind of selfishness is still somewhat justifiable. At most, it can be said that you are not very kind, and that you are petty and self-centered, but you are not a bad person; this does not rise to the level of vile character. Is there a difference in the nature of these two kinds of selfishness? (Yes.) By discerning people’s character based on their degree of selfishness and the essence of how they act, one can see that the character within people is different—there are distinctions.

Some people never concern themselves with other people’s business and only focus on their own matters. Such people may seem not very warmhearted, not very friendly, and not very warm in their interactions with others. However, they never cause disturbances, never fabricate lies or rumors about others, and never encroach upon or seize others’ belongings. Of course, they never give their own belongings to others. They may appear very stingy and very miserly, but they never harm others’ interests, and they are very principled in the way they conduct themselves. Such people have a baseline, which is: “I do not take advantage of you, and you should not think of taking advantage of me. I never exploit you, and you should not think of exploiting me.” They are very principled. Although such people are indifferent to others, are not eager to help others, do not interact with others, and do not show others much friendliness or enthusiasm, they never harm others. Even if they have a lot of something, they do not give it to others. When they see others with good things, they may sometimes feel envious or jealous, but they have no intention of greedily taking them; they also do not secretly take advantage of others, nor do they encroach upon others’ interests for their own benefit. Judging from these abovementioned points, they are not evil. So, does this mean their humanity is good? Whether their humanity is good or not depends on their conscience and reason, their attitude toward accepting the truth, and their attitude toward positive things—this is another matter. But at least, judging from the attitude and manner they adopt in getting along with others, they are not malicious toward others. On the surface, they seem very selfish, only caring about themselves, living in their own little world and not concerning themselves with others’ affairs. However, they never harm others’ interests, so their character is still passable. That is, when you interact with them or have material or social exchanges with them, at least they will not harm your interests. If you ask them for advice or to provide some ideas, they will help you, but if you do not ask, they will not take the initiative to help. Judging from this manifestation, such people may seem quite aloof, but judging from the fact that they never take advantage of others or harm others’ interests, they still have humanity and are relatively decent. Is looking at it this way accurate and objective? (Yes.) Therefore, not all selfish people are evil people or people with poor character. You must also look at whether their selfishness has reached the point of harming others’ interests or seizing others’ property, as well as what their principles for conducting themselves and dealing with the world are, what the essence of their character is, and whether they have boundaries and principles in how they conduct themselves. Some people, on the surface, seem very generous and warmhearted in how they get along with others. They also give to others, help others, and do things for others. If there’s something you need help with, as long as they see this, they lend a hand without you even needing to ask. Judging from these manifestations, they appear to be quite kind. However, if you offend them or unintentionally do something that harms their interests, they will refuse to let it go, holding grudges, bringing up old scores, and not resting until they have crushed you. These are evil people—far worse in humanity than those who outwardly appear selfish. Do you understand? (Yes.) Among people, which of these two types is more common? Which type do you prefer? Most people do not like those who are indifferent and selfish. Some people, when they see you in difficulty, will take the initiative to help. Even if you do not ask, they will still check if you need assistance. If you do, they will help you. Such people have love for others and are inclined to give to and help others. Some others, when they see you in difficulty, will not take the initiative to help you, but as long as you speak up and ask them, they will still help. Although such people are a bit passive, they are still not bad and can be considered good people. There is another type of person—no matter how great the difficulty you face is, they will not help. Even if you ask them, they will find excuses and reasons to refuse. This kind of person is the most selfish. Some people often outwardly say, “If you need any help, just let me know.” When there is nothing going on, they seem especially warmhearted, proactive, and positive. But when you actually ask them for help with something, after helping, they will start hinting at repayment, saying things like, “I spent this much money giving gifts to my boss for that matter.” You see, on the surface, they seem quite warmhearted, offering to provide services and do things for you without asking for anything in return. But after they have helped, you’ll never be able to fully repay the personal favor. How insidious such people are! Should you associate with such people? (No.) I simply do not associate with such people. They talk sweet, showing particular warmth and consideration. They say nice things to your face, but do bad things behind your back. They have no principles at all in what they do; they are just smiling tigers, hiding daggers behind their smiles. When there’s nothing going on, they are always laughing and joking around with you, acting as if you are quite close. But when you really need their help, they are nowhere to be seen. Even for things that are very easy for them to do, they will find reasons and excuses to avoid them. Even if it’s something that requires little effort, they still ask personal favors of you. When they do something for you, they will think of all sorts of ways to make you give them something in return. You will never be able to fully repay this personal favor. On the other hand, those who outwardly seem quite cold and appear to be quite selfish often have boundaries in how they conduct themselves and are very meticulous in their actions. Although they may be lukewarm toward you, they will never scheme against you. If you truly ask them to help you with something, they will certainly do it with great seriousness. Afterward, if you repay them with a small personal favor or something material, they will treat it properly. However, if you don’t give them anything, they won’t ask you for anything, nor will they keep bringing it up to ask for favors or repayment. Such people are genuine; what they appear to be on the outside is exactly what they are on the inside. However, oftentimes, no one likes such people, saying they are selfish, hard to get along with, cold, and lack human touch, and they don’t want to have any contact with them. In actuality, some of these people have decent humanity. Look around you and see who is this kind of person. Although they are not eloquent, their personality is rather cold, and outwardly they appear to lack human touch and don’t know how to engage or strike up conversations with others, they are quite principled in how they conduct themselves. While they may not be very kind, there is no malice in their hearts; at the very least, they have no ill intentions toward most people. What they appear to be on the outside is exactly what they are on the inside. They do not use tactics or philosophies for worldly dealings to win people over. Such people are simple. Is that the case? (Yes.) So now, don’t you have a basis on which you should correctly treat selfish people? On what basis should you treat them? It cannot be based on your feelings or preferences, nor on whether you like these people or not, whether you get along with them, whether they are helpful or beneficial to you, or on their attitude toward you—it cannot be based on these. Instead, it should be based on their character, their humanity essence, and their attitude toward people, toward the truth, and toward positive things. It is based on these factors that you should treat selfish people. If they truly are evil people, then deal with them accordingly. If they appear selfish on the outside but their humanity is not evil, then you shouldn’t treat them as evil people or people with bad humanity. Even if you do not like these people or if they are not good at associating with others or maintaining relationships, you cannot regard them as evil people or as people without humanity just because they appear selfish on the outside. This is prejudice against these people. So now, don’t you have a principle for how to treat selfish people? It cannot be generalized; rather, it should be based on their humanity essence and their attitude toward the truth and their duty and on the attitude with which they conduct themselves—this is the principle by which you should treat them. That’s all for our fellowship on the issue of selfishness.

The next manifestation is engaging in high-sounding talk and not doing anything real. Let’s first discuss what kind of problem this is. Such people enjoy speaking lofty doctrines and engaging in high-sounding talk. At gatherings, they often discuss their own aspirations and resolve, their own understanding, and their plans for the work. But when it comes time to do something real, they cannot muster any energy. What kind of problem do such people have? Is it an issue of innate conditions, humanity, or corrupt dispositions? (I think it falls under corrupt dispositions.) Does it fall under corrupt dispositions? There are two problems involved here, aren’t there? One is a defect of humanity—they’re unwilling to do anything real, because they feel it requires them to worry, endure hardship, pay a price, and expend energy. Isn’t there a hint of laziness here? Is laziness a defect of humanity? (Yes.) People who are this lazy do nothing real yet still engage in high-sounding talk. They still like to put themselves on a pedestal and preach lofty doctrines to other people. Does this indicate a bad disposition? Does it also contain elements of a corrupt disposition? (Yes.) What kind of corrupt disposition is it? (Arrogance.) It’s an arrogant corrupt disposition. On top of this, they are lazy, they love ease while hating work, they do not do things in a grounded manner, and they are unwilling to engage in real action, yet they still want to act superior, assert their status, and preach to others—they are only willing to flap their lips but not lift a finger. The flaws in their humanity are significant, and their corrupt disposition is very evident. Aren’t these two very obvious problems? (Yes.) Aren’t there many such people? (Yes.) When discussing work, they engage in high-sounding talk and go on endlessly, but when it comes to doing something real, they cannot take a single step. Let’s not talk about what their caliber is like—just based on the fact that they are all talk and do nothing real, they can be characterized as useless people. They do nothing real yet still want to act superior and enjoy the benefits of status—aren’t they arrogant to the point of lacking reason? They are all talk, they do nothing real whatsoever, and they are both lazy and arrogant—they’re useless people, right? If they are asked to take action and do something real, to organize, plan, and implement work, they are unwilling to do so; they feel resistant toward it in the depths of their hearts. Just how lazy must such people be! These are loafers who do not attend to their proper work. They just enjoy shooting the breeze, they don’t want to do anything, they only want to muddle through life, eat well, dress well, and yet they also want to be highly regarded by others, and enjoy high-level treatment and the kind of treatment afforded to those with status. What is their humanity like? (Bad.) Do you find such people disgusting? (Yes.) When some people see those who are eloquent but do nothing real, they envy them. They think, “They can go on and on, and everything they say is structured and systematic—this shows that they have the truth reality.” All discerning people can tell that the things they often say are all learned from the sermons and fellowships of God’s house and are not derived from their own experiences. Therefore, although their preaching sounds impressive, they cannot resolve any problems at all. Over time, people can clearly see that such individuals were frauds all along. Whatever question you put forward, they cannot answer it, nor can they share any principles or paths of practice, yet they still want you to think highly of them. How do they make you think highly of them? They use their performances and speeches to secure a place in your heart, getting you to envy them, admire them, and look up to them. Aren’t such people shameless? They do no real work, nor are they capable of doing real work, yet they still want others to think highly of them, and they still want to waste other people’s energy and time with their high-sounding talk, but in the end, they cannot resolve any problems at all. People who have believed in God for just one or two years may still be misled by them, but those who have believed in God for many years and understand a bit of the truth reality do not want to listen to their high-sounding talk. Yet if you refuse to listen, they form a negative opinion of you and say that you do not love the truth. Aren’t such people very troublesome? (Yes.) They only have a partial understanding of any aspect of the truth, and when they understand a few doctrines, they cannot explain them clearly, and yet they still want to preach these doctrines to others and have others accept them. If you refuse to listen, they say you do not love the truth and do not respect them. But if you do listen to them, you feel uncomfortable and cannot sit still. Why can’t you sit still? Because you have many problems that need to be resolved and much work that needs to be done, and you do not have time to listen to their high-sounding talk. If someone truly envies those who engage in high-sounding talk, what kind of person are they? They are an idle person, a stupid person, and a person who has nothing better to do. When it comes to doing a duty, such people have no devotion and bear no burden whatsoever; they only want to muddle through life, freeloading and waiting to die. Every day, they listen to some profound doctrines to pass the time, yet they still think that they have gained something and made progress in their belief in God: “The truths they’re preaching are becoming loftier by the day—their preaching will soon reach the level of the third heaven! These are all mysteries from heaven!” They listen to a lot of doctrines spoken by those who engage in high-sounding talk, but they still do not know how to be devoted in doing their duty or what principles should be followed when doing their duty. So is listening to these things useful? (No.) What should you do when you encounter people who engage in high-sounding talk and preach lofty doctrines? Should you follow them closely or reject them? (Reject them.) How do you reject them? You need to know how to reject them and know why you are rejecting them. If you do not know this, then when you reject them, you may still wonder in your heart, “Does rejecting them mean I don’t love the truth?” If you have this thought, then it is problematic—it proves that you have no discernment and do not understand what the truth reality is. If you listen to them speak doctrines and still think they are fellowshipping on the truth, and even approve of them in your heart, then you are utterly stupid. If you have discernment regarding the doctrines spoken by such people who engage in high-sounding talk, then you should reject them. The reason for this is that everything they speak is doctrines and empty words—it is useless. That is like drawing cakes to stave off hunger or gazing at plums to quench thirst—it cannot resolve real problems at all. They speak many doctrines, but these doctrines do not match up with the real problems people encounter while doing their duties, and cannot resolve them at all. Listening to them is no different from not listening. They do not know how to resolve problems that arise in gospel work and church life; they do not know how to implement work arrangements, or what work has flaws and gaps that need to be remedied or followed up on; and they do not know how to resolve or refute distorted notions when others raise them. They do not know any of this, so isn’t listening to their high-sounding talk a waste of time? This is the reason why you should reject them. Therefore, this high-sounding talk should be rejected because what these people speak is not the truth but doctrines. What are doctrines? Doctrines consist of words that align with human notions and imaginings. These people do not fellowship on the truth principles focusing on the essence of the problem. Although their words sound pleasant and are expressed in a clear and logical way, they cannot resolve problems at all. These words, then, are doctrines; no matter how correct they may seem, they are not the truth principles. Some people’s words may seem shallow, but they can strike at the crux of the problem and clearly explain its essence. Even if some of their words sound as unpleasant as insults, they are words that people can accept, and they can resolve real problems. Without a doubt, these words align with the truth principles. Some words may sound pleasant, tactful, refined, and profound, but they cannot resolve real problems at all. They do not pertain to the truth principles in the slightest, nor can they point out a path or direction to people. They are all specious doctrines. These words, then, should be rejected. The reason for rejecting such people is that their high-sounding talk wastes time which you should be using to do your duty, wastes time which you should be using to seek the truth, and wastes your personal energy—thus, you should reject them. How should you reject them? Simply by saying “Goodbye,” you reject them, don’t you? Or you could say, “Stop talking, I understand everything you’re saying. When are you going to answer the question I asked you? If you cannot answer it, then get out of here immediately and stop wasting my time.” Is this way of rejecting them good? (Yes.) It seems quite good to Me—otherwise, how else would you reject them? Rejecting their high-sounding talk, doctrines, and slogans is just like rejecting the Pharisees. People like this cannot do anything real. Their humanity is not up to standard, their caliber is poor, and they are fundamentally incapable of doing real work. Yet, they still use lofty doctrines to try to mislead you. If you do not reject them, then you are utterly stupid. It is right to reject such people when you encounter them. Just say “Bye” and walk away—it’s a very easy thing to resolve, isn’t it? This is exactly how to treat those who engage in high-sounding talk but do not do anything real. People like this are not those who do things in a proper and serious way; they are not those who do things in a down-to-earth manner. What they say lacks credibility, is not worth becoming attached to, and is not worth listening to as though it were effective advice or an effective path. So when it comes to their high-sounding talk, just reject it outright—there’s no need to take notes, and it’s not worth cherishing. This concludes our discussion on the issue of high-sounding talk.

Let’s talk about another manifestation: loving to discuss politics. Some people like to discuss the political situation of their own country or the global political situation, as well as the policies and statements of high-level political figures, their governance agenda and political line, the ways and means by which they implement various policies, and so on. In short, they frequently discuss topics related to politics; whether these topics relate to ancient or modern politics, domestic or international politics, they enjoy bringing them up from time to time. Does loving to discuss politics fall under innate conditions, humanity, or corrupt dispositions? You don’t know, do you? That’s because this topic is somewhat special. What they like to discuss is politics, and in your view, politics is not something positive. You think: “If loving to discuss politics were an interest and hobby within innate conditions, then God would not have given people this kind of interest and hobby; if it were an issue of bad humanity, merely discussing it without doing anything bad should not amount to bad humanity, and even less could it rise to the level of a corrupt disposition. So where should it be classified?” In the end, you do not arrive at a conclusion. Is this the case? (Yes.) So are you correct in thinking this way? Why do you ultimately not arrive at a conclusion? Where are you getting stuck? You’re getting stuck on the word “politics,” aren’t you? (Yes.) If I speak of loving to discuss fine arts, music, dance, design, or economics, where would that be classified? (It would be classified as an interest and hobby within innate conditions.) If I mention loving to discuss history or loving to discuss gourmet food, where should that be classified? (Innate conditions.) When it is said that someone loves to discuss something, loves to research something, or is good at something, it means that they like that area and have an interest in it. So, it is classified as an interest and hobby within innate conditions. But because the subject that these people love to discuss in this case is politics, you do not dare to classify it this way. Why do you not dare to classify it this way? Because politics is a very sensitive topic, and politics is not something particularly positive, right? (Right.) Although politics is not something particularly positive, the activity in loving to discuss politics, as just mentioned, is discussion. Therefore, it should be classified as an interest and hobby within innate conditions. Such a person’s innate interest and hobby is liking, to a relative degree, to follow and discuss politics. But do they participate in politics? We haven’t gotten to that yet; for now, we are just limiting our focus to the act of discussion, so it can only be classified as an interest and hobby within innate conditions. Do you understand now? (Yes.) Saying it this way is objective; it is a fact, is it not? (Yes.) For example, suppose that someone likes to discuss ancient monarchs and often talks about how certain emperors treated their ministers and the common people, how certain rulers governed diligently and cared for the people, and how the nation’s grain reserves were sufficient and what level the populace’s standard of living reached during their reigns. They also talk about which emperors were tyrants and how the people were destitute under their rules while these emperors indulged in extravagant feasts and debauchery and lived in great luxury in their palaces. Then they go on to discuss the problems of contemporary political figures, talking about who does a good job and who does not, and so on. They just like to discuss these things. In other words, innately this person is relatively interested in these kinds of topics and matters. In their daily life, their way of relaxing and entertaining themselves is to discuss these political matters, using it as a means to pass the time—this is a part of their life. If they merely love to discuss politics, then it is just an interest and a hobby. Does this involve their humanity? If you just look at their love of discussing politics, you cannot tell what their character is like, because you can’t see what their attitude and viewpoints toward politics are. They simply enjoy discussing such topics and are interested in these matters; this does not involve their principles for conducting themselves. If someone simply loves to discuss politics and in their daily life treats it as a recreational topic, as conversational material, or as a frequent focus of discussion when interacting with others and dealing with things, then it is an interest and a hobby, and it does not involve that person’s humanity. People with this interest and hobby are the same as those with other hobbies—they are equal. One cannot characterize this person as being ambitious, having bad humanity, or having vile character because they like to discuss politics. Although those who believe in God do not participate in politics, when it comes to politics itself, every person has the right to participate in it. Politics is not something positive, but neither can it be said to be negative—it is simply something that inevitably exists in the course of human societal development. Therefore, merely loving to discuss politics does not indicate what a person’s character is like. It is like someone who enjoys dancing—you cannot say that this person is deviant or does not engage in proper tasks. If someone likes electronic products, you also cannot say that this person is capable of great things or is a positive figure. Would that kind of judgment be correct? (No.) So how should this be evaluated? It depends on what you do with your interests and hobbies. If you engage in a just cause, then your interests and hobbies can create beneficial value. If you use your interests and hobbies to do negative things, things that harm people and damage their interests, it still cannot be said that your interests and hobbies are negative—rather, it means that your humanity is bad and the path you walk is wrong. You may use your interests and hobbies to do bad things, but your interests, hobbies, strengths, and related professional skills, technical skills, and knowledge in themselves are not negative. No matter what interests and hobbies you have, they are for you to utilize. If you walk the right path, then what you do with your interests and hobbies is just. If you do not walk the right path, then what you use your interests and hobbies to do is not just, but evil. For example, a computer is merely a machine—it is a technological tool. You can use a computer for gatherings, sermons, and preaching the gospel, but at the same time, many bad people and evil people can also use computers to do evil things. So, when a computer is used to engage in a just cause, you cannot say that the computer itself is just; likewise, when a computer is used to do evil things, you cannot say that the computer itself is evil. Do you understand? (Yes.) Likewise, for people who love to discuss politics, this manifestation of loving to discuss politics is an interest and a hobby—it does not involve the issues of their humanity essence. Additionally, those who love to discuss politics like political topics. They always love to discuss matters of right and wrong and to argue with others about some topics that relate to political viewpoints. Some are especially interested in topics related to famous people and great figures, while some are particularly interested in topics that expose the dark sides of society. But in any case, those who love to discuss politics do not possess the truth, and God holds no place in their hearts—this is absolutely certain. Alright, that’s pretty much it for our discussion on the issue of loving to discuss politics.

Loving to discuss politics is an interest and a hobby of some people. Next, let’s take this discussion a step further and talk about liking to participate in politics. Liking to participate in politics is not the same as loving to discuss politics—it involves action. Liking to participate in politics is not merely some kind of after-dinner conversation material or entertainment, nor does it merely remain at the level of interests and hobbies, or of caring about politics; rather, it involves the path a person walks. Then what path do those who like to participate in politics walk? Does this involve their humanity? (Yes.) So, what should liking to participate in politics be classified as? This is a difficult question for you all—you cannot see through it. Let’s fellowship about it, then. There are people in all walks of life who love to discuss politics. You see, although farmers live at the bottom rung of society, some of them know a lot about matters related to the upper echelons of politics, and they can express certain viewpoints that involve politics. People who are engaged in business and economics also discuss politics, and even those in the arts and education discuss politics. That is to say, in all kinds of fields, there are people who love to discuss politics and are interested in political topics. No matter what field a person is engaged in, if they love to discuss politics, that is entirely because they have an interest in politics. This interest has a certain relation to their inherent caliber and the height of their perspective. They can grasp matters within the scope of political power, so from time to time, they express their own viewpoints. Their manifestations remain at the level of an interest and hobby within innate conditions. However, participating in politics does not mean being satisfied with this kind of interest and hobby at the level of thought; rather, it means abandoning one’s original field and choosing to engage in political work, stepping onto the political stage, and having dealings with political figures. So what is the problem with such people? This kind of person who likes to participate in politics may not discuss politics much usually, but regardless of what career they choose, as long as they are engaging in work that is not related to politics, they have no interest in it and feel that their prospects are bleak. But when participating in politics comes up, their eyes light up with desire, and their interest is piqued. When they hear that someone is running for mayor, governor, legislator, or president, they feel a sense of loss in their heart and rack their brain thinking of ways to participate themselves. What sort of person are they? Are they not the sort of person who has an immense desire for power? (Yes.) So what extra thing does this kind of person have within their humanity? Are they utterly obsessed with money or utterly obsessed with power? (They are utterly obsessed with power.) They see power as being above all else, viewing it as their very life, regarding it as a goal to pursue for their entire life. So, what sort of person are they exactly? What extra thing do they have within their humanity that common folks do not? (Ambition and desire.) What do they have the ambition and desire to do? (To hold power.) What is the most direct benefit that holding power brings them? (Gaining status and being highly regarded by others.) Those are secondary, not the crucial benefit. (They want to control people.) That is close. If a person likes holding office, but the position they hold is merely an empty title, and they do not have a single subordinate under them, can this be considered as having power? (No.) This cannot be considered as having power. They have no special privileges and cannot enjoy any of the benefits of holding office. In their view, does holding such a position have any actual value? (No.) So this kind of person has one thing that others do not—an extremely intense ambition and desire for power. Since they have this sort of ambition and desire, the goal they wish to achieve is not something as simple as merely being highly regarded, idolized, or envied by others, instead they wish to hold office, call the shots, and lead others. They have this ambition and desire—if they have no status, can they achieve their goal? Will anyone listen to them? Absolutely not. That’s why they are determined to gain status. Once they have status, there will be people who listen to them when they speak, and when they demand others to do something, there will be those who obey and comply—their ambition and desire, what they want to accomplish, can then become reality. Those who like to participate in politics may be described in nice terms as noble and aspiring, but to put it plainly, they are just obsessed with holding office—they simply love holding office. When they are not holding office, they cannot call the shots, and they do not have a few subordinates to lead, and so they become disheartened and feel that life is bleak. But once they hold office, there are people who listen to them when they speak and they have followers, and consequently they feel that life is enjoyable. So, is there a problem with their humanity? (Yes.) Can this be called a defect of their humanity? (No.) It is certainly not that simple. Then what kind of problem is this? (Corrupt dispositions.) In terms of their humanity, is this kind of person reliable? (No.) Then is their character good? (No.) Why is it not good? (They always want to control people, and always want to call the shots.) This kind of person has an especially strong desire for status—they always want to find various opportunities to call the shots, and always want to be in a leadership role and to control others. Such people are unreliable, and their character is also not good. There are quite a few people of this sort in God’s house. If God’s house puts them in charge of an item of work, they believe this means they are holding office and serving in a leadership role. Will they seek the truth principles? Will they implement work arrangements? (No.) If they regard being a supervisor or a leader as holding office, they will certainly not implement work arrangements and they will certainly not do actual work. What will they do? They will engage in their own enterprise, build up their own authority, consolidate their own status, and communicate their own ideas to those below them and get people to listen to them—making the work arrangements, God’s intentions, and the truth null and void. This is precisely the essence of such people. When they have no status, they pursue it with all their might, and once they gain status, to them it means they have found an opportunity. An opportunity to do what? To satisfy their own ambition and consolidate their own status to the greatest extent possible; they use such an opportunity to satisfy their own ambition and their addiction to holding office.

Liking to participate in politics is both a matter of bad character and corrupt dispositions. How many corrupt dispositions are involved here? (Arrogance and viciousness.) Arrogance, viciousness, aversion to the truth, and intransigence—these corrupt dispositions are all present; every single one is there. Then what is the most severe corrupt disposition here? It is viciousness—the typical characteristic that is most prominent is viciousness. For people who like to participate in politics, if they are frustrated and unsuccessful in the world, wishing to participate in politics but not having the opportunity or finding a way to break into political circles, then when they come to God’s house, their ambition does not die—they still want to participate in politics. Therefore, they treat the election of leaders at various levels as if it were an election for government officials. Every time there is such an election, they are raring to go, lobbying people everywhere to vote for them. Once they become leaders, they see it as holding office, holding onto status for themselves, grabbing power, and doing as they please. They act however they want and ignore the work assigned to them by God’s house and the duty they ought to do, caring only about indulging in the benefits of status. They treat doing the duty of a leader like holding office, doing whatever they like and want to do, and acting in whatever way that enables them to build up their own authority, consolidate their own status, make others listen to them, and fully satisfy their addiction to holding office. They do not consider the work of God’s house or the requirements of the work arrangements. People of this kind are very dangerous—even if they have not yet been revealed as antichrists, they are antichrists in the making. Are there any good people among those who like to participate in politics? No, there are no good people. People who have an intense desire for power couldn’t possibly love the truth. Because they have an extremely strong desire for power, their conscience and reason cannot suppress or restrain their desire for and pursuit of power. If a person likes to participate in politics or is extremely obsessed with doing so, and has a strong desire to do so, this means they have a strong ambition for status and power. The intentions, objectives, and basis of their self-conduct and actions entirely depend on whether they can obtain power and whether their ambition can be satisfied, rather than being determined by conscience and reason. This is why the humanity of such people is terrifying. In order to satisfy their desire for power and to obtain power, they are capable of doing anything and sacrificing anything—even sacrificing the people they are closest to and love the most. Judging based on this, do such people have humanity? (No.) For example, suppose that a man likes to participate in politics and has an extremely strong desire for power. When an opportunity arises for him to participate in politics and obtain the status and power he aspires to, if he has to sacrifice the woman he loves to gain the status he pursues, he will not hesitate to do so—he absolutely will not be softhearted. Some people won’t even hesitate to sacrifice their own parents to obtain status—they are capable of sacrificing anyone. The only thing they will never let go of is status. In other words, they may use any person, event, or thing as a bargaining chip and a price to exchange for status. So, judging from the character of such people, do they actually possess conscience and reason? (No.) That is why people of this kind are very terrifying. It could be that their conscience and reason have disappeared, or it could be that they never had conscience or reason to begin with—both are possible. Why do I say that both are possible? When these people have no status and when political affairs are not involved, they may get along very well with others, they may help people, they may never take advantage of others, and they may give charity and be very tolerant. On the surface, they seem to have humanity, and their conscience and reason appear normal. But you do not know what it is they love deep in their bones. When you discover that what they love deep in their bones is status and power, and you observe their humanity again, your viewpoint changes, and your understanding and evaluation of their humanity also change. When status and power are not involved, they behave normally when they interact with others, and they seem like decent people. But once they gain status and power, their behavior is no longer the same as before—you can no longer see where their conscience or reason is. Only then do you realize that such people are really terrifying. It turns out that the humanity they showed was only temporary—it was merely revealed due to the impulsion of a certain environment and certain benefits, under circumstances where their beloved power and status weren’t involved. But once status and power are involved, their true humanity is revealed. When you see their true humanity, you will define them as people who are devoid of humanity. That is, before you see the essential thing in the depths of their hearts, you feel that they can get along reasonably well with others and that they aren’t devoid of humanity. But when you truly understand their inner world and their humanity essence, and see that what they love is status and power, you will realize that such people have no humanity—they are two-faced. What do nonbelievers call this kind of manifestation? Is it not called a split personality? (Yes.) A non-human wears human flesh—when they interact with others, you cannot see what lies deep within their soul, so you think they are a normal person—perhaps you even believe they are a good person. But when you see their other side, you not only stop thinking that they are a good person, but you also find them terrifying. This is what it means to be a non-human. Just what are non-humans? Even if there is a bit of human likeness in what they exhibit, it is not genuine. Because they don’t have the truth reality, their occasional good manifestations do not represent their essence. It is the humanity they exhibit when they truly choose their path that is their essence. Therefore, you must not be misled by the outward appearance of such people—the key is to look at the path they walk and their essence. Have I explained this matter clearly now? (Yes.) What have you understood? If a person likes discussing politics and this remains only at the level of thought, and is merely an interest and a hobby, then it is not a problem. But if they like to participate in politics, then it is no longer an issue of thought—it involves a problem with their self-conduct and the path they walk. Once it involves how they conduct themselves and the path they walk, it involves their character. And when it involves character, in most cases it involves corrupt dispositions. Isn’t this so? (Yes.) Alright, that concludes our discussion on the manifestation of liking to participate in politics.

Let’s talk about another manifestation, liking literature. What kind of manifestation is this? (An innate condition.) That is, such people inherently like literature. Because they like literature, when it comes to topics, books, and matters related to literature, they manifest a special fondness and curiosity, or they manifest a special attitude—this is an innate condition. Then what about liking technology? (It’s an innate condition.) That is, in the absence of things from the external world interfering or intervening, people are very interested in certain kinds of things, they like reading those kinds of books, and they also like paying attention to and discussing those kinds of topics; at the same time, their aspiration is also to engage in an occupation or field related to those kinds of things. This is innate—it does not require others to intervene, nor does it need to be taught, and of course, it does not require others to intentionally influence or indoctrinate them during their life. They are born liking certain things. Liking technology is an innate condition, so what about liking plants and animals? (That’s also an innate condition.) Liking plants and animals—caring about trees, insects, and birds; particularly liking to interact with small animals, to have close contact with them, and being especially loving and tolerant toward them—is an innate condition. You see, these things included within innate conditions are very normal, aren’t they? (Yes.) They do not involve negative things within corrupt dispositions like arrogance and wickedness. Then, things such as liking aviation, liking history, liking astronomy and geography, liking nutrition science and medicine, liking law, liking agriculture—what kinds of manifestations are these? (Innate conditions.) Some people like agriculture; they like researching the grafting, improvement, and yield of various plants, they like researching the effects of climate and temperature on plants, they like planting vegetables, crops, trees, and flowers. Their hands are muddy every day and calloused from labor. These people would not like to be doctors, lawyers, or officials—they just like farming and dealing with plants, and feel very at ease living like this. Does what people like, what interests and hobbies they have, have any relation to their humanity? (No.) Does it affect their humanity? (No.) Basically, it does not affect that. Farmers cannot be called very noble; they also have corrupt dispositions. Likewise, those high-level intellectuals, such as people who are engaged in fields like technology, literature, medicine, or law, do not have greater humanity than farmers. After acquiring so much knowledge, reading so many books, and being educated for such a long time, in the end, they have no understanding of God at all—they have merely learned a bit more from books and gained a little more knowledge and insight. But when it comes to how to conduct themselves, what kind of life path they should follow, how they should believe in and worship God, and how to act so as to accord with the principles of self-conduct in all kinds of matters in life—they know nothing about any of these things. The common characteristic of people who have interests and hobbies in various fields is that whatever they like, they are willing to do, and they are willing to engage in the work of that field, and they then devote themselves to that field. No matter which field they devote themselves to, as long as they are within this society, they have been conditioned and corrupted by Satan. No person’s humanity becomes noble just because their interests and hobbies, or the field they engage in, are more noble or respectable than those of others. Likewise, no person becomes more lowly or more corrupt than others just because the occupation they are engaged in is low-ranking, lowly, or looked down upon by others. On the contrary, regardless of what a person’s interests and hobbies are, regardless of what kind of field they engage in using any strength or gift, ultimately, the thoughts and viewpoints they possess do not conform to the truth. People all have the same attitude toward the truth and toward God, and what they reveal are all corrupt dispositions. The commonality of people is that they live with corrupt dispositions as their life. Therefore, regardless of what interests and hobbies you have and regardless of what occupation you engage in, it does not mean that your humanity will be affected by it, nor does it mean that your humanity will be either elevated or eroded to a certain degree. From these facts, it can be seen that the innate conditions which God gives to people do not affect their criteria for their self-conduct and actions, or change the path and direction of their actions. At most, these interests and hobbies are merely tools or a kind of innate capital that they rely on to survive, so that, through the field that they engage in, they can earn an income and thereby sustain their livelihood. However, in the process of sustaining their livelihood, the various thoughts and viewpoints people accept among groups of people in various fields are the same. Therefore, ultimately, regardless of which field a person is in, which corner of society they are in, or which group of people or which race they belong to, the corruption they receive is the same. You do not become more noble or less deeply corrupt than others just because you engage in a slightly higher-level job or occupation, nor do you become more deeply corrupt than others just because the field you engage in is low-class. In short, regardless of what your innate interests and hobbies are, in the end, you are inevitably and irresistibly corrupted by Satan in this society and among people.

Next, let’s talk about another manifestation. Some people like financial and accounting work; they like dealing with numbers and spend their whole lives engaged in financial work. Every day, they are keeping accounts, settling accounts, handling payments and receipts of funds—their minds are filled with data all the time, yet they never find it tiresome. Liking financial and accounting work—what aspect does this fall under? (Innate conditions.) This is a strength that God gives to people. Since you are good at this, you naturally take up this occupation, and then you secure a livelihood for your whole life—this is how you sustain yourself. It is equivalent to God sending down manna or quail from heaven for you, so that you have something to eat. This interest and hobby is like a golden goose falling from the sky, landing in your hands, enabling you to have this interest and hobby. Then, you naturally engage in an occupation related to your interest and hobby, and with this as your livelihood, you sustain yourself until now. No matter whether you do it well or not, no matter how many years you have engaged in it, as long as it is something you were born with, then it is what God has ordained for you—it is an innate condition. In short, all of this comes from God—there is nothing here for people to boast about. Isn’t that right? (Yes.)

Liking doing business, being skilled in doing business—what aspect does this fall under? (Innate conditions.) Being skilled in doing business means operating one’s business better than most people. Others might operate a business for two or three months and go bankrupt, losing even their initial capital, but they operate their business for two or three years and do increasingly better. Gradually, their lives become prosperous—their family eats and dresses better, their small house is replaced with a bigger one, their small car with a bigger one, and their life keeps improving; they become wealthy businesspeople. Being skilled in doing business—is this an innate condition? (Yes.) Being skilled in doing business, this innate condition, is their strength. They never specially studied how to do business, nor were they influenced by their parents, yet they easily succeed in running a small business and making money. You ask them, “Do you find doing business difficult?” They say, “Not at all. I just use my brain, and think about how to do things in a way that’s suitable and can make money, and then I go ahead and do it that way—and in the end, the money’s mine.” You say, “Doing business seems so effortless and easy for you. Why can’t I do it?” Why? Because God didn’t give you that strength, so you simply don’t have the knack for it. So, those who have a strength should not be proud, and those who do not have a strength should not be jealous. What God gives, no one can take away—even if you don’t want it, you can’t refuse it. God has simply made you skilled in this, and through this strength, He provides you with a means of livelihood or a trade to sustain your life. This is God’s grace. Others learn, are taught, and practice, yet no matter how they try, they cannot achieve good results. But you can do it without having learned it. No matter how they think, their mind doesn’t work as quickly as yours, and they cannot operate as well as you. So, where does this strength of yours come from? Isn’t it innate? And isn’t what is innate bestowed by God? You always say what you like, what you are skilled in—but is that something you asked for? Some people say it was inherited from their parents. Then why didn’t you inherit something else? Try to find a way to pass on this strength to your next generation—can you do it? Do you have a say in this matter? (No.) Definitely not. The strength you possess is given by God—no matter how much others may be jealous of you, they cannot remove it or take it away, and even if you don’t want it, God still gives it to you. Since God has shown you grace, you should accept it from Him. Do not be prideful, and do not boast. Pridefulness and boasting are manifestations of human ignorance.

So how should you correctly treat the strength God has given you? If God’s house needs you to do duty in this area, then you should use your strength in your duty, in the work of the church. Do not hold back—bring it into play, and do so to the fullest extent. In this way, the strength God has given you will not have been given in vain; the grace and special treatment you have enjoyed from God will be repaid to Him. In doing so, you are a person with conscience—you are not just seeking benefits for yourself but are repaying God. This is acting correctly. Even if you think, “I have this strength, this interest and hobby, and doing this is a piece of cake for me,” as long as you take it as your duty, then you cannot rely solely on your strength, interest, and hobby. You must do it according to the principles God has told you and the requirements of God’s house, and then combine that with your strength. In this way, your duty will be done properly, and you will have offered your loyalty. This is just like how God bestowed a son upon Abraham—when God gave him, Abraham was very joyful, and when God wanted to take him away, Abraham had to willingly and completely offer him up to God. He couldn’t hold back or try to set conditions, and even more so, he couldn’t complain about or insult God—he had to offer his son up wholeheartedly and sincerely. When God bestows grace upon you, you are very happy and content, feeling that you have gained an advantage and that God shows kindness to you. After you enjoy so much of God’s grace, what is your attitude when God asks that you offer something up? Can you bear to part with it? Can you offer it up to God and return it to Him without reservation? If you can return to God what He has given you without compromise, according to the principles He requires, without complaint, without reservation, and without keeping it for yourself, but rather offering it up to God, then you are up to standard as a created being; the duty you have done is also up to standard, and God will be satisfied. God’s demands of you are not high, because what God has given you exceeds what you can offer up by many times. Besides giving you life, God has also given you the capital and conditions you rely on for survival. Because you have this strength, interest and hobby, how much benefit have you gained? How much of God’s grace have you enjoyed? Up until now, how much have you repaid to God? If you are only beginning to repay God now, then you are a bit too slow. If you did not do well in the past, from now on, you should offer up to God without any reservation; use your strength and the professional skills and the various principles of professions that you’ve mastered in your duty, without holding anything back, because what you offer up was originally God’s—it was bestowed upon you by God. When you offer up these things and use them in your duty, for one thing, God will accept it, and for another, you will gain the truth, gain life, and gain God’s approval—you will gain tremendous benefits and not suffer a loss at all. At the same time, God has not taken away your right to enjoy your interest, hobby, and strength. Since God has bestowed this interest and hobby upon you, He will never take them away. No matter how much you offer up, you will still have them—God ensures that they will continue to be present within you without end; they are a part of your very being. If you do not offer up to God, then it can only be said that you have no conscience, that you are not up to standard as a created being, and that you have no sincerity toward God. If you do have sincerity, then you should repay to God what you have received from Him and what you possess. You should have this attitude. However much God has bestowed upon you, however much you understand, and however much you are capable of doing, you must then offer up to God without reservation. Do you think God would have you offer it up in vain? Look at Abraham—when God asked him for Isaac, he offered up Isaac on the altar. But after seeing Abraham’s sincerity, did God really take Isaac? God did not take him—God returned Isaac to him and prepared a lamb nearby. Not only did Abraham not have to return Isaac to God, but he also received a lamb that was already prepared. In the end, the blessing God gave him exceeded what he could ever imagine by countless times. Of course, this was not something Abraham could have imagined, nor was it something he asked for. But God does not treat people unfairly; He simply blesses people in this way—this is what God wills. Even when you have not yet repaid anything to God, He has already bestowed so much upon you. So if you truly repay God, do you think He will bestow less upon you? Absolutely not—the blessing God gives you will exceed all that you could ever imagine. So tell Me, is it easy to offer up all the strengths God has bestowed upon you and use them in your duty? Suppose you think: “These strengths, interests, and hobbies I inherently possess are something I was born with, I inherited them from my parents. They’re thanks to my good genes and favorable background. Whether they were bestowed by God, I don’t know. Anyway, I just have good fortune—it’s my own luck. As for whether I’ll return them to God, I’ll decide that later. Right now, I don’t have any plans to do so.” Tell Me, would that mean you have a conscience? (No.) Even if God did not take away the interests, hobbies, strengths, and other things He bestowed upon you, you would not gain God’s blessing. In God’s eyes, you would not be up to standard as a created being—at the very least, God does not like people such as this. God bestows upon people certain interests, hobbies, and strengths, and He also has specific requirements for them. As for how people treat these interests, hobbies, and strengths, they should also have principles that align with the truth. For one thing, do not take these as your capital; additionally, if the work of God’s house requires you to do duty related to your interests, hobbies, and strengths, then you should feel honor-bound to take this duty as your personal obligation. You should offer up what God has bestowed upon you completely and without reservation, so that God may enjoy the sincerity and submission of a created being toward Him. Isn’t this a dignified and glorious thing? (Yes.) If you cannot offer up to God the gifts and strengths that He has bestowed upon you, then you are indebted to God—that is a shameful thing. When God bestowed these gifts and strengths upon you, you were quite happy, but when God asks you to offer them up to Him, you become irritated, not wanting them to be used by God and only wanting them to be used for yourself. Does this show reason? Those are not your private possessions—they were bestowed by God. Since they were bestowed by God, when He requires them, you should offer them up. Being able to offer them up shows that you have submission and sincerity toward God. If you don’t want to offer them up, or you do so reluctantly and grudgingly, it proves that you have neither submission nor sincerity toward God. It can only be said that there is a problem with your humanity and character.

Alright, that’s all for our fellowship today. Goodbye!

December 23, 2023