How to Pursue the Truth (17)

Last time, we fellowshipped on the manifestations and characteristics of people reincarnated from humans—that is, they possess conscience and reason, and they can discern right from wrong and know what’s correct and what’s incorrect. Today, we will continue fellowshipping on the topic from last time. Before that, let Me tell you a story. A couple of years ago, I heard about something that happened. A pretty young woman was doing a screen test, and someone casually remarked, “Your legs are quite thick!” This young woman thought to herself, “You’re saying my legs are thick, aren’t you just saying I’m fat? Will I look good on camera if I’m fat? Won’t that be embarrassing?” So, she began to ponder how she could make her legs less thick, so that she would appear slim and good-looking on camera. To achieve this goal, she applied herself to searching for all kinds of information and tried various methods to lose weight, such as only eating diet foods instead of full meals or only eating fruits and vegetables each day—in short, she ate whatever could help with weight loss. She heard that drinking coffee was a quick and effective way to lose weight, so sometimes she would only drink coffee. Some people said that sleeping less helps you lose weight quickly, so she would only sleep two or three hours a day. After a lot of fussing and trying, she really did see results. She lost weight, her figure became slim, and her legs became thin. She looked pleasing to the eye and presentable, but physically she started having some bad reactions. What bad reactions? She often felt dizzy and heavy-headed, and during the day while doing her duty she was always groggy. She would sway while standing, and felt weak all over while sitting. She couldn’t make it through a day, and felt extreme physical anguish. Are most people curious about this young woman’s current situation, and whether she is still alive and well? Do you want to hear about her experience and thoughts on losing weight? (No.) Living in this world, people don’t know how to live correctly and with regularity, how to treat various people, events, and things that they encounter. When they hear a remark or experience some event, they don’t know which way of treating it is appropriate and can protect them from harm so that they live in a truly correct and dignified way. Not to mention nonbelievers, most believers don’t know these things either. When faced with information and news, as well as various thoughts, viewpoints, heresies, and fallacies, from the outside world, people simply have no ability to discern them and no ability whatsoever to ward them off. Of course, they also have no correct thoughts and viewpoints, let alone a correct way of treating them from a positive perspective. Therefore, people live very pitifully. Take the young woman I just mentioned. Tell Me, is her life tiring? Is it pitiful? (It’s pitiful.) Why is it pitiful? Where did she go wrong in acting this way? Don’t all people pursue being beautiful and living presentably? Is it wrong to want others to find you pleasing and to be praised and appreciated upon meeting them? How do you view this matter? (What she did for outward beauty and to be praised was harming her own body. Because she didn’t follow the laws established by God, it ultimately led to the impairment of all her bodily functions. Her dizziness and heavy-headedness were consequences she brought upon herself. I think this person is muddled.) Is that the case? (Yes.) People are born with their own tiny bit of human intelligence, cleverness, and thoughts. Then they acquire some knowledge, gain some skills, and learn a bit about how to appear like a good person. Are these things enough to deal with the various thoughts, viewpoints, heresies, and fallacies, and the various people, events, and things, that come from the outside world? Can they enable you to correctly face these things? (No.) Absolutely not. This is how pitiful and tragic people are when they do not understand the truth; it ultimately leads to a slew of terrible consequences. They have no discernment toward any of the heresies and fallacies or thoughts and viewpoints from the outside world, nor do they have correct thoughts and viewpoints when it comes to the people, events, and things they encounter. When things befall them, they become confused and their foolishness shows itself in countless ways. When nothing has befallen them, they seem to understand some doctrines and have some human likeness, but when things do befall them, it’s a different story—the distorted, ugly, absurd thoughts and viewpoints in their hearts are revealed. When it truly comes to conducting oneself, to survival, or even to a certain thought or viewpoint in life, people are so ignorant and obtuse, and their attitudes and viewpoints are so absurd. So, many people have believed in God for many years, have listened to sermons for many years, and are also doing their duties, and they have never intentionally done anything to cause disruptions or disturbances, nor have they intentionally spoken any words that oppose or blaspheme God—outwardly, no fault can be found with them, but when they’re faced with various erroneous thoughts and viewpoints from the outside world, especially some relatively popular ones, in the depths of their hearts they are not repulsed by them, nor do they resist or reject them, but rather they feel fondness and approval, and as soon as a suitable environment or opportunity arises, they will unconsciously accept these things and apply them to their own lives. Isn’t the young woman mentioned earlier a very obvious example? (Yes.) Is this a way of following evil trends? (Yes.) She didn’t just follow them—she applied them very thoroughly. Doesn’t the world today advocate being sexy, charming, slim, and having a graceful figure? These ideas are popular in every industry, in every group of people, and even among people of faith. There were a few older women who believed in the Lord, and despite being over 60 on average, they were still vying with each other over who looked better. They asked a young girl next to them, “Which of us do you think looks best in this dress?” The girl replied, “All of you girls look beautiful in it!” Even though they were in their sixties, they had to be called “girls”; they were unwilling and not happy to be called “ladies.” Behind their backs, the girl told others, “They’re over sixty; how good can they still look?” But this group of older women were still delighting in it. Did they have any sense of shame? (No.) They believed in the Lord for so many years, yet still focused on those things. Isn’t their humanity abnormal? When people have no conscience and reason, they can do many absurd things, many things that people find contemptible and despicable, and many things that reveal their base character. Why is it that many people have no discernment regarding things in evil trends, and no ability whatsoever to ward them off, and are consequently misled and swept away by them? It is because they do not pursue the truth and do not understand even a sliver of the truth. No matter what befalls them, they cannot see through it, and as soon as they encounter a temptation, they are revealed and become mired in it. Look at what is being taught and what is popular in all strata of society today. A radio reporter interviewed a little boy and asked him, “What’s your favorite children’s song?” The boy scratched his head and said, “‘The Moon Represents My Heart.’” People who heard this didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Why would they not know whether to laugh or cry? Is this a children’s song? (No, it’s a love song.) It’s a love song, but the child mistakenly thought it was a children’s song. From this incident, we can see what is popular in society. This is one of the phenomena of the evil trends in society, and both the elderly and children are deeply harmed by these trends and are deeply mired in them. Among those who follow God, there are surprisingly quite a few who follow these trends, and who also apply the thoughts advocated by these trends to themselves. And what happens in the end? Does it result in good consequences or bad ones? (Bad ones.) It results in bad consequences—this is what comes of following evil trends. People are mired in the sexual desire of their flesh, in fleshly feelings, and in eating, drinking, and merrymaking, living in an indulgent haze. They have no correct thoughts or viewpoints, and no correct attitude toward existence with which to face life. They live in this state without any awareness and are powerless to resist it. In the end, they can only sink deeper and deeper, unable to extricate themselves. And what is the final result? They are completely devoured by Satan, becoming its food.

For everyone living among mankind, if you do not know how to discern what positive things are and what negative things are, then in this chaotic world, this complex human world, it will be very difficult for you to hold fast to the correct thoughts and viewpoints of life, and very difficult to hold fast to the correct path in life that you yearn for; you’ll never know when you will be involuntarily swept away by evil trends from hearing a certain word or encountering a certain event. If people don’t have the ability to discern right from wrong, they cannot even manage their own lives well, let alone the various major issues of right and wrong encountered on the path of survival, which are even more difficult for them to deal with. If people do not understand what positive things are and what negative things are, they will not know how to manage their lives and will not have a correct way of life. If they see various kinds of information about healthy living, they will not know how to discern them or which to accept and which to reject, how to absorb correct, positive statements, or how to reject wrong ones. It can even be said that such people cannot even safeguard their own physical health. Some people go from one extreme to the other, while others constantly live at one extreme. For example, some people hear: “Eating lots of fruit is healthy. It can provide vitamins, and make your skin hydrated and smooth, making you loved by everyone.” So, they believe it and start to eat all the fruit they can find, adopting abnormal eating habits. After a while, they constantly feel unwell, and a check-up at the hospital reveals they have high blood sugar. They’re puzzled: “I usually eat quite healthily, so why is my blood sugar high? Others said eating lots of fruit provides vitamins, so how could I be wrong by following this statement and eating lots of fruit?” The doctor says, “Fruit contains vitamins, but it’s high in sugar. It can’t replace staple foods and can’t be eaten as a full meal. You can eat it in moderation or sparingly. Even if you don’t eat it at all, you won’t lack any nutrients, because grains and vegetables already contain all these nutrients.” The doctor’s statement is appropriate. Doesn’t this indicate that their lifestyle is problematic? (Yes.) This is precisely the kind of mistake that some people make. Do you think it’s one they should make? (No.) Some people say, “I haven’t complained about God, even though my blood sugar is high.” What do you think of this statement? Is it not devoid of reason? Does your blood sugar being high have anything to do with God? Is this not something you bring upon yourself? You eat recklessly and without principles. You think fruit tastes good so you can’t stop eating it, or you find that meat tastes good so you don’t eat any vegetables, showing no restraint at all, and as a result, you develop illnesses. Is this not self-inflicted? Do you think that by not complaining about God, it seems that you’re noble, that you love God, that you’re pure? In fact, some illnesses are self-inflicted and have nothing to do with God, and they are caused by your own foolishness and ignorance. There are also some people who say, “Eggs, meat, and dairy products are nutritious and can supplement your protein intake. Rice and flour have little nutritional value, so one should eat more meat, eggs, and dairy.” Some people, upon hearing this, say, “I happen to love eating meat. Since meat is said to be nutritious, I’ll eat it more. Others eat 4 ounces a day, but I’ll eat half a pound per meal, for at least two meals a day!” They eat without restraint like this, eating more and more, consuming two or three times more food than others daily, with late-night snacks thrown in as well. Over time, their stomach capacity starts to grow, and the larger the stomach capacity, the greater the appetite. What happens in the end? They eat to the point of sickness, they become overweight, and they are always sleepy and feeling groggy. They have no choice but to go to the hospital for a check-up, and the results show they have high blood pressure, high blood sugar, and high blood lipids. They ponder, “Isn’t it just that I ate a couple more bites of meat every day? Didn’t they say eating more meat is good for the body and will allow a person to avoid malnutrition? So where did I go wrong? Why is my blood pressure high? This old flesh of mine is so hard to take care of! I can’t even have a couple extra bites of meat!” You eat half a pound of meat per meal—is that really just a couple more bites? And you usually sit a lot and don’t exercise, yet you eat so much. In the end, you develop health problems, and you start to feel discomfort in your heart. They even think, “This is God refining me. It’s nothing, I’ll be fine with time. I won’t complain about God!” What right would you have to complain about God? Is your illness God’s way of refining you, or is it self-inflicted? You get fat and sick from eating meat and think this is God refining you, and that God is testing your faith. Would God refine you this way? (No.) So how was this result caused? (It was caused by human foolishness.) People themselves have no discernment, don’t know how to manage their own lives, do not understand what positive things are and what negative things are, do not know how to correctly treat their physical lives, do not know how to abide by the laws of survival God has established for humans, and do not know how to follow the laws of various innate physical conditions. They always engage in stupid and absurd practices, are always full of notions and imaginings about God, and have no shortage of extravagant desires. What happens in the end? They always take detours, always make mistakes, and constantly misunderstand God. Is this not a very troublesome matter? (It is.)

Living in the flesh and in the material world, people will come into contact with lots of information, lots of thoughts and viewpoints, and also lots of different people, events, and things. If they do not know how to discern whether various people, events, and things are positive or negative, do not know how to choose what to accept and what to reject, do not know to hold fast to positive things and do not know why they’re correct, and do not know to reject negative things—much less are they aware of the negative quality of these things—isn’t living this way very dangerous? (It is.) It’s no exaggeration to say that they’re at risk of losing their lives at any time. People cannot even properly manage their own physical lives and health, such simple matters; they need others to worry about them, they need God to protect and watch over them, or else they’ll keep making mistakes, either veering too far in one direction or too far in the other. Some women, having accepted the ideas of the evil trends of society, rack their brains for ways to make themselves beautiful, without paying any heed to the consequences. Some indiscriminately take traditional Chinese medicine, some indiscriminately take Western medicine, some recklessly take tonics, and some recklessly eat a certain food. As a result, they contract stomach issues, and they spend their days sighing and looking sickly and weak. Not only do they fail to make themselves beautiful, but they even become disgusting to look at. Some people have quite good skin but still aren’t content, and they insist on slathering themselves with all sorts of cosmetics. At some point, they use low-quality cosmetics and end up disfigured, their faces all blotchy and unevenly colored, becoming terrifying to look at. Some people get both beauty treatments and plastic surgery—some of them try to get their nose bridges raised and not only fail to have it raised, but wind up making it deformed instead, and some get chin fillers that go wrong, and they look ridiculous whenever they smile or yawn, making them afraid to ever do either—this is so miserable, it’s such a tiring way to live! Are they not creating trouble for themselves by doing this? Some women, dissatisfied with their height, have their lower legs broken and then re-fused and extended, but the procedure goes wrong, crippling what used to be their perfectly fine legs. Isn’t that tragic? (It is.) All manner of adverse consequences have occurred—such people never turn out well. Any thought or view advocated by evil trends is fallacious and wicked, it truly is extremely harmful. The tasty food and the beauty practices they advocate are not truly good; they’re all wicked, and end up harming and entrapping people. These ignorant women are willing to suffer this harm, and they have no ability to ward off these wicked thoughts and views. They eat whatever they are told to eat and do whatever they are told to do, without discerning things even slightly, just following along blindly. How compliant they are! And what ends up happening? Barely any of them meet with a good outcome. Unless they become aware of their mistake midway and turn back in time to cut their losses, if they continue to follow these evil trends and accept these wicked thoughts and views, they will eventually become increasingly degenerate, increasingly unable to tell good from bad, and increasingly similar to devils in their appearance, devoid of their human likeness. It can be said that ninety-nine percent of people have no discernment toward positive and negative things, and willingly accept evil trends. Look at what women say when they’re shopping for clothes together. Some say, “This doesn’t look good on you; it doesn’t make your face look fair or show off your figure. It won’t turn any heads. I think that one looks sexy and will get heads turning!” Others say, “This one isn’t alluring. You need to tease a bit of skin, you need to be sexy and pleasing to the eye—only that will do. If you’re always so prim and proper, nobody’s going to like you.” Some mothers even insist that their daughters become actresses. The daughter says, “The entertainment industry is such a mess! I don’t want to be an actress.” Her mother then scolds her: “Don’t you have any ambition? With your height, looks, and skin, you have such great natural conditions! If you don’t earn money as an actress, how are we going to put food on the table? So long as you can become famous and earn money, it’s okay to sleep with anyone. Otherwise, you’ll have wasted your good looks! We raised you to this age, and your dad and I have been waiting to bask in your success! If even that much is denied to us, what did we have you for?” Is it right for parents to educate their children this way? (No.) What are the consequences of educating children this way? (The children are harmed.) One day, when such a child comes to understand things, and they’ve gone through so much suffering and pain, they inevitably come to hate and resent their mother, saying: “It’s all your fault! You didn’t guide me on the right path! I said I didn’t want to act, but you insisted. Look at me now—I’m almost forty, I still can’t find a husband, and nobody wants me. Those who pursued me were just playing around and never intended to marry me. Isn’t my whole life ruined?” The children suffer so much, and the parents are the culprits and the root of the problem. They have brought harm upon their children.

If believers in God are just like nonbelievers in their inability to extricate themselves from evil trends, then this indicates a problem. If you have no discernment toward any evil trends, any wicked, negative statements, or any of the various practices people engage in, regardless of what they are, and you even follow them and knowingly try them out for yourself, then in God’s eyes, these are all marks of shame. What will God say? He will say that as a person, you have no ability to distinguish right from wrong, you do not have the reality of accepting positive things, and even more so, you have not engaged in the actions and practices of rejecting negative things. He will say that you are not human, and that you do not meet the basic condition of having a human conscience and reason. He will say that you are not human, and that the kingdom will not accept you. If you are not human, it is impossible for you to accept the truth, because in your heart, what you are subjectively willing to accept is all wicked things from Satan, and your heart completely resists, opposes, and rejects positive things; you have never had an attitude of acceptance toward them. Therefore, God says that you are not human, that you do not have humanity. God does not want people without humanity. Don’t think, “If God doesn’t accept me, then I’ll just suffer a bit more and pay a bit more of a price to move God, and change His attitude toward me.” What God wants is not a certain way of doing things; what God wants is for you to have an attitude of accepting the truth from the depths of your heart, as well as the reality of accepting the truth and evidence of practicing the truth. You must be a person who truly has humanity—this humanity is not something that is feigned. If you truly have some signs of normal humanity, that is, if you have many manifestations of distinguishing right from wrong, if the facts show that you love positive things, and if there are instances of you having accepted positive things and rejected negative things, and it can be seen that you have the manifestation of living out the truth, then God will say that you have humanity and call you a human. If you say, “I also have humanity, I can discern positive and negative things,” but you do not have the manifestation of living out the truth reality, and your words are not supported by evidence, then this is troublesome. Doctrinally you admit that, “What God says and does are all positive things and truths, and what Satan says and does are all wicked, all negative things; all that comes from God are positive things, all that comes from Satan are negative things, and all that comes from people in society are wicked, negative things”—that is, doctrinally you speak correctly, without any problem, and no fault can be found in what you say—but when you are faced with real situations, you never accept positive things, never hold fast to positive things, and do not abide by the rules and laws of positive things. This proves that you are a person who does not discern right from wrong. People themselves are clear in their hearts about whether they have these manifestations or not. When you hear a wicked, negative thought or viewpoint, or hear information about an evil trend, what is your attitude? What are your thoughts and viewpoints? What is your inclination? Do you agree with it or are you repulsed by it? Do you plan to keep it in your heart and employ it when necessary, or do you have an aversion to it and condemn it in your heart, and absolutely refuse to accept it? In your heart, you ought to know what exactly your attitude is. If someone says they don’t know, do they have a heart? Not being clear about even their own attitude—is this a normal person? If you know in your heart that you’re no good, and you know that you’re very interested in various evil trends and wicked statements, and always want to follow them and participate in them, but you only feel compelled to hold yourself back a little because you’re constrained by the various truth principles of God’s house and your own pride due to your belief in God, when in fact, in your heart of hearts, you are repulsed by and reject positive things, then even if you claim that you like positive things and dislike evil trends, that’s going against your true feelings. Here’s an example. Some individuals say, “Eating too much meat is not good, it’s unhealthy. You should eat meat in small portions, and eat more rice, wheat-based foods, and vegetables.” Some people can accept this. They don’t feel that eating less meat is going against their will; it doesn’t make them feel upset or really aggrieved. Instead, they think, “This is the right thing to do. After experiencing it for some time, I feel it’s good for my body. My overall mental state has improved, and I’m physically healthier than before. Eating this way is great!” However, some people’s acceptance goes against their will. They’ve long since made up their minds: “What’s unhealthy about eating lots of meat? Eating more vegetables doesn’t necessarily make you healthier. However you look at it, meat tastes better and is more appetizing! It’s okay to eat some vegetables if there’s no meat—it’s better than starving—but if there’s meat, you should eat lots of it. You’re all fools, you’re all putting on an act. I’m the only one who’s not putting on an act. None of you are as genuine as me. I say what I think. Meat is simply delicious!” At every meal, they eat very few vegetables, but quite a lot of meat. Tell Me, do they accept positive statements in their hearts? (No.) They don’t accept them, nor are they capable of practicing them. They are utterly repulsed by them in their hearts. They say, “How can these statements be positive? How come I don’t feel they’re positive? What’s good about them? What’s wrong with me eating more meat? I haven’t died, and none of you are living any better than me!” They don’t accept the facts and don’t admit that eating too much meat is bad for their health. They can’t even accept correct statements, so how could they accept facts? That would be even less likely to happen. For such people, accepting positive things greatly goes against their will. They feel it is very painful and difficult to do. This shows that there is a problem with their humanity, and that they do not love the truth in their hearts. Some people, when they hear correct words that are positive things, can accept them with ease, saying, “I was just worrying about this and didn’t know how to approach it, I had no path of practice. Fortunately, you shed light on this. As soon as I heard you, I felt that this take on things is correct, the viewpoint is pure, objective, and practical, and it conforms to humanity.” After hearing it, they can immediately put it into practice. Although they may occasionally be self-indulgent and willful, they will quickly return to the right path. They do positive things without needing others to watch them or keep them in check, and they don’t feel that doing so goes against their will, nor does it make them feel distressed. It’s like how sheep like eating grass. If you give sheep meat, they won’t eat it, but if you give them grass, they will eat it with relish, because they are herbivores, and what they need internally is grass. But wolves are different. They specifically look for meat to eat; they don’t eat grass, and they feel that nothing is as appetizing as meat. These are natural revelations of their natures, which no one can change. It’s not something they acquire later, nor is it something that gets taught to them. Sheep are born to eat grass, and wolves are born to eat meat. No one can teach a sheep to become a meat-eating animal or teach a wolf to become a grass-eating animal. This is the manifestation of their essence. What you need and what you love are determined by your humanity. If your humanity does not have a need for positive things, you will not love positive things. If you like negative things, it means your heart needs negative things. This is determined by your nature essence, it does not need to be instilled in you by others. If someone wants to help you turn yourself around and fellowships some truth principles with you, you might be able to temporarily accept it out of concern for face or because you want to avoid embarrassment, and verbally express your agreement, but how you think and practice behind the scenes is entirely determined by your nature. You can’t fake it, and your parents can’t change you either. Whether your humanity has the component of loving positive things and hating negative things is not something anyone can decide; only your own essence decides it. Is this matter clear now? (Yes.) Therefore, whether one can discern right from wrong says a lot about their humanity. If your discernment of right and wrong is a natural revelation, then you were born to be particularly interested in some positive things. You are very willing to listen when someone says something correct, and you would like nothing more than for them to say more, so that you can listen more and gain more, and take fewer detours or even no detours at all. And when you encounter some wicked, negative things, you are repulsed in your heart, and you avoid them and are unwilling to get involved—you don’t even want to hear about them. You yourself don’t know the reasons for this; you just can’t bring yourself to like negative things, but you are very willing to listen when someone says something correct, and even if someone ridicules you, you don’t care—you don’t know where this drive comes from. Some people see this sincere drive of yours and despise and mock you, thinking you are a fool, but you disagree. You think, “As long as what someone says is right, I accept it. What’s so difficult about that?” This is a natural revelation of humanity. Having this natural feeling of loving positive things and being averse to negative things in your humanity is a characteristic and manifestation of normal humanity. Only when you have this feeling and this kind of humanity can you be upright and kind, and can you say what should be said and do what should be done from the correct stance and status. When you possess the aspect of humanity of discerning right from wrong, you possess the basic condition to accept the truth and to accept the various explicit statements from God that involve the truth principles. If you do not possess the aspect of humanity of discerning right from wrong, then the conscience and reason in your humanity are absent, and you do not have the basic condition to accept the truth, to accept God’s words, and to accept all the positive guidance and correct paths from God. You do not even possess the basic condition to accept the truth and to accept positive things, so any mention of you being able to submit is simply absurd, pure fantasy.

If someone doesn’t know what positive things are and what negative things are, yet they still say, “I have a conscience, and I’m very upright and kind,” doesn’t this show an absence of self-awareness? Where does your uprightness come from? Your mind is filled with nothing but negative things—what can you use to prove that you’re upright? Where is your proof? On what basis do you say you’re an upright person? And how can you put your so-called kindness into practice? Inside you is nothing but wicked, negative thoughts and views. Can you be kind? You’d be doing well not to entrap or harm people. Some people, to prove that they have humanity and are upright and kind, give themselves names like Zheng Wang, Zheng Zhang, Zheng Zhou, Zheng Gang^[a]—although the names certainly sound “upright,” do they mean that a person is truly upright? Where does true uprightness come from? It comes from humanity. Only when a person’s humanity possesses the ability or the basic conditions to discern right from wrong can they be upright. If you don’t even know what positive things are, or if you simply do not love positive things and have never accepted a single positive thing or positive thought and view, yet you still claim to be upright, is this not shameless? On what basis do you claim to be upright? Some say, “My worldview, values, and outlook on life are all correct.” Does this have anything to do with the truth? Does having a correct worldview, values, and outlook on life mean a person possesses the truth? Others say, “I have ‘positive energy.’ The things I say and do are down-to-earth and edify people. I never say things that tear people down, I never say anything disheartening, and I don’t say things that embarrass people or make them feel negative and weak, or that discourage them. Everything I say encourages, motivates, or inspires people. Does this count as ‘positive energy’? This term, ‘positive energy,’ is very popular in society now. What a magnificent, fashionable, and classy idea ‘being full of positive energy’ is!” Others say, “Look how I brim with a spirit of righteousness. When I stand there, I look like a soldier—my eyes are bright and my gaze is piercing, I’m not flippant. Those local hoodlums, despicable villains, and evil people don’t dare come near me. When they’re before me, their true colors are revealed, they show their cowardice, and they appear lowly. When the average person is around me, they have to behave themselves and they don’t dare to act recklessly. You see, this righteous spirit of mine can suppress wickedness!” Is this being upright? (No.) It’s popular in society to rob the rich to help the poor, to act bravely for a just cause, to be kind and charitable, and to be a hero by rescuing damsels in distress. Some people, after doing these things, consider themselves heroes, and many others bow down before these heroes. Others say, “I never take advantage of people, I’m filled with a spirit of righteousness, I’m resolutely upright and impartial, and I can tell right from wrong. When two people are fighting and ask me to arbitrate the dispute, I give both sides equal punishment and show no bias. Look at this righteous spirit I’m filled with, everyone admires me!” Does this count as being upright? (No.) While the previously mentioned ideas of “correct worldviews, values, and outlook on life” and “positive energy” are popular Chinese sayings, this last one—being kind and charitable, accumulating merit and doing good things, and acting bravely for a just cause—is likely universally revered in all countries and among all peoples. People therefore consider this to be a spirit of righteousness, to be uprightness. Even most believers in God think that this is very upright, saying, “Look at our national hero, So-and-so. He laid down his life for the righteous and great cause of the nation, sacrificing himself to blow up a bunker to protect the nation. He was filled with a spirit of righteousness. Now that’s what it means to have humanity!” Looking at this now, is this viewpoint correct? (No.) How is it incorrect? These kinds of uprightness, which are believed to be so by people or which people revere, are assessed by standards based on a human yearning for things that are good and relatively positive. Due to people’s fleshly notions and imaginings, and because they do not understand what positive things are, they regard those who can sacrifice their own interests for others and engage in good behaviors—or those who do not actively entrap or harm others, pose no threat to others, and have not brought about any bad consequences—as good people, and they revere them and characterize them as upright. This definition of “upright” is based on people’s notions of uprightness, as well as on their hatred for evil trends and wicked humankind, and their yearning for wonderful things. Because the majority of people in the human race suppress, bully, entrap, and harm others, and because this world is so evil, dark, and without a trace of fairness or righteousness to be found, when such heroes or so-called good Samaritans and doers of good deeds appear, people tend to revere them, defining them with the best terms possible. Are the principles of this definition accurate? (They aren’t.) The very principles and basis of the definition are in themselves inaccurate. For example, there’s someone in a group who gets bullied by most of the others, but there’s a certain individual who doesn’t bully them. The person being bullied says, “The one who doesn’t bully me is a good person.” Is this statement accurate? (No.) Is it logical? (It is not.) Tell Me, what’s wrong with it? (Perhaps the person who doesn’t bully them just doesn’t find them disagreeable, or doesn’t bully them because the objective situation and circumstances are not suitable. It doesn’t mean that this is a good person.) Their view contains a logical error. The idea that people who bully you are bad people, so people who don’t bully you must be good people, is a logical error, isn’t it? (It is.) Most people who bully others are not good people, but your standard for defining what it means to bully others is not necessarily accurate, so your definition that people who bully you are bad people is not necessarily accurate either, and it is also not accurate to say that people who don’t bully you must be good people. There may be several scenarios in which someone doesn’t bully you. Perhaps they don’t want to pay you any mind, so they can’t be bothered to bully you. Perhaps they don’t know you, so they can’t bully you. Perhaps they feel that you’re more formidable than them, so they don’t dare to bully you. There are several such possible scenarios. Your basis for defining them as a good person is built on the foundation that they did not bully you, so the basis of this definition is itself erroneous. What is the true basis for defining someone as a good person? If this person loves positive things, treats others fairly and with principles, and also has principles in how they do things, then even if they sometimes speak to you bluntly, with a harsh tone, or criticize you, they are not bullying you. They are acting according to principles and judging matters based on the facts. Thus, they are truly a good person, and they are capable of treating people according to principles. But some people are not like this. When they see that you have status and are formidable, they fawn on you. When they see that you have no status and are disadvantaged, they bully you, trample on you, and always hurt you when they speak. If you do something right, they are jealous of you. If you do something wrong, they mock and belittle you. Such people are bad people. If you measure good and bad based on positive things and the truth principles, then your standards by which you measure things and the results of your measurements will be correct. The evaluation or definition of positive and negative things in the world and in society is itself inverted. Most people in society idolize leaders they love, famous people, or stars. No matter what these famous people, stars, and leaders say, they think it is correct, and no one exposes or opposes it. No matter how those people lord it over ordinary folks and ride roughshod over them, discriminate against or extort the poor, or even wantonly destroy human lives as if they were worthless, no one rises up to protest or demonstrate against them. If they do a few good things to score political points, then many will sing their praises and extol them. If a person who fights for justice appears and exposes the satanic regime, or famous people and great figures, then the masses will attack them collectively, hoping desperately to eliminate them and make them disappear. What does this show? That society does everything in an unjust, perverse way; it inverts right and wrong. The standards by which corrupt humankind defines good and evil, and positive and negative, are all wrong, so the conclusions they draw are also unreasonable.

Let’s look at an example. There are those who break into and rob homes—robbing the rich to help the poor. After they rob the wealthy of their possessions, they provide aid to the common people. When the common people benefit and take advantage of this, they are happy, and they praise these people as heroes and upright people of virtue. But if you analyze the things done by these so-called upright people of virtue, are they truly upright? Some wealthy people have acquired their wealth through diligent management and effort, and there are even some who have only accumulated their wealth through several generations of management and effort. By what right do you rob them of their things? You’ve robbed them of their private property—that’s wrong. If you’re capable, go and earn money yourself. Using money you’ve earned to aid the poor—that can be considered being charitable. But you rob the wealthy of their possessions, taking what belongs to others as your own, and then aid the poor. In the eyes of the poor, this is considered upright. Isn’t this an utterly absurd view? The poor and the common people revere such people as heroes, and these “heroes” enjoy this title and this honor as if it were their due. Is this not shameless? Is this not utterly absurd? (It is.) They themselves don’t have what it takes to earn money, and they harbor resentment toward the rich, so they use violence to rob the rich of their wealth and distribute it to the common people, so that the common people praise them. In fact, the things they take are not at all what they’ve earned through their own labor, and what the poor enjoy is not things that belong to these robbers, but things that belong to the rich. So why should it be that, just because these things have passed through their hands, the common people and the poor have to be profoundly grateful to them? And is it right for the common people to enjoy these things with an untroubled conscience? Are these things what you deserve? Did you earn them through your own labor? You enjoy with an untroubled conscience stolen things you did not earn, and you even feel that the rich should be robbed, and that you should enjoy the stolen things. You get these things for free and without paying any price, and you enjoy them with an untroubled conscience. Is this not shameless? (Yes.) These so-called heroes enjoy this admiration from people and this honor. They do these things to satisfy their own vanity. The more people praise and idolize them, the more frenzied they become, and they even rob palaces, steal the treasure within, sell it, and then scatter the money in the courtyards of the poor. The way they aid the poor is by robbing the rich. Is this not utterly absurd? (It is.) To say nothing about whether robbing others of their possessions violates the law, in terms of morality and humanity, it’s unacceptable, and it is not so-called uprightness. Those things they robbed are not at all things that they should own. They are things obtained through base, sordid, shady, illegal, and unorthodox means. They exchange them for some money and then aid those who do not need help in the first place or who they think should be helped, and then they receive acclaim from these people, and they enjoy this honor. Is this not shameless? Yet they are very proud of themselves and call themselves heroes who rob from the rich to help the poor. Such people are particularly popular in society. In ancient times, there were some so-called “heroes” like this, and their stories still circulate to this day. Is this not absurd? (It is.) Among all of humankind, there are very few who truly understand what positive things are and what negative things are. People cannot discern these things. How many days can the common people enjoy the things robbed by the “heroes”? Is that what you deserve? Is it what you’ve earned? It’s neither what you’ve earned nor what you deserve—that’s called accepting undeserved gains. Is it honorable for you to enjoy these things? You are poor because you are lazy or lack capability. A person with conscience and reason should be content with having food and clothing, and they should enjoy only what they can earn. God gives you a means to get by, so you should be content. If you see someone who is rich, who has many things, who is wealthy, and you always want an equal share of what they have, is this reasonable? This idea is, in itself, not rational. Satan controls and holds power over society, so of course there is no fairness. In society, the poor are many while the rich are few—regardless of what caused this, the fact is, some people are rich and some are poor. Society is like this—you might not become rich even if you are capable, and you might actually be able to live the life of a rich person even if you are not capable. No one can explain these things clearly, but no matter what, there is also God’s ordination in this. Things robbed from others do not belong to you, and even if you obtain them, they are not yours, and sooner or later you will lose them. Look at those who, under the pretense of chivalry and justice, break into and rob homes, and rob the rich to help the poor. They do all kinds of bad things behind the scenes, such as engaging in eating, drinking, whoring, and gambling, and taking drugs, with some even committing murder or rape. Then, just for carrying out a few acts of robbing the rich to help the poor, they get revered as heroes by the common people. Isn’t this a case of vile characters prospering? The common people—the despicable types, the lowly masses, and the rabble—feel happy whenever they get a little benefit, and praise whoever provides them with benefits. And what about those “heroes”? The common people give them some honor and reward them, and hold them up as heroes, and so they think that this is a crown of laurels, that they are truly heroes, and that they are peerless. So, they continue to rob, and as a result, they end up shot dead with a single bullet when they rob a royal palace. They really thought that they had great ability and were superhuman, that they were rarefied and above the common, but in fact, they didn’t even have the ability to dodge a bullet, and ended up losing their lives. Wasn’t this deserved? (Yes.) The act of robbing is in itself not honorable. It is low. To rely on robbery to secure the praise of the common people, to secure a good reputation, to secure a little honor—what a despicable thing this is. In the end, they even praise themselves: “The common people can’t get by, and the people are in dire straits, all because of the officials. Look how much of a spirit of righteousness I possess; I have compassion for the lower-class common people!” Are such people upright? (No.) Common people also speak with a crooked tongue, and they smile when they get a little benefit. If they don’t get any kind of advantage from you, no matter what predicament you find yourself in, they won’t pay you any mind. But if you hand out favors to them, allowing them to gain something tangible, they will be happy and say, “You are such a good person! A person of great charity!” They say very nice-sounding things, but not a single word of what they say is true. They can’t even say correct words. How are they upright at all? In fact, everything they say is deceitful.

Some people consider themselves to be filled with a spirit of righteousness, to be people with conscience and humanity. But is this righteous spirit of theirs even worth mentioning? What’s more, it absolutely isn’t a spirit of righteousness at all; it is a kind of uprightness that they’ve fancifully imagined for themselves, which has nothing to do with the positive things God speaks of or with any of the truth principles. This is not uprightness; it is twisted reasoning, heresies, and fallacies. It can be said that the sayings they promote, such as positive energy, a correct worldview, values, and outlook on life, and unique, piercing insight, are seemingly upright and correct, but not truly so. To be precise, they are all pernicious trends and evil influences, twisted reasoning and heresies; they are all negative things, and they are all heresies and fallacies that are the exact opposite of positive things. Therefore, if you agree with these sayings of nonbelievers and always cling to these viewpoints in your heart, it proves that just like nonbelievers you are not an upright person, and that there is no uprightness in your humanity. You want to pass yourself off as an upright person, just as Satan tries to pass itself off as an angel of light. Satan says some pleasant-sounding things, wanting to pass itself off as God, as an upright person of virtue, and as something positive. You’re also passing yourself off as something you’re not; you’re always saying that you have a correct worldview, values, and outlook on life, that you have positive energy and a righteous spirit, that you are a hero, a person with a piercing and unique insight, or that you are upright and have nothing to fear, that wherever you go, you carry a righteous spirit with you as you speak and deal with people—you always style yourself in this manner. Well, I say you are a person without much conscience at all, someone who wants to pass themselves off as having a spirit of righteousness, as being upright, and as having humanity. Since you’re feigning these things, it means you don’t possess them—otherwise, would you need to feign them? If you truly had humanity, you wouldn’t need to feign it, nor could you possibly accept sayings such as so-called “correct worldview, values, and outlook on life,” “positive energy,” “having a spirit of righteousness,” and “having a heroic spirit”; you would not accept these negative things—it goes without saying that after having heard so many sermons up until today, you should have discernment of these things. If you had humanity, you would have long since rejected these negative things. If someone actually put forward these sayings and arguments, even if you had no discernment, you would not accept them from the depths of your heart. You would think that those things are too false, that the things advocated by so-called sociologists, educationists, and thinkers, so-called famous people and great figures, and those demons and devil kings of the world, were all things that tell people to put up a pretense. It’s like a saying that’s popular in society, “If everyone gives a little love, the world will become a wonderful place.” You see, evil devils say that everyone should give a little love, in other words, that the common people should all give love, all love evil devils, all compliantly listen to and obey their party, and not stir the pot or cause trouble for the country and their party, and then the world will be at peace. Actually, when are the common people ever the ones who stir the pot? Clearly, it’s devils who foment turmoil and vie for power and gain. Humankind has been misled and corrupted by Satan; they all follow devils and Satan, and they all shun and oppose God. So, can this society know peace? Tell Me, does the saying “If everyone gives a little love, the world will become a wonderful place” hold water? These are all words to deceive children. If you have no discernment of these words, and you believe, “There is still hope for the world, there are still more good people than bad in this human race, the world will become a wonderful place in the future, and this human race will move toward a beautiful tomorrow,” then your thoughts and viewpoints are no different from those of the general public, and you are simply a non-human. One characteristic of non-humans is that they particularly love to disguise themselves, using pleasant-sounding, flowery, hypocritical sayings to disguise their appearance, while the depths of their hearts are especially filthy and dark, and their despicable, sordid tactics follow one after another. They have no love at all for fairness and righteousness; they just love to use tactics. They say very pleasant-sounding things; they hide daggers behind their smiles and commit every bad deed imaginable. Such people are devoid of humanity. These are precisely the manifestations of those who are devoid of humanity. Is this a manifestation of uprightness? (No.) Since these people are not upright, do you think they could be kind? (No.) Never mind being kind, it would be a cause for celebration if they even committed one less bad deed, a blessing for everyone on earth. And yet they call themselves upright! That’s them just singing their own praises! They don’t even know what positive things are, and even after hearing about positive things, in their hearts they do not like them and are even repulsed and disgusted by them. And yet they still say that they are upright and kind. Who do they think they’re fooling? Humankind’s so-called uprightness, kindness, and reason are not based on positive things, nor are they based on the truth criteria. Thus, the uprightness, kindness, rationality, and conscience and reason of people as defined by humankind are all inaccurate, have no basis in the truth, and are all twisted reasoning and heresies.

If a person has conscience and reason, then, firstly, they are someone who can discern right from wrong. Secondly, they know what’s correct and what’s incorrect. Let us first talk about discerning right from wrong. Assess yourself, and then assess your parents and your siblings—are any of you people who can discern right from wrong? Are you such a person? If you are someone who can discern right from wrong, then in the future your acceptance of and submission to the truth will be a matter of course. By applying some effort, enduring some hardship, and paying a bit of a price, you will be able to achieve it—there is hope for your salvation, then. If you are not someone who can discern right from wrong, and in the past you were averse to the truth, couldn’t accept it and were unwilling to practice it, and at the mention of accepting and practicing the truth you became thoroughly annoyed and felt like you’d gotten your head stuck in a vice clamp, anguished and lacking in freedom, then in the future you will have the same feeling about accepting and practicing the truth; you will not accept the truth. Your inability to accept the truth and your aversion to it are not because you have believed in God for a short time, nor because God has not disciplined you or not taken responsibility for you. These are not the true root causes. What is the true root cause? You do not have the ability to discern right from wrong, this basic condition, so in the future you will still be unable to accept the truth, and you will not be able to achieve submission to the truth. Some people say, “If I cannot accept or submit to the truth, can I still gain salvation?” And what do you say—can they? (No.) My answer is, “It’s very difficult to say.” Why is it very difficult to say? With Me having now said so much and listed so many manifestations, it’s not certain whether you can match yourself up to them or recognize them in yourself. Furthermore, it’s also not certain whether you can comprehend these matters and these aspects of the truth that I have spoken of. Therefore, even if I don’t tell you whether you can be saved, each of you can ascertain it based on your attitude toward the truth and toward positive things. There’s no need for Me to tell you so clearly and so candidly; you already know in each of your hearts.

Now that we’ve finished fellowshipping about discerning right from wrong, we should next talk about knowing what’s correct and what’s incorrect, yes? (Yes.) Knowing what’s correct and what’s incorrect is definitely different from discerning right from wrong; otherwise, there’d be no need to discuss them separately. Knowing what’s correct and what’s incorrect means that, from the perspective of humanity, one must know which viewpoints and which words are correct, and which are incorrect. What is correct should be upheld, and what is incorrect should be let go of. In the minds of normal people, there are some thoughts, viewpoints, and bases for discerning what’s correct and what’s incorrect. They will persist with what is correct, and will oppose or even reject what is incorrect. If one cannot even do this, it shows that there is something lacking in their humanity; it can also definitively be stated that people like this are devoid of humanity. As a person, if you say that you have humanity, but you don’t even know what’s correct and what’s incorrect, then how can you conduct yourself? How can you conduct yourself properly? How can you speak every word and perform every action within humanity? If you don’t know what’s correct and what’s incorrect, then every one of your words and actions is not spoken and performed within humanity. What does it mean to not act or speak within humanity? It means that you do not speak these words and do these things rationally, based on the correct thoughts and viewpoints that humanity should have—this is what it means to not speak or act within your humanity. Some people say, “If one doesn’t speak or act within their humanity, then on what basis do they speak and act?” Roughly speaking there are two bases. One is speaking and acting within a demonic nature, living by a satanic disposition. People who understand the truth can see that the thoughts, viewpoints, and attitudes of these people in their words and actions are the same as those of devils, and that these things mislead, harm, tempt, and misguide people, and are not positive. This is one basis: speaking and acting within one’s demonic nature. The other is speaking and acting as a beast, and beasts are even more devoid of humanity. Being devoid of humanity means speaking and acting without conscience or reason; it’s as simple as that. The words that beasts speak are a pile of muddled, foolish, twisted words; all they say are some distorted doctrines. You see, the words they speak are the same as the thoughts and viewpoints of animals—they are twisted and foolish, stupid and muddled. After listening to them, you don’t know whether to laugh or cry, and you say, “How can he say that? It’s as if he were a three- or five-year-old child, preposterous and not knowing any better. These aren’t words that an adult should say! His words don’t hold water, they’re laughable—they’re too embarrassing to say in front of people!” That is an animal, a beast, speaking. They are speaking and acting within the nature of a beast, without any sense to speak of, or any reasonableness, much less any conscience and reason. That is, their speech is highly irrational, without any logic behind it. You don’t know where the things they say come from, and after hearing them, you are completely confused and at a loss. The more you listen to their words and their narration of things, the more chaotic it seems to you, and you have no way of understanding them. When they speak, they always go around in circles, jumble things up, repeat themselves, and they ramble on and on about the same thing and still do not know how to wrap it up in the end. This is a beast, an animal speaking. Such people have a characteristic, which is that no matter what they do, what they say, what thought or viewpoint they possess, or what thought or viewpoint they absorb, they do not even know themselves whether it’s correct or incorrect. This is a characteristic of their humanity. The characteristic of their humanity is ultimately determined to be that such people have no humanity, that is, they have no conscience and reason. They don’t even know what’s correct and what’s incorrect, so do you think they can speak and act with conscience? Can they possess the conscience and reason of a normal person if they don’t know what’s correct and what’s incorrect? Can they have the thinking of a normal person if they cannot discern what’s correct and what’s incorrect? They will never have it. Normal people cannot communicate with such a person. Why do I say this? Is it because you are unloving? No, it’s because you have no common ground, you don’t share any thoughts or viewpoints with them. Communicating with them is like communicating with an animal, with a devil; it’s impossible. Tell Me, if you talk to devils and Satans about the truth, can you get through to them? If you say to devils and Satans, “You should believe in God. God created humankind. As created beings, it is only right and proper that people should worship God,” what will they say? “Worship god? I want people to worship me! How much money will I get for worshiping god? I’ll do it if I get paid.” What kind of words are these? Can you communicate with devils? (No.) What about with animals, can you communicate with them? (We also cannot communicate with them.) You see, some animals are extremely protective of their food when they eat. After finishing their own food, they’ll even try to snatch the food of other animals. If you tell them, “Don’t fight over food, just eat your own,” can they take this in? (No.) When it’s feeding time, they’ll still snatch food from each other, and even start fighting and biting one another. You simply can’t communicate with them. In order to protect them and prevent them from fighting over food, you have to take measures and manage them strictly, feeding them separately when it’s time to eat. Only this is the proper way to manage them. Why? Because they’re animals, they have no rationality, and even less self-control, and they cannot judge whether what they do is correct or incorrect, and so no matter how correct what you say is and how much it holds water, and no matter how beneficial it is to them, they won’t get it. People who are reincarnated from animals are also like this. No matter how clearly the truth is fellowshipped, they don’t understand it, so they never act according to correct principles. Even if they do something wrong, they don’t think it’s wrong, and they will persist in it, and even do so for a lifetime. Are they not animals? Such people who cannot understand human language are just like animals—hardly any better, if at all.

Let’s not talk about animal and demonic nature now, but just focus on the aspect of humanity of knowing what’s correct and what’s incorrect. Knowing what’s correct and what’s incorrect is a manifestation that a person with humanity should have, but in fact, many people lack it. People often express twisted reasoning, say twisted words, and even do fallacious things, doing them with particular tenacity, and they can even spread their twisted reasoning to others, passing it on to them. The reasoning they express is seriously twisted and yet they still pass it on to others, not only harming themselves but also others. For example, if they don’t like eating rice, they’ll say, “Rice isn’t nutritious. We should eat noodles, steamed buns, and bread.” They say that rice isn’t nutritious. Is this statement correct? (No.) Are you a nutritionist? Have you tested it? What is your basis for saying that rice isn’t nutritious? For instance, there are places where they only grow rice and not wheat, and the people there eat rice their whole lives and live quite well, with many reaching a ripe old age. But based on their own taste, people who express twisted reasoning can say that “rice is not nutritious,” even saying this as though it were sound reasoning. Is this actually sound reasoning? (No.) Let’s not go into whether this statement conforms to the truth—it’s not even sound reasoning. How can they bring themselves to express such twisted reasoning? Are they human? (No.) This statement is obviously erroneous; it is clearly a statement spoken due to selfish desires and bias, a statement from someone who speaks in a twisted way. They themselves don’t even know if it’s correct or not, yet they still announce it very openly, proclaiming it everywhere. Some people like to eat rice and dislike wheat-based foods. When they see someone eating wheat-based foods, they say, “Wheat-based foods aren’t nutritious, rice is nutritious. People who eat wheat-based foods are worthless, while people who eat rice are noble!” They use this theory as a basis to measure all kinds of people. If you like eating wheat-based foods, they consider you lowly and not as noble as them. This statement is so obviously wrong, yet they somehow can’t discern this and even speak it everywhere. Tell Me, do such people have humanity? (No.) When they no longer like eating rice and start to like wheat-based foods, they say, “Rice isn’t nutritious, wheat-based foods are. Look how strapping people who often eat wheat-based foods are; we should eat more noodles and steamed buns! Rice is a cooling^[b] food, it’s not good for the body!” Is this statement correct? (No.) Isn’t this a bias? (Yes.) This is a bias; it’s not a fact. On what basis do they say this? On the basis of their own preferences and biases, on the basis of their fallacious thoughts and viewpoints. But they don’t know that this is incorrect, and even say it and proclaim it as if it were correct. If anyone raises a different opinion, they will argue back, and still persist in their fallacious viewpoint. Isn’t this ignorance about what’s correct and what’s incorrect? (Yes.) They don’t even know what’s correct and what’s incorrect in such a simple matter—tell Me, is their conscience able to function? Can they be upright? An upright person must know what’s correct and what’s incorrect to be able to uphold justice and uphold principles; only then is what they uphold correct. If a person doesn’t know what’s correct and what’s incorrect and persistently clings to an erroneous statement or an erroneous thought and viewpoint, is their so-called uprightness true uprightness? It is not uprightness; it is distortion, absurdity, and twisted reasoning. So, tell Me, does the conscience of such people exist? (No.) They have no conscience to speak of. Some people, when something comes upon them and selfish desires arise within them, can realize it in their hearts and be restrained by their rationality. They know that selfish desires are incorrect, so they can rebel against the flesh and let go of them. But some people are different; in particular, those who don’t know what’s correct and what’s incorrect and who are prone to expressing twisted reasoning will persist with erroneous viewpoints foolishly and obstinately. For example, some people are not good at dancing; when they dance, they’re uncoordinated, they have no sense of balance, and they can’t keep to the beat, always making a fool of themselves. So they say, “People who don’t like to dance are steady individuals. People who love dancing are all unsteady, they have bad personalities and are dissolute. If you marry such a person, your life will definitely be unstable.” Is this statement correct? (No.) Why is it incorrect? (Loving to dance has nothing to do with being steady or not.) Without going into whether they say this out of selfishness, jealousy, or an attempt to slander, regardless of what their intention is, do their words align with objective facts? Are people who can dance and who are good at dancing necessarily unsteady? Are such words based on the essence of these people’s humanity? Is it a fact that they’re unsteady? (No.) Furthermore, what does being steady refer to? Does being steady mean one is a good person? Is being steady a manifestation of being upright and kind, of having humanity? At best, it is a merit of one’s humanity or a strong point; it cannot indicate that someone has normal humanity. They speak their viewpoint as if it were sound reasoning, as if it were a correct statement. Is this not expressing twisted reasoning? (Yes.) The fact they can utter those words proves they don’t know whether what they’re saying is correct or not. Tell Me, do such people have humanity? (No.) Aren’t they very troublesome? (Yes.) If it were someone with normal humanity, even if they were jealous of someone who dances well, at most they would say, “Look how nimble their hands and feet are when they dance. I want to dance too, but I don’t have this gift, this strength; I’m not good at dancing. I’m really jealous that they are able to dance well! If only I had their arms and legs!” Putting it this way is still barely acceptable; this is called speaking the plain truth. At most, there’s something of a corrupt disposition in this, but it’s not a manifestation of having unsound humanity. The problem of expressing twisted reasoning, however, is a serious one. They say, “People who dance are all unsteady and frivolous. You can tell at a glance that they’re not people who can do great things.” The fact they can say these words exposes that there is a big problem with their humanity. What big problem? Their humanity lacks the basic condition of knowing what’s correct and what’s incorrect. They can say wrong things, distorted things, and twisted things as if they were sound reasoning and correct words. This is enough to show that they have no humanity. They say whatever they want, without being regulated by their conscience. They are even able to express twisted reasoning in such an open manner, with such a sense of justification, while not even knowing the nature of these words or what the consequences of saying them will be. This is a manifestation of having no humanity. People with no humanity often openly say such erroneous things and absurd things. This is their natural revelation. They don’t only say these things when it comes to one or two matters—they speak this way in all matters, expressing some kind of fallacious thoughts and viewpoints, and believing they are so in their hearts. They never accept correct or positive statements, nor do they ever seek correct or positive statements, but instead persist in speaking this way and in conducting themselves this way. So, such individuals are certainly people with no humanity. They insist on speaking this way, which fully exposes a problem, a fact: They do not know what’s correct and what’s incorrect, and they think that all heresies and fallacies are correct. If you ask them, “What is incorrect?” they’ll say, “Whatever is contrary to these statements is probably incorrect.” And if you ask them further, “What about those words that conform to the truth principles, that conform to objective facts? Are they correct?” they’ll say, “Who cares? Who knows if they’re correct or not? Anyway, the words I say are correct!” Not knowing what’s correct and what’s incorrect—is this a manifestation that a person who truly possesses conscience and reason should have? (No.) The answer is very obvious: It certainly is not.

Someone who liked doing business used to buy some clothing on clearance from nonbelievers and then sell it to the brothers and sisters, making some profit off it. Later, someone else bought some rayon, gauze, and other such fabrics for summer wear and stored them in the warehouse. I said, “It’s not suitable to keep them there. If they’re put there too long, they might get chewed by rats or become moldy from the humid weather, which would be such a shame. We wouldn’t have to worry about that if we made them into clothes for the brothers and sisters to wear, right?” Later, I started to organize this. As we were doing it, the person who sold clothes stood up to object: “No, we can’t do this! Black fabric absorbs heat. The brothers and sisters often work in the sun; they’ll be too hot if they wear black clothes. Who’ll take responsibility if the brothers and sisters fall ill because of the heat or suffer heatstroke?” Does this sound correct? You don’t know, do you? There is an objective fact here: These fabrics were very thin and breathable, they were very cool to wear. Even if black fabric is slightly hotter to wear, as long as the clothing was made a little looser, it wouldn’t cause people to fall ill from the heat as some claimed. Besides, these fabrics weren’t all black; some were in light colors. In fact, the person who said this had ulterior motives. Why do I say this? If you don’t know the context, you might really think he was being considerate of the brothers and sisters. But if you knew the context, you would know that he had an agenda in saying this. If the brothers and sisters were to wear those cool clothes made of rayon, he wouldn’t be able to sell the clothes he’d purchased; the brothers and sisters wouldn’t buy them. The clothes he bought were all from street stalls and clearance sales, of a poor quality; you’d look like a beggar wearing them. Most importantly, his prices weren’t cheap. Now that you know the context, can you get a sense of whether what he said was correct or not? (Yes.) Why did he say this? (He was afraid his goods wouldn’t sell.) He didn’t say he had selfish motives; he used the facade of caring for the brothers and sisters and worrying that they’d fall ill because of the heat to obstruct the making of those clothes, to obstruct this work. There is another objective fact, which is that he himself wore black jeans and black clothes in the summer heat and never said he felt hot. What was going on? What he said didn’t match the facts! We wanted to make some clothes for the brothers and sisters with rayon fabric, and he said, “No, black fabric is too hot, it’ll cause the brothers and sisters to fall ill from the heat.” The black jeans he wore were much thicker than rayon, so how come he didn’t feel hot? So, was his statement that black clothes were too hot and would cause the brothers and sisters to fall ill from the heat, correct? Was he being sincere when he said this? He was not being sincere; he was going against how he really felt. So, was what he said correct or not? Did it conform to the facts? (It did not conform to the facts.) Then why did he say this? It was precisely because this matter conflicted with his business. He was anxious inside but couldn’t say it outright, so he could only use these words to sabotage the matter, to achieve his goal of protecting his own interests. It was I who organized this, and he openly disrupted it like this. If he had any objections to what I organized, he could have brought them to Me directly, but he didn’t do that. Outwardly he put on a great act, seeming to have no objections at all, but behind the scenes he undermined the work, not holding back at all. What did he say? “The brothers and sisters all have clothes to wear, and they’re dressed quite well. Is it necessary to use so many people and put in so much effort to make these clothes?” He didn’t say a word in front of Me; he just undermined the work like this behind the scenes. When he said these words, did he know in his heart whether they were correct? If he had done this to an ordinary person, and he knew in his heart whether it was correct or not, and only did it because he was blinded by greed and was driven by personal motives and aims, this would only be a problem with his character. But he was targeting Me with this action, and after he said these things to undermine the work, he didn’t know whether they were correct or not, he had no awareness of this in his heart, nor did he feel any self-reproach, and he didn’t know the nature of his actions. What kind of person is this? Does he have humanity? (No.) He committed such a grave act yet felt nothing in his heart. Tell Me, did he have a conscience? (No.) He had no conscience, that’s clear to see. Even if it’s an ordinary person attending to proper matters, doing something beneficial for the brothers and sisters in God’s house, you should support it and not undermine it—everyone should cooperate harmoniously to get it done. That is to say nothing of this work that I initiated; yet he still dared to undermine it behind the scenes, and dared to extend his demonic claws. The nature of this is too serious! After he undermined the work, he still pretended to be a good person, as if nothing had happened. Tell Me, did he have a shred of conscience? He still claimed he believed in God, too. Is that the likeness a believer in God should have? Is that the conscience and humanity a believer in God should have? He didn’t even know who he believed in, and couldn’t discern between correct and incorrect. What duty could he do? Such a person still hoping to be blessed—isn’t that a joke? If he had targeted Me personally with remarks about Me, and I saw that he was not intentionally disturbing and disrupting the church’s work, and that his performance of his duty was acceptable, I would have tolerated it for the time being and continued to observe him. But I was doing something that ought to be done for God’s house and for God’s chosen people, something that was beneficial to everyone, and he came out to disturb and undermine it, preventing Me from carrying on. Tell Me, should I go easy on him? If he were someone of small stature who didn’t know any better, but his performance of duty usually bore fruit, then I could tolerate it and give him a chance to repent. If he was willing to repent and willing to render service for God’s house, I could spare him and not deal with him. If he didn’t know what was good for him and continued to release heresies and fallacies, and continued to disturb and undermine things, then I wouldn’t show him any courtesy, and would deal with him according to principles. All that can be done with evil people is to deal with them according to principles. When all the different kinds of vermin that disturb the church are cleansed away, the church will be much more at peace. When these non-humans are dealt with, it will be so peaceful! Livestock such as pigs, cattle, horses are not suitable to be kept inside. If they are, what will the consequence be? Most certainly, it will make the house a foul place, a place of chaos. If you say you could tolerate this, I’d like to see how many days you could go. Things that are not suitable to be kept inside must be let out. They should stay wherever is suitable for them, and the problem is thus resolved. Tolerating is not a solution; only resolving the problem is a solution, right? (Yes.) No matter how clearly you fellowship with these non-humans, they just won’t put any of it into practice. They may have believed in God for ten or twenty years, but when things befall them, they are still like nonbelievers; they do not accept or practice the truth at all, they have no life entry, and when things befall them, they just disturb and sabotage things. When such people haven’t shown their true colors, they reluctantly render some service. But once their true colors are revealed, they should be cleansed away quickly—don’t show them any courtesy. If you do, you are being cruel to those who truly have humanity, pursue the truth, and are devoted in doing their duty.

One obvious characteristic of people who are devoid of humanity is that they don’t know what’s correct and what’s incorrect when they act and speak; they always express twisted reasoning. We say they don’t know what’s correct and what’s incorrect, yet they just never say or do what’s correct. They only say incorrect things; they can say anything regardless of how incorrect it is. For example, there was once such a person who bought a piece of clothing that didn’t fit him, and he saw that someone else’s clothes fit them well, so he got angry and said, “This doesn’t fit me—how come your clothes fit you so well?” He desperately wanted no one else’s clothes to fit them either—then he would be happy. He was even capable of saying such things—isn’t this twisted reasoning? (Yes.) If he couldn’t fall asleep at night and saw that you were sleeping quite soundly, he would become unhappy and say, “I can’t fall asleep, so how can you sleep? This isn’t reasonable! You are sleeping so soundly, is it because you have no sense of burden in doing your duty? I have to report this to the church leader, to the above!” Isn’t this twisted reasoning? (Yes.) I’m not joking, this is exactly how those who have no humanity and don’t know what’s correct and what’s incorrect speak. Why do I say he didn’t know what was correct and what was incorrect? He reported this to Me. When I heard what he said, I thought, “There’s something off about what this person is saying; it’s not sound reasoning! This isn’t what someone with humanity should say. He’s not at all young, and he has believed in God for more than ten years, yet he doesn’t even know whether what he’s saying is correct or not; he even takes it to be sound reasoning for reporting that person. This guy is not only unable to discern right from wrong—he doesn’t even know what’s correct and what’s incorrect. He’s no good.” If he had relayed this matter to you, you truly might not have been able to discern it, and some of you might have fallen for what he said, believing his reasoning was correct. Now that I’ve described it in this way, can you tell whether it’s correct or not? (Yes.) Aren’t such people twisted and absurd? (Yes.) They don’t know whether what they’re saying is correct or not, yet they still say it. They are clearly taking incorrect statements, thoughts, and viewpoints as positive thoughts and viewpoints to express and convey. This is not knowing what’s correct and what’s incorrect. They are not feigning ignorance, nor are they using these words to mislead people, to fool children—it’s clear they don’t know what’s correct and what’s incorrect. Thus, I say they have no humanity. They can’t even distinguish what’s correct from what’s incorrect in such a basic matter—do they have true reason? Can they still be upright people? They say incorrect things as if they were correct, which is equivalent to saying that black is white. Can they still be upright in their actions? Can they treat people fairly? They can’t treat people fairly, so aren’t they harming people? (Yes.) Is that being kind? (No.) Perhaps they don’t want to be evil people, and they also want to be friendly to others, but they don’t even know what’s correct and what’s incorrect, they can’t even distinguish black from white, so how could they be friendly to others? This is beyond their reach. Only when one’s conscience and reason are sound, and one has the ability to discern and is able to choose the correct principles of practice, can one be kind. If you say you’re upright and kind, where are the manifestations of this? If you don’t even know what’s correct and what’s incorrect, how can you be upright and kind? Don’t kid yourself! Right? This is called deceiving oneself and others. Such people also particularly admire themselves, thinking that their character is upright, that they are kind and do not fear authority, and that whenever they see someone who’s done something wrong, they can immediately criticize them. What is your basis for such criticism? If you criticize them based on your own incorrect thoughts and viewpoints, you’ll end up tormenting good people, twisting the truth principles of God’s house. Isn’t that misleading people? If such a person holds power in the church, that means Satan is holding power. If Satan holds power, do most people benefit or suffer? (They suffer.) Most people will be seriously harmed and have no way to live.

The topics we’ve been discussing all relate to some common manifestations in people’s daily lives. How do you feel after hearing these topics discussed? Do these topics have anything to do with the truth? Are you willing to listen? (Yes.) Is this just gossip? Is it speaking ill of people behind their backs? (No, it’s to help us learn how to discern people.) Now that you’ve heard these fellowships, are you able to discern people? (I feel I’m able to discern people a little better than before.) You should now be able to discern people somewhat. Now that I’ve fellowshipped the truth and discussed examples in this manner, if you still can’t discern people, then your caliber is too poor and the truth is beyond you. Of course, there are certainly people like this. No matter how they listen, they don’t get it, and even think, “What You’re talking about are all just matters of daily life—I won’t listen! I want to hear the profound truths of the third heaven. What You’re fellowshipping isn’t the truth, it’s all just gossip. I won’t listen!” If you truly don’t want to listen, you don’t have to. But the topics we’re discussing are all necessary. Whoever can understand the truth within them will be able to discern people. If you can truly understand, then you are a blessed person. If you can’t understand no matter how you listen, and the more you listen, the more muddled you become and the more it gives you a headache, then this manifestation is not a good sign or a good omen for you.

Just now we spoke about the characteristic in humanity of knowing what’s correct and what’s incorrect. There are many different manifestations of people not knowing what’s correct and what’s incorrect. If people knew what’s correct and what’s incorrect, that would be good, and we wouldn’t need to talk about this topic. But many people don’t know what’s correct and what’s incorrect, so it’s worth it to bring up some examples to discern why this type of person doesn’t know what’s correct and what’s incorrect, why they can’t discern things that are so obviously correct or incorrect. This type of person is actually able to say such absurd words and do such ridiculous things—what is really going on here? This is worth fellowshipping on and discerning. Knowing what’s correct and what’s incorrect is a condition that one’s humanity should possess. Not knowing what’s correct and what’s incorrect is something that shouldn’t occur in a person. If one really doesn’t know what’s correct and what’s incorrect, that’s quite a pity; it means they are devoid of the conditions a person should have. We just talked about some specific examples and manifestations, and for some people, it really is the case that they obviously don’t know what’s correct and what’s incorrect. If someone is just saying some unreasonable, provocative things or some fallacious words to people, or expressing some twisted reasoning to people, this doesn’t need to be specially brought up to fellowship and discern, because those manifestations are directed at ordinary corrupt humans. But some people’s manifestation of not knowing what’s correct and what’s incorrect is directed at God, at the truth, and at positive things. For this type of person who doesn’t know what’s correct and what’s incorrect, if I don’t bring up some examples to fellowship on, everyone might still not be able to discern them, and they won’t see through to the essence and seriousness of this type of problem. So it’s necessary for Me to talk about it. Many things have happened—if they involve the truth, I must tell it like it is, bringing up these negative examples to help people understand the truth and gain discernment, and also let everyone learn lessons from them. If some matter involves a certain person, those involved shouldn’t feel embarrassed. If you feel embarrassed now, then you shouldn’t have done those things back then. To what grave extent do some people not know what’s correct and what’s incorrect? The things they do—which result from not knowing what’s correct and what’s incorrect, and which are of a very serious nature—are not directed at any person, but at Me. I’m not familiar with and don’t know most people in the church, and there are some leaders and workers that I have only met once or twice, but I rarely have one-on-one, heart-to-heart talks with people face to face, because I don’t have that much free time. Among these people, I can get along with some of them fine enough, but some are impossible to communicate with. Why is this? Let’s look at a few examples next.

One autumn, the potatoes grown on a farm were harvested, and the person who was responsible for cooking went to the farm and brought back a basket of them. The potatoes on top appeared to be roughly the size of a fist, which looked passable. However, the ones below this were all small, and some were rotten. I was astonished. “How could they give us such potatoes? Shouldn’t potatoes like this be used as animal feed? Did the person at the farm pack them by mistake?” If it were really a mistake, why were the potatoes on top good and normal, while those below were small or rotten? This incident left a deep impression on Me. Outwardly, the person who packed the potatoes didn’t have a squint and his appearance was ordinary. I had seen him a few times and exchanged a few words with him, but we had no real interaction. I could almost say that I didn’t know him, so there was no question of criticism, rebukes, or pruning. So why would this person treat Me this way, giving Me such small and rotten potatoes? If he didn’t know they were for Me, why would he put good ones on top and rotten ones below? He clearly knew. So, knowing they were for Me, why would he still put in rotten potatoes? Was he in a daze at the time? Or did a devil control his hands? Or was he possessed by an evil spirit? This is not very likely. If he were truly possessed by an evil spirit, he would have become mentally deranged and simply wouldn’t have brought Me potatoes. So if he wasn’t possessed by an evil spirit, why would this person who appeared to be quite normal do such a thing? Didn’t he know that doing this was an act of deception? If he harbored hatred for Me in his heart, then he should have left God’s house instead of doing his duty here. Besides, if he did harbor hatred for Me, what was the reason? What reason was there to hate Me? If we look at it in terms of humanity, first, I’d only seen him a few times; I didn’t know what he was like. And second, I had never had any real contact or dealings with him. I only knew that he worked the land. So why did he treat Me this way? There is only one possibility: He could only have done such a thing if he had very strong notions about Me and a great deal of prejudice against Me, or if someone had incited him. That this person could do such a thing, that he could bring himself to do it—don’t you find it inconceivable? Even if you were dealing with an ordinary person, could you bring yourself to do such a thing? Even if you were running a supermarket, you couldn’t cheat and swindle people; you’d have to be trustworthy to keep your customers and not sabotage your own path. What’s more, now you’re doing your duty, and to do such a thing, especially to Me—tell Me, is this justifiable? (No.) Then what is the nature of such a person? Did he know what’s correct and what’s incorrect when he did this? He had no awareness whatsoever. If he truly had awareness, when he was about to pick up the rotten potatoes, he would have thought, “No, I can’t take the rotten ones, I have to take some good ones. Doesn’t everyone have to eat good food?” And that’s not to mention that they were for Me to eat—the thought of taking rotten potatoes shouldn’t even have crossed his mind, let alone acting on it. Now, isn’t the answer very clear? Why was he able to do this? It is because no matter whether such people are reincarnated from devils or from beasts, in their humanity, they don’t understand what’s correct and what’s incorrect. In their humanity, there isn’t anything that can distinguish or vet what correct actions and thoughts are and what incorrect actions and thoughts are. If they’re not reincarnated from animals or devils, then they’re walking corpses. Then what is the meaning of such a person believing in God? They say, “It’s god I believe in. You’re just a person, what can you do to me?” Is there any reason in these words? Is this true belief in God? Does treating God this way align with God’s intentions? God does not want this kind of belief. Perhaps they’ll also say, “Whether god wants me or not is not for you to say!” I say, “What you are saying is not correct. If the words I speak are God’s words, then there is a problem with you treating Me this way. Your outcome is determined by God’s words.” They say, “I will go to the third heaven and report you!” I say, “If you can really go to the third heaven, then hurry up and do so.” Tell Me, are such people not terrifying? Who would still be willing to associate with such a person? Let’s not go into who he was targeting for now. If he wasn’t targeting Me, but a person, would his actions have conformed to the standard of conscience? (No.) What kind of problem is it that he was capable of doing such a thing to Me? Since he was capable of doing such a thing even to Me, could he also do it to an ordinary person? How should this matter be assessed? I was very astonished that this person could do such a thing. Why could he do it? If he did this to an ordinary person, I would also have a characterization for him. It was wrong of him to do that. It’s not that doing this to others is correct while doing it to Me is incorrect—this kind of statement is not fair and does not hold up. If he could do this to Me, then he can do it to others, to anyone. What is the reason for this? This is worth pondering deeply. He said he believed in God and that he was a member of God’s house, so why could he still treat Me this way? How could he do such a base thing? How could he do something so incomprehensible? He considered himself very kind, so how could he give rotten potatoes to others to eat? Why didn’t he eat them himself? Those rotten potatoes, small potatoes, and underdeveloped potatoes are for feeding animals, so why did he give them to people to eat? Even if I don’t measure him by the truth, just from a moral standpoint his actions were not acceptable, so I say he is non-human. Is this characterization accurate? Is it fair? (It’s accurate and fair.) He did such an obviously wrong thing and still didn’t know it, and he even felt at ease, and didn’t have a shred of self-reproach in his heart. Why is this? He had no conscience, he didn’t even have a soul; like a devil or a beast he had no awareness. He was not a human, so, he had no conscience. He didn’t know what’s correct and what’s incorrect, and no matter how serious a wrong he committed he always felt that his actions were perfectly justified, and he never admitted his mistakes, and insisted on continuing to act the same way. When others characterized him, saying that what he did was wrong, he still thought that he was very much in the right and felt wronged. I say that’s not wronging you at all. It’s not condemning you or characterizing you as having no humanity without having a handle on the facts. Rather, with such serious facts there for all to see, who could still say you had humanity? With these facts as evidence, no one could deny it. I’d have liked to say that you had humanity, that you were kind and upright, but the nature of what you did is too vile; it is of the same nature as Satan deriding God, it is inverting black and white just as Satan did by showing God the riches and glory of the world and saying to Him, “All these things will I give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” Everything in the world and all things, were created by God. God created all that there is and everything; God should enjoy all of this, you should not, you are not qualified to do so. What you enjoy is what God has bestowed upon you. You should worship God, not have God worship you. This guy didn’t even understand such an obvious and simple concept, and even thought I had to gauge his mood and see whether he was feeling happy or not just to get a few potatoes. If he was in a bad mood he would give Me some rotten potatoes, as though he were dealing with a beggar. I was supposed to endure mistreatment from him—is that possible? Could I put up with that? (No.) How should such a person be dealt with? (He should be cleansed away promptly.) Such a person should be dealt with by administrative decree. And this is indeed not the only incident of its kind. Some say, “Are there even more serious incidents than this?” Of course there are, otherwise why would I say that people are different from one another? If everyone who believes in God could worship God, then there would be no need for each to be sorted according to their kind. It is because many people do not sincerely believe in God, and because there are evil people and muddleheaded people who disturb the work of the church, capable of committing any bad deed, that as the church’s work comes to an end, everyone is revealed and sorted according to their kind.

Let’s talk about another example. The corn on a farm was ripe, and someone was going to bring some to Me. A person nearby said to him, “Rats have crawled over that corn, don’t take it!” He gave it a thought and said, “So what if rats have crawled over it? Isn’t it still edible? It’s fine if I take it over!” He clearly knew that the corn had been crawled over by rats and was not fit for people to eat, yet he insisted on bringing it to Me. What is the nature of this? Does such a person have humanity? (No.) Then what kind of person is this? (Not human, but a devil.) Tell Me, would he agree to giving the corn that rats had crawled over to his parents or child to eat? (No.) Why not? (He knew it was not clean, that eating it would be bad for their health. He wouldn’t be willing to let his family eat it.) He knew he couldn’t give it to his family, yet he insisted on bringing it to Me, and others couldn’t stop him. So did he know whether this was correct or incorrect? (He didn’t know.) In fact, he knew in his heart that this was incorrect. So why did he still want to bring the corn to Me? Am I his enemy? Had I tormented him or harmed him? No, I hadn’t done any of these things. I wasn’t familiar with him, yet he insisted on bringing Me corn that had been crawled over by rats. Tell Me, what is the nature of this? This was actually something done by someone who believed in God. It really opens your eyes and broadens your horizons, it really makes you gain discernment, and makes you see that there truly is no end to the bizarre in this vast world. Tell Me, when he got that corn ready for Me, did he have any awareness in his heart? Did he know that what he was doing was incorrect, that he should have brought some good corn, at least corn that hadn’t been crawled over by rats? Did he think like this? (He had no awareness.) He had no awareness when it came to such things. If such contaminated corn were brought to his mother or his child, he would have awareness. He didn’t have the awareness of conscience that humanity should have, so did he have humanity? What sort of creature was he? (Not human.) You see, in his belief in God, he did his duty, he suffered and paid a price, he could do physical labor, and he also attended gatherings and read God’s words, but why was he so unfriendly to Me? Why was he so repulsed by Me? I hadn’t ever exchanged more than a few words with him, so in what way had I offended him? Some of the people I’ve had contact with are quite good, and they are quite friendly to Me. Not everyone is like him. But I had not offended him, nor had I done harm to him, so why did he hate Me so much? You have the answer to this in your hearts. He didn’t just hate Me; he treats everyone this way. This is precisely the sort of creature he is. If he were to do business, he would definitely cheat and swindle, and do all sorts of bad deeds. He has no boundaries of conscience and no principles in his interactions with people; his heart is consumed by these dark things. It is very obvious that this was his consistent method and principle when it came to dealing with people; this was his means and manner of handling things. Some people say, “The fact that he could do this means he didn’t treat God as God.” Is this statement correct? (No.) Why is it incorrect? Even if you were treating Me like an ordinary person, you shouldn’t have done this to Me. Even if you were just abiding by morals, you shouldn’t have done this. If food has really been crawled over by rats or gnawed on by some animal and has bacteria, it cannot even be sold at the supermarket. What if someone eats it and something happens to them? Regardless of whether others know or not, it wouldn’t sit right with your conscience. Since you know, you shouldn’t let people eat it. This involves one’s nature, and it involves the principles of conducting oneself. You don’t even possess the most basic moral standards of self-conduct, yet you think you are human. You are not human at all. Even a beast knows it should protect whoever feeds it and raises it. Take a dog, for example—if you always feed it, it will be good to you. If a stranger comes to the house and wants to take something, it will stop them and protect you at every turn. Even a dog can be loyal to and protect its master, so how could that person fail to reach this level? Isn’t he worse than a dog? (Yes.) If you say that he is a devil, he might really refuse to accept it. So let’s put it objectively now: Such a person has no humanity, because he has done such an absurd thing, such a morally corrupt thing, and yet he has no awareness of conscience, and he also never regrets it and doesn’t feel distressed about it. Even if someone treats an ordinary person this way, they should have the awareness of conscience, they should feel distressed inside, and they should know that what they were doing was incorrect and should stop. This is even more so the case when it comes to him treating Me this way, which is even more unjustifiable. Of course, I was not hurt because he treated Me this way. My heart is not so easily hurt. It’s just that I saw the principle by which he handled things was too despicable. Not only did it not meet the standard of conscience, but it was also too base and too disgusting. This person had absolutely no humanity! He committed such a wrong act in such a self-justified, open manner, and no one could stop him. Me saying that he has no humanity is not wronging him at all, because this is precisely the sort of act—an act devoid of humanity—that those without humanity commit. This is all too in line with his essence and his identity. If someone does things appropriately, and they have humanity and conscience, then saying that they have no humanity is wronging them. But if they really commit acts that are devoid of humanity, then saying that they have no humanity very much corresponds with their essence. Saying so isn’t wronging them, right? (Right.) Some people, when they hear Me say these words, get some ideas and say, “You always talk about these things and it makes us lose face. Who doesn’t make mistakes?” Is it right to think this way? (No.) Everyone makes mistakes, but the nature of the mistakes is really different. Many mistakes involve problems with humanity, and many mistakes involve the nature essence of a person. Some mistakes are just revelations of a person’s corrupt disposition and do not mean that there is a problem with the person’s essence.

Let’s talk about another example. One day, I went to a farm, and it just so happened that the people there were picking pears. Someone brought Me a few. At a glance I saw that these pears were quite green and not very ripe, but I saw the person picking the pears holding a bright yellow pear and eating it, saying as he ate, “So sweet, this pear is delicious!” He kept the ripe ones for himself to eat, and the ones he picked for Me were basically all unripe. Putting aside the matter of whether the pears were ripe or not, the person picking the pears wasn’t stupid. He spent day after day by those pear trees, and he knew which ones were ripe and which were not. I just so happened to go there, and he picked the unripe pears from the tree and gave them to Me. In fact, I don’t like to eat raw fruit or fruit of a cooling^[b] nature, and I especially can’t eat unripe fruit, as it upsets My stomach. But he gave Me unripe pears, while he pulled out a ripe pear and took a bite. This incident left a deep impression on Me. I knew that he could tell the difference between unripe and ripe pears. He assumed others were stupid and couldn’t tell, and thought, “It’s good enough of me to be giving you an unripe pear. I’m even giving you several. You don’t know whether the pears are ripe or not, you don’t have that knowledge! You may preach the truth clearly and logically, but you definitely still think I’m good and that I’m treating you well after I’ve picked so many unripe pears for you.” The person who did this thought that others were stupid, and in particular that I was stupid. Did he have any awareness in his heart when he did this foolish thing? (No.) He had no awareness. He thought he had fooled others and that he was very clever. Was he clever? (No.) If he were truly clever, how could he have done such an utterly foolish thing and still have no awareness? This proved that he was not clever, and that he was instead petty-minded. He picked the unripe pears and gave them to Me to eat, while he himself held a ripe pear and ate it. Wouldn’t this action look ridiculous? I let it slide, but what he did left a deep impression on Me. The fact that this person could do this to Me—isn’t the nature of this very serious? In terms of his viewpoint, principle for handling things, and approach in this matter, what was his humanity like? Did he know that what he did was incorrect, that treating people this way was incorrect? (He didn’t know this.) He thought he was very clever. “Look how smart I am, I gave you unripe pears and you couldn’t even tell! I kept all the ripe ones for myself, and you won’t get to eat a single ripe one! If you come again, I still won’t pick ripe ones for you, I’ll just give you the unripe ones!” Just the matter of picking pears revealed him. Is this person not good for nothing? (He is.) He is good for nothing and doesn’t know what’s correct and what’s incorrect. Tell Me, what kind of humanity is this? In My view, he’s a beast, and he only has the appearance of a human, when in reality, he’s not worthy of being called human. The thing he did and this mistake he made were utterly wretched, no better than what an animal would do. People always say that humans are higher animals, but the way I see it, many people are even worse than animals! Just from what he did, from the principles and approach of his actions, besides having no humanity, he is not even as loyal as a guard dog to its master. We have a dog at home. One time, it was eating a pig’s ear, and I teased it, saying, “You’re really enjoying that, aren’t you? Why don’t you give Me a bite?” It put down the pig’s ear and pushed it toward Me, as if to say, “Go ahead.” Meat and bones are the most delicious things for a dog. Even if its pup wanted it, it wouldn’t give the pig’s ear to it, but I said I wanted to eat it, and it immediately offered it to Me. You see, when you own a dog, you can see from it what makes dogs lovely. You take care of it and treat it well, and to it, you are its family. If you ask it for the best thing it has, it will give it to you. It has affection for you. People are incapable of this—so how are they higher animals? Devils say that humans are higher animals. This is pure fallacy, it’s twisted reasoning and heresy. If a person has no humanity, living in this satanic world, they can commit any bad deed—they can be as bad as bad gets, as base as base gets, as ugly as ugly gets, and as despicable as despicable gets. If they don’t have the function of conscience and don’t know what’s correct and what’s incorrect, they can commit any bad deed, and let any incorrect words, twisted reasoning, and heresies leave their mouths. Humans are more dreadful than animals. Animals are actually not dreadful; they are very simple, very pure, and very straightforward. The little dog I own, when it was young and eating a pig’s ear, became so happy upon seeing Me that it started shaking its head and wagging its tail. It knew to make Me happy. But if I teased it and asked for its food, it wouldn’t give it to Me, and it would quickly hide and come out only after it had finished eating. Since reaching two or three years old, it has behaved differently, it’s sensible now. When I ask it for something it likes, it gives it to Me. It is being genuine when it gives it to Me, making no demands of Me or harboring ulterior motives toward Me. And when it doesn’t give it to Me, it is also being genuine, with no malice toward Me. Whether it gives it to Me or not, it is being genuine. These are its innate attributes and instincts. Animals do not have corrupt dispositions. They do not possess anything that has been processed by Satan, and their revelations are all natural, and very direct and simple. You don’t need to guess at their intentions, and you don’t need to guard against them. If an animal gives something to you, it’s giving it to you, and if it doesn’t, then it’s not. If it’s happy, it’s happy, and if it’s not, then it’s not. It won’t become controlled by its emotions, and won’t hold ill intentions toward you. People are different. People are dreadful. Wearing human skin, if they don’t possess conscience or reason, they can’t possibly be better than animals, but they can be as bad as bad gets. How bad can they be? So bad that you’ll feel you’ve seen a living demon, making you feel it’s inconceivable, shocking your conscience, striking at and afflicting the depths of your heart. When I feel these things, I sigh inwardly, thinking: “Is this something a human should do? How can people be so bad? He believes in God, how can he still do these things?” Once a person loses their conscience and reason, they can be as bad as bad gets. Not only can they be as bad as they are now, but they can grow even worse, and they can continue to degenerate. That people do not know what’s correct and what’s incorrect is the beginning of humankind’s degeneration, the beginning of humankind’s fall.

If someone doesn’t know what’s correct and what’s incorrect, they have no conscience or reason, and thus they have no humanity, and it’s possible they have a demonic nature. No matter what they reveal afterward or what they live out in their lifetime, in short, they will not be redeemed, they will never be redeemed. If someone has no conscience and no reason—to be precise, no humanity—then they’re incorrigible and cannot be redeemed. This is truly how it is. If they don’t even know what’s correct and what’s incorrect, how can they do anything that accords with conscience and reason? That would be absurd to suggest. Some people are prone to jealousy and conflict. If it is conflict with other people, you might think the nature of this is not very serious, but some people enter into conflict with Me. Who do these “believers in God” actually believe in, then? The fact that they can be in conflict with Me makes this problem serious. Some people never forget it when I point out some problem of theirs, and afterward they ponder what method they can use to find some leverage and retaliate. For instance, I once said to a person such as this, “You always cook so much, why don’t you make just the right amount?” He thought it over: “You say I don’t have a good grasp of the amount of food to make. Isn’t this implying I’m not sharp-witted, saying I’m no good? Why don’t you cook a meal, then!” After I cooked and there was also a little bit left over, he didn’t say anything out loud, but inside he thought, “You can’t cook just the right amount either, can you? I’ve found a chance to retaliate against you. You exposed my problem, so I’ll expose you too!” He was always trying to find ways to target Me. Some people say, “Is it the case that You hold a grudge against whoever targets You? So it’s okay for others to be targeted, but not You?” Are they right to say that? (No.) On another occasion, I asked someone to tidy up the table, and he said, “I wasn’t the one who made it messy!” I said, “Even if it wasn’t you, you can still tidy it up.” He said, “Even if I tidy it up, I have to make it clear that it wasn’t me who made it messy.” I asked him to tidy up the things in the cabinet, and he said, “The things in there weren’t bought by me!” I said, “You weren’t the one to buy them, but can’t you tidy them up? Why is it that when I say something, it carries so little weight? You just have to figure out who bought them before you can tidy them up?” Did he know what he was saying was correct or incorrect? He was expressing twisted reasoning, wasn’t he? (Yes.) I said that he was expressing twisted reasoning, but he remained unconvinced at heart, thinking that My special status meant others had to put up with whatever I said, as if I were throwing My weight around. Was his thinking correct? (No.) Later, I saw that he did not accept the truth at all, and no matter what I said, he would not accept it in his heart, so I no longer wasted My breath on him—he could do whatever he wanted, and I would excuse and tolerate him. Although I have this identity and status, there are too many people who do not listen to Me and oppose Me. I have personally seen many brothers and sisters who are disrespectful to Me. There are many people who are defiant toward Me and resentful of Me, many people who are jealous of Me and hate Me in their hearts, many people who look down on Me and belittle Me, many people who judge Me behind My back, and many people who ridicule and mock Me in the open. How have I treated them? In My thirty-some years of work, I have not retaliated against a single person. I have not hated anyone, nor have I tormented them after I assumed My status because they were disrespectful to Me when My identity was not openly revealed. Not even once have I done such a thing. Moreover, these people have done some rude or hurtful things to Me, and I have never held them accountable. However, I do have to fellowship on these kinds of problems by relating them to the truth to help everyone have discernment—this is beneficial to everyone. But many people have no discernment regarding the things these people have done. They don’t take such things seriously, as if they are not worth mentioning. Isn’t this a problem? So it is all too necessary to fellowship on such matters to help everyone have discernment. Since you say you believe in God, I treat you as a believer. I make demands on you based on the duty you are doing, so shouldn’t you do it? Shouldn’t you have submission? (Yes.) I have this identity, and I am making demands on you with this identity and status, so you should treat what I say with the attitude of a created being. You are doing your duty; you should not make any other remarks, you should not utter twisted reasoning, and you should not contradict Me. This is the minimum rationality and manifestation of humanity that you as a created being should have. But this person not only lacked such an attitude, but he also employed twisted reasoning. Did he know what was correct and what was incorrect? He did not. People who don’t know what’s correct and what’s incorrect are devoid of humanity, are they not? (Yes.) It can be said with certainty that they have no humanity. If an ordinary person asks you to tidy up the table and organize the cabinet, and you don’t want to do it or you feel that the other person is an ordinary person and has no right to ask you to do it, then you can choose not to do it. But the two things you said, “I wasn’t the one who made it messy!” and “The things in the cabinet weren’t bought by me!”—is this what a person with conscience and reason would say? Isn’t this being overbearingly unreasonable? (Yes.) You act defiant when an ordinary person speaks to you like this, but now it is Me speaking to you, and you still dare to employ twisted reasoning with Me and defend yourself with specious logic. What does it say about your character that you can employ twisted reasoning like this? You said, “I wasn’t the one who made it messy,” meaning, “Whoever made it messy should tidy it up; in any case, I won’t do it!” You refused to do the task you should have done, and you even employed twisted reasoning. Is this the way a person with normal humanity should handle things? If this task is what you should do, shouldn’t you not say this? For you to be able to say this, doesn’t it mean that you don’t know what’s correct and what’s incorrect? In order to refuse and not do this thing, you even vented your personal anger, saying that you weren’t the one who made a mess, nor were you the one who bought the things, so you wouldn’t tidy it up. You came up with excuses and used twisted reasoning to avoid doing it. Isn’t your reasoning too twisted? You could let such twisted reasoning escape your mouth, and you did so with brazen self-assuredness and even overbearingness. Such a person doesn’t know what’s correct and what’s incorrect, do they? They don’t have humanity, do they? (Yes.) It’s not because I have this identity and status and you targeted Me that I have characterized you like this. Even if someone else asked you to do this and you refused and tried to argue, as a bystander, I would still evaluate you in this way, because what you said is not in line with humanity, it is incorrect, it is twisted reasoning, it is heresy and fallacy. You didn’t think it was incorrect, and you even took it to be sound reasoning; this is enough to show what’s inside your humanity. You couldn’t hold it in just then and blurted it out. This is a natural revelation, and a natural revelation represents one’s humanity and essence. Why do I say it represents one’s essence? You harboring such thoughts and viewpoints is not something temporary, and they were not triggered by something I said; rather, these thoughts and viewpoints are what you’ve been thinking for a long time, for days and months—on top of this, because some things were not to your liking, you developed notions, your heart swelling with dissatisfaction and defiance. Your control slipped for a moment and the contents of your heart were exposed. What was exposed? That you have no conscience and reason, and that your humanity is too evil, too terrifying. If you were to ask the abovementioned person to accept the truth, he could not do it. If you were to ask him to know his corrupt dispositions, that would be even less possible for him. One who has no humanity is on the same level as a beast. It is not because he accidentally did something wrong to Me or said something fallacious to Me that I have characterized him this way; it’s because this is simply the nature of what he did. To characterize him this way is not unfair or unjust. Even if he had targeted someone else with these words, I would still evaluate him in this way if I saw it. This is an objective, fair statement. He could say such absurd things, utter such preposterous reasoning, and his doing so was a natural revelation. Tell Me, isn’t this an exposure of his nature essence? Isn’t this an exposure of his true humanity? This has revealed him. What has it revealed? It has revealed that he has no humanity. People with no humanity do not know what’s correct and what’s incorrect, and they can come out with any twisted reasoning and heresy, saying these things with such brazen self-assuredness. After they have spoken, they never know that their words are incorrect, and they never admit what was wrong with their words. They never reflect upon themselves or accept being pruned, and in the end, what do they say? “I didn’t say that deliberately. Wasn’t it just that I let it slip in a moment of anger?” Does it even need to have been deliberate? You have already revealed it naturally, and what your humanity is like has already been exposed. The fact that you can say it without thinking it over proves that these words have dwelt in your heart for a long time, and when you encounter this kind of environment, they are naturally revealed. This can completely represent your character. If you had thought about it before saying it, it might not necessarily be true, and it could even be a pretense, whereas this exposes your character more. People with no humanity do not know what’s correct and what’s incorrect, and they even invert right and wrong, and express twisted reasoning as if it were sound reasoning. No matter how you present the facts and reason with them, they just won’t admit that they have done wrong. “How can I be wrong? It’s you who are wrong! You look down on me, you see that I’m meek, have no gifts, and have no influence or status in society, and you bully me!” They spout a whole bunch of twisted reasoning and heresies, but never say the nature of the wrong things they did and the twisted reasoning they uttered. No matter how many wrong things they do, they don’t admit to them. Would a person with normal humanity have this kind of manifestation? We don’t even need to mention people whose conscience and reason are very sound—anyone with even a bit of conscience and reason will definitely realize that people make many mistakes in their lifetime. In particular, some people say or do some things they shouldn’t, and then feel regretful and distressed their whole lives, feeling self-accusation and self-reproach in their conscience. As they grow to an age of greater sensibility and maturity, they increasingly know what words should be said and what things should be done, and what words should not be said and what things should not be done. Their conscience and reason will constantly regulate their behavior and thoughts. Especially if a person can accept the truth, after they have accepted some truths, their conscience and reason will develop in a positive direction, and the incorrect words they once said, the fallacious viewpoints they once expressed, and the wrong things they once did will, little by little, keep appearing in their minds. They will constantly reflect upon, think about, and ponder them, and then seek God’s words and compare themselves to God’s words, and they will increasingly feel that they are just an ordinary person, that they have made many mistakes and said many incorrect words, that they have many fallacious thoughts and viewpoints, and that they have done many foolish, ignorant, and stupid things, and things people find loathsome, in the past. Without even looking at it from the level of God’s words and the truth, and just viewing it with the understanding that a person has gained from many years of experience, they can also constantly summarize these problems in their humanity, and these mistakes and transgressions. This is normal, and these are the experience and gains that a person with humanity who knows what’s correct and what’s incorrect should ultimately have after reaching a certain age and accepting some truths. But those who don’t know what’s correct and what’s incorrect, even if they live to be sixty or seventy, remain such foolish, ignorant, stubborn people, and they will not change. If you expect such people to change, then you might as well be expecting a pig to fly. It will simply never happen. Such people will never change, because they don’t even know what’s correct and what’s incorrect. If you were to ask a person who doesn’t know what’s correct and what’s incorrect to accept the truth, that would be making things difficult for them, because it is simply beyond them, and they don’t know what the truth is. It is impossible for them to accept the truth. It would be like asking a color-blind person to paint a picture. Would they be able to paint a picture with normal colors? (No.) If you were to ask a tone-deaf person to sing, they would always be out of tune. No matter how they sing, they can’t sing in tune, yet they still think that their singing is in tune and that it’s others who are out of tune. Their standard of measurement is not correct, so they will never know what’s correct and what’s incorrect. Do you understand now? (Yes.)

What fact does this content that has been fellowshipped tell people? It tells them that because people who are devoid of humanity lack conscience and reason, this basic condition, they do not have the basic standard for measuring and regulating their humanity. As a result, their manifestations seem very strange to those who have conscience and reason. They are always expressing twisted reasoning and heresies, and expressing baseless views. You’re unable to understand just what’s going on. You’ve found the answer now, haven’t you? (Yes.) If this type of person reaches the point where they are impossible to get along with, then you should no longer associate with them. If they haven’t reached this point yet and you can still get along with them to a passable degree, then try to speak and converse with them as little as possible to avoid feeling fed up. Right now, there’s a heavy workload in all areas of work, with many tasks that require energy. Some people feel they are too busy and have no time to bother with these heresies and fallacies. This viewpoint is also incorrect, as it is not conducive to gaining discernment. When you hear a heresy or fallacy and feel there’s something off about it, you should make a note of it. Afterward, seek the truth so you can discern it clearly and know exactly what’s wrong with this fallacy. If you train and practice in this way, you will gain discernment. But for this type of person, there is no need to fellowship the truth with them to correct their viewpoints, because they simply cannot understand it. It’s like someone who sees an egg fall from a tree and then says that eggs grow on trees. In fact, there was a hen in the tree laying an egg. He didn’t see the hen, only the egg falling, so he came to this conclusion. No matter what you say to him, he doesn’t get it, and insists that eggs grow on trees. Isn’t this foolish? (Yes.) Can you get through to such a person? (No.) If you can’t get through to them, then don’t say any more. Don’t waste your breath. Over these years, I have seen too many absurd people. Most of these people are quite enthusiastic; they can do some duty, and are not deeply treacherous or evil. So I casually say something to them, and what’s the result? If I say a few words of truth, it’s beyond them. If I talk about external matters, they can’t stand listening. So I no longer want to say anything to these people, because talking with them is too tiring, and I have too much work to do, too many proper topics to discuss. I can’t even get through all the proper topics, so how could I have the mind to bother with these people? Now that the truth has been fellowshipped to this extent, many things have become clear, the true facts have come to light, and different types of people will truly be sorted according to their kind. For this type of absurd person, just let them be sorted and that’s it. We don’t have the time to reason with them or correct their fallacious viewpoints, right? (Yes.) Then let’s end our fellowship here for today. Goodbye!

March 16, 2024

Footnotes:

a. The name “Zheng” has connotations of moral uprightness in the original Chinese text.

b. “Cooling” is being used in the context of traditional Chinese medicine. In this context, “cooling” is not referring to low in temperature, but instead to a property of certain foods believed to reduce internal heat, restrain yang energy, and impact the functions of the stomach and spleen if consumed in excess.