How to Pursue the Truth (8)

These past days, our fellowship has been about the topic of how to discern caliber in various aspects, right? (Yes.) Through our fellowship on the specific manifestations of various aspects and levels of caliber, can you summarize what is good caliber, what is average caliber, what is poor caliber, and what is a complete lack of caliber? We fellowshipped quite a lot about this aspect, so you need to be able to summarize this content and then match it to the specific manifestations in daily life. In this way, your evaluation of yourselves and of others will be relatively more accurate. If you do not know how to summarize, when encountering certain people in daily life, you will not be able to discern them, and you will also not be able to discern your own manifestations and revelations in various aspects. Wouldn’t that mean you listened in vain? You must be adept at summarizing. What does summarizing mean? It means finding, within the specific content of all these various aspects, the principles for discerning or understanding different kinds of things. In this way, the purpose of summarizing is achieved. When you have found the principles, you will be able to use the truth principles to view people and things, and you will be able to discern others and also discern yourself. This proves that you understand the truth. When you understand an aspect of the truth and are able to apply it, you will achieve entry into the truth reality in this aspect. So, shouldn’t we summarize the specific content of various aspects of caliber? (Yes.) We have to summarize it. Only in this way can you clearly understand the truth principles related to caliber.

You need to know the principles in order to carry out an overall evaluation of people with good caliber, right? (Right.) We have fellowshipped on many specific manifestations in detail, using these specific manifestations to evaluate what a person’s caliber is like. So, what are the overall manifestations of people with good caliber? They have certain specific principles in their hearts for conducting themselves and acting. Even when they do not understand the truth or have not yet heard the truth, they have some of the most basic principles for viewing people and things, as well as for conducting themselves and acting. That is, they have certain boundaries for their self-conduct. To a certain extent, these boundaries relatively align with or are close to the truth principles and, at the very least, are close to the standards of the conscience and reason of humanity. After they come to understand some truths through eating and drinking God’s words and accepting the watering and provision of God’s words, even if they have not experienced many matters or special environments, they can still understand and grasp some truth principles in their hearts. In actual life, they are then able to apply these principles to handle various people, events, and things. Of course, when they handle various people, events, and things, it is not just about handling simple, single-faceted issues. Instead, when they encounter various complex and intertwined people, events, and things, they can apply God’s words and the truth principles to treat and handle them. This is a manifestation of people with good caliber when it comes to matters involving principles. Because their caliber is good, through the watering and provision of God’s words, they can find for themselves the principles within God’s words for viewing and handling various people, events, and things. People with good caliber like this can independently take charge of work, completing each task on their own. This is a manifestation of good caliber. What is the main manifestation? (The main manifestation is that they can, through the watering and provision of God’s words, find for themselves the principles within God’s words for viewing and handling various people, events, and things, being able to solve problems on their own and independently take charge of work.) Exactly—through eating and drinking God’s words, they can understand the truth and find the principles for viewing and handling various people, events, and things, being able to shoulder work on their own. Only this is what it means to have good caliber. Previously, we said that being able to shoulder work on one’s own requires possessing various abilities. Now, using the truth principles to measure this, this is a manifestation of people with good caliber.

What are the manifestations of people with average caliber? They are certainly much worse than those with good caliber. However, regardless of whether people have good or average caliber, before they receive the provision of God’s words and understand the truth, they will not have the correct principles for conducting themselves. Attaining a grasp of the principles for conducting oneself must be done on the foundation of receiving the provision of God’s words and coming to understand the truth. Only through actual experiences can one gradually come to understand the principles for conducting oneself. If it is a person with average caliber, when reading God’s words, they can only understand the basic meaning and the required standards expressed in God’s words. They understand these things in terms of doctrine, but when faced with situations, they are still unable to apply the truth principles. Only through the guidance and provision of others, or after experiencing many things, can they come to understand some basic truth principles. What does “basic” refer to here? It means that the principles they understand and grasp are primarily single-faceted and relatively simple principles, and enable them to handle and resolve ordinary problems, but when faced with complex situations or contexts, they do not know how to act according to principles. They must rely on guidance and help from people who understand the truth to deal with some complex problems or multifaceted tasks. These are the manifestations of people with average caliber. What is prominent in the manifestations of people with average caliber? They cannot independently understand the truth or find principles of practice within God’s words. They cannot accurately understand what God’s required standards truly are. They need someone to fellowship with them, support them, and help vet things, and clearly tell and remind them. Only in this way do they know: “This is a truth principle. I must remember it. I must practice according to this. I must implement the work according to this work arrangement.” This is in terms of their comprehension. Secondly, in terms of doing work, when doing work for which they have no experience, they cannot quickly apply the truth principles to view or handle various people, events, and things. They can only handle some single-faceted work based on understanding a few basic truth principles. When faced with complex work involving multiple truth principles, they need others to vet things, and support and provide for them. These are the manifestations of people with average caliber. In terms of personal comprehension, they need others to fellowship with them and help vet things. They need to listen a lot—not just to one aspect of the truth but to various aspects, and in the end they need someone to tell them what the basic principles of the various aspects of the truth are in order for them to understand some of them in their hearts. However, when they encounter complex situations, they again do not know how to comprehend and still need to seek. This is in terms of comprehension. As for handling various matters in work or actual life, their ability to handle problems can only reach the level of adhering to the truth principles to handle single-faceted work. When faced with complex work involving multiple truth principles, they find it somewhat difficult and need to seek and have someone vet things. They themselves cannot guarantee that they can do the work well and cannot determine whether what they do aligns with the truth principles. Sometimes, there will be deviations in their work. However, these deviations are merely deviations and not distortions. If they were distortions, then it would indicate poor caliber. There is a distinction between deviations and distortions: Deviations mean that the work is not entirely in line with the truth principles, is not done adequately, or lacks sufficient consideration, but the direction is not wrong. It’s just that, because they have insufficient work experience, or a rather superficial understanding of the truth and a grasp of the truth principles that is not sufficiently precise, their work is not sufficiently up to standard. It may approach being up to standard but still requires improvement to be fully up to standard. These are the manifestations of people with average caliber. What is the main characteristic of this kind of person? (It is that they cannot independently do an item of work properly; they need help and support from others to finish some work.) Their characteristic is that, whether in terms of comprehension or doing their duty, they are relatively inferior. They generally cannot independently do an item of work properly, requiring support, vetting, and prompting from others. Therefore, the basic reason that people with average caliber should possess is to seek more and wait more when doing things. When they cannot see through something, they should immediately and humbly seek—either searching for the truth principles in God’s words to serve as a basis for themselves or seeking from the higher-ups—and not act blindly or thoughtlessly. After working for a period of time, if you find yourself confused about many things, immediately summarize and record them, and seek from the higher-ups. The purpose is to have those above you vet and check whether the work you’ve done during this period contains any deviations or gaps. Do not be too self-righteous, thinking that you have work experience, and do not feel too good about yourself. You must have self-awareness. The manifestations of average caliber have already been discussed, so what are the characteristics of people with average caliber? (They cannot independently do work; they need others to support, help, and vet things.) And what are their characteristics in terms of comprehending God’s words? (In terms of comprehending God’s words, they can only comprehend some basic principles but are unable to practically apply them in the work.) And what are their characteristics in terms of work capability? (In terms of work capability, people with average caliber cannot quickly apply the truth principles to view or handle various issues. Furthermore, they can only maintain a single item of work; when it comes to multiple items of work, they cannot grasp the principles. They are unable to prioritize various items of work by importance or urgency to complete them well, let alone reasonably arrange the work. They must have someone vet things and guide their direction, and constantly help and support them.) That’s right. People with average caliber can independently do some single-faceted work or, on the foundation of having a certain level of work experience, handle some simple work. However, when faced with complex issues, especially work involving multiple truth principles, they become confused and do not know how to practice. One moment, they think it should be done this way, and the next moment, they think it should be done that way, but they do not know just which way aligns with the truth principles. They are unable to evaluate the consequences that may arise after the task is eventually completed. In such situations, they are left without a path. People with average caliber can be competent for a single item of work, but when faced with multiple items of work or slightly more complex work, they become confused. For example, some leaders and workers among you can handle one item of work when it is assigned to them, but if they are assigned two or three items of work, they cannot manage them. Even though they want to do them well, they cannot achieve it. When they are busy with work, as soon as someone brings up one problem or another, they become confused and do not know how to resolve them. As a result, none of the items of work are done well. These are the manifestations of people with average caliber. People with average caliber cannot simultaneously shoulder two or three items of work. Especially when they encounter complex or special situations, they immediately become confused and do not know what to do. As a result, the work they could have done well is not done well, and the items of work they are responsible for encounter trouble and are delayed. Therefore, people with average caliber cannot shoulder two or three items of work and are only suited for simple, individual items of work. Some leaders and workers always think of doing work as very simple. When other people point out problems, they are always indifferent and do not see them as problems, even thinking that there’s something wrong with those people’s heads and that they’re making things too complicated. In the end, major problems arise, and they are unable to resolve them and only then report them to the higher-ups. Such leaders and workers have too little experience and lack insight. In their work, they always assume everything will go smoothly, merely adhering to some regulations and stubbornly sticking to a single path. No matter how serious the problems that arise are, they fail to realize them; even more so, they fail to realize that these problems will delay the overall work if they go unresolved. These are the manifestations of people with average caliber.

Generally, if people with average caliber are up to standard in all aspects of their humanity, they can basically be competent for single-faceted work. The reason I say they cannot independently complete comprehensive work is that their caliber only allows them to do well in single-faceted work. When it comes to certain work related to their interests, hobbies, and strengths, in terms of their caliber, they can be competent for it. However, when faced with the complexities of multifaceted work, they become confused. Even if they have some practical experience, their caliber is not adequate for the task. Some people say, “Is this because I’m young?” No, it is not. If your caliber is average, even when you reach your forties or fifties, you still will not be competent for shouldering multifaceted work. Why do I say this? After accumulating some experience through actually performing work, you may become capable of handling certain single-faceted work. However, you are only able to independently bring the work to completion in situations where you have guidance, someone to vet things, or follow-up from others—you remain forever unable to shoulder multifaceted work independently. This indicates you have average caliber. Some people, after accumulating some experience through many years of undergoing various situations, and after coming to understand some truth principles, still cannot shoulder multifaceted work, especially work where they must take charge of it independently. When they encounter complex situations, they become confused and cannot prioritize tasks by importance or urgency. Such people definitely have average caliber. Work experience only accounts for one aspect of a person’s work capability; it is not the dominant factor. The dominant factor is a person’s caliber and their abilities in various aspects. Work experience merely provides some reference. Of course, work experience is also valuable because it arises from personal experience, but this practical work experience cannot enable you to more accurately grasp the principles of multifaceted work. If your caliber is good and you truly understand the truth principles, even if you have no work experience or your personal experience is not extensive, you can still shoulder overall work on your own and independently take charge of work. However, people with average caliber cannot complete overall work on their own; they can only complete single-faceted work and need frequent prompting, vetting, help, and guidance. Therefore, for those of you with average caliber, do not think that being able to do well in certain single-faceted work means you can be competent for multifaceted work or take charge of work independently. This is an illusion and an incorrect understanding. There is a gap between being able to complete certain single-faceted work on your own and being able to complete multifaceted work on your own—that is, being able to take charge of work independently. This is something you will gradually come to know through experience. These words might not be easy to understand—only those who have served as leaders or workers for many years and have practical experience can understand them. Ordinary brothers and sisters may not understand, right? Leaders and workers who have shouldered multifaceted work have practical experience and understand the differences within this—they have principles in how they do their work. People with average caliber, however, fall short of this. The manifestations of people with average caliber have thus been fully summarized.

Next, let’s summarize the manifestations of people with poor caliber. The manifestations of people with poor caliber are certainly worse than those of people with average caliber. What are the manifestations of people with poor caliber? They are that, through their own seeking or eating and drinking of God’s words, although they can understand on a literal level the meaning of each sentence and passage of God’s words—as well as what God’s intentions and requirements are—they do not understand the truth principles or God’s required standards at all. That is, they do not understand God’s required standards for how to view people and things or conduct oneself and act, nor do they understand what the truth principles involved are. When they eat and drink God’s words on their own, they cannot understand these things, and after having experiences with people, events, and things in daily life, they still do not understand. Even after fellowship, they remain unclear about what the truth principles are. This kind of person has one characteristic: Although they do not understand what the truth principles are, they can summarize the regulations they need to follow by relying on their feelings. What they can remember are regulations—a kind of rigid dogma or set of rules. For example, God fellowships on one aspect of the truth principles, giving examples of the positive manifestations, negative manifestations, pure comprehension, and distorted comprehension of people, among various other manifestations, in this regard—what do people with poor caliber ultimately gain from this? They say, “I get it now. God does not allow one to do this or that. God does not allow eating this or that. God does not allow saying these words, those words, or using those terms.” This is what they remember, and they rigidly adhere to this, thinking that these are the truth principles. They believe that if they adhere to these regulations, sayings, and ways of acting, they are adhering to the truth principles. No matter how much you tell them that this is merely adhering to regulations, they will not accept it. They insist on adhering to these regulations, believing that this is practicing God’s words and practicing the truth. There is no way to deal with such people who have no spiritual understanding. If they are willing to adhere to regulations, let them do so—as long as their intentions are not wrong, it’s okay. For example, one time I said, “When you pray, you must be devout; do not pray casually. In suitable environments, it is best to kneel to pray, to prostrate yourself before God to pray, and during prayer, you must quiet yourself before God and pray with a focused heart. This is being devout and having a God-fearing heart.” People with poor caliber, after hearing this, remembered only one regulation: “To pray with devoutness and a God-fearing heart, one must kneel.” They treated having to kneel to pray as a truth principle, and adhered to it accordingly, believing that this is practicing the truth. So, no matter the environment, they insisted on kneeling to pray. Even when they wanted to pray at mealtime, they knelt under the table to pray. While working in the fields, regardless of how dirty the ground was or what might have been in the soil, they knelt to pray. Even when faced with calamities or major events when they were among nonbelievers, if they wanted to pray to God, they had to find a hidden place to kneel and pray. They believed that only praying in this way aligned with God’s intentions, so no matter the circumstances, they had to kneel to pray. They thought that by doing this, they were practicing the truth. Furthermore, they saw themselves as the most devout people, as those who followed God’s way most closely, as those who loved the truth the most, and those who could most submit to the truth and to God’s words. You see, these are the manifestations of people with poor caliber. This kind of person is inferior and problematic in terms of comprehension. They always rigidly fix principles on a single sentence or regulation. They use the method of understanding words and knowledge to understand the truth, and, of course, they also practice the truth by adhering to regulations, words, sayings, and formalities. No matter how you fellowship about the truth principles, after hearing them, they think of them as just sentences, regulations, ways of acting, or slogans. To them, it’s merely about following rules. They see practicing the truth as this simple, as just adhering to what can and cannot be done, and that’s it.

People with poor caliber view people and things, conduct themselves, and act using regulations to measure and approach everything. Regardless of how the external environment and the surrounding people, events, and things change, they persistently adhere to one regulation without alteration. If you say that they do not love the truth and do not practice the truth, they feel wronged in their hearts. They say, “I have forsaken so much, endured so much suffering, observed so many of God’s words, and practiced so many of God’s words—so why do you say I do not love the truth and do not practice the truth? Why do you even say I adhere to regulations? I am being wronged!” What problem does it indicate that they can say such words? What are the main manifestations of people with poor caliber? In what ways is their caliber poor? They completely lack the ability to comprehend the truth, so regardless of how much any aspect of the truth is fellowshipped on, for them it is ultimately all reduced to a single way of acting, a single rule, a single phrase, or a single formality, rather than a principle. If someone says a sentence or uses a term that violates that rule of theirs, then to them, this is a violation of the truth principles. This is troublesome. Therefore, people with poor caliber, for one thing, use various regulations, formalities, mere words, and ways of acting to determine that they themselves possess the truth reality. Additionally, there is another troublesome matter: They often use the doctrines they frequently speak, and the regulations and ways of acting they often adhere to, to measure others and even to measure God. In addition to measuring, they also often judge others and God, and delimit others and God. For example, I once said, “I generally don’t dare to eat cold things. After eating them, My stomach can’t handle it, so I basically don’t eat these raw and cold foods.” Someone with poor caliber heard this and said, “I understand You now. In the future, I’ll have to make sure not to give You raw and cold foods. Under no circumstances will I ever let You eat raw and cold foods.” But when the height of summer arrived and the weather was extremely hot, and the strawberries on the farm ripened, one day I ate two strawberries at the farm, and upon seeing this, he had thoughts: “Don’t You never eat raw and cold things? Aren’t strawberries cold? Didn’t You previously say that eating cold things makes Your stomach uncomfortable? Then why are You eating strawberries today? Aren’t You lying?” He thought this in his heart; it’s just that he did not say it aloud. Tell Me, was his view of matters accurate? (No.) How was it inaccurate? (He took one thing God said as a regulation to measure things without considering the context in which God spoke.) He did not know what these words of Mine referred to. Under normal circumstances, eating raw and cold things makes My stomach uncomfortable, but there are exceptions. For instance, when I’ve been doing physical work and my body is heated up, combined with hot weather where the temperature reaches around thirty degrees, and those raw and cold foods aren’t so icy, then in such cases, I can eat a small amount. It’s not that I absolutely cannot eat them. When I said “cannot eat them” I was referring to ordinary circumstances; in sweltering summer weather, I’m fine with eating a small amount. The person with poor caliber could not understand these words. When he heard them, he treated them as a regulation or formula. When special circumstances arose, he still tried to fit them into this formula. When he saw they didn’t fit, he couldn’t wrap his head around it: “Didn’t You say You cannot eat raw and cold things? How come You eat them now? Aren’t You lying?” Where did his inadequacy lie in terms of his inability to understand My words? (He had no comprehension ability.) His inadequacy lay in his inability to judge and comprehend this matter based on changes in the environment and special circumstances. If a person with sufficient caliber sees this, they will know that after working and My body is heated, combined with hot weather and the fact that these fruits are not too cold, eating a small amount is not a problem for Me, and this is very normal. They can understand this matter and figure it out. But a person with poor caliber cannot figure it out; they get stuck on this point and develop notions in their heart. What is the consequence once notions form? It easily leads to them judging and condemning. Isn’t this the case? (Yes.) Of course, this small matter is not a major issue, but they cannot let it go in their heart: “Isn’t this lying? So You also lie!” You see, they are quick to delimit and pass judgment even on this very small matter. And this is before even touching upon major issues—they have already developed notions. People with poor caliber cannot see through even such small matters and have no discernment whatsoever. No matter what issue they are viewing, they rigidly apply regulations. They believe that only those who can adhere to regulations have the truth. Regardless of how your words and actions align with the truth principles, as long as they go against such people’s notions and imaginings and clash with the regulations they recognize, they will judge and condemn you in their hearts. Even if they do not say it aloud, they will develop notions or prejudices against you. These people with poor caliber, no matter how many sermons they hear or which aspects of the truth are fellowshipped on, always reduce everything to a single statement, way of acting, or regulation, and they adhere to these statements, ways of acting, and regulations with great enthusiasm; they even believe that they are people who practice the truth, and that they really submit to the truth and really fear God. They even sometimes move themselves to tears, thinking that they really love God and that no one in the world loves God more than they do. In actuality, what they adhere to is merely a single regulation or a single way of acting. They carry out their practice in this way and can persist in it without change, believing that they have gained the truth and been made perfect by God. Tell Me, isn’t this troublesome? (Yes.)

Do you often see instances of people adhering to regulations? (Yes.) For example, you tell the person cooking that the weather is getting hotter, so each day they should prepare some cooling herbal tea or make some cold drinks, and serve some cold dishes when making food—what Westerners refer to as salad—to stimulate people’s appetites. A person with poor caliber commits this to memory: When the weather is very hot, people should eat cold dishes and drink cold beverages. They remember this well and adhere to it diligently. However, one day, when the temperature drops, they ignore whether it is cold or not and think, “It’s summer now, so I must make cold dishes and cold drinks. I’ll make them every day for you to enjoy to the fullest, to cool you down completely. I don’t care whether or not the temperature drops!” Not only do they make cold dishes, but even for noodles, they rinse them in cold water, then follow the meal with cold drinks, even adding a few ice cubes. Some people, upon seeing this, say: “It’s so cold today. How could you still make cold dishes? And you even put ice cubes in the cold drinks—are you trying to freeze us?” The person cooking feels hurt and says, “Am I really that malicious? Summer is so hot—aren’t I just doing this to help everyone cool down and eat a bit more? Isn’t this following principles and being considerate of everyone? How am I wrong? And now you say I’m trying to freeze you—am I really that lacking in virtue? Is my humanity really that poor? You all are just too inconsiderate of me!” By making food that way, are they following principles? What is the principle here? It is to adjust the food and drink according to the season and temperature. In summer when the weather is hot, consuming relatively cool foods or drinks that can stimulate people’s appetites—this is a principle, isn’t it? It is a principle. But now, with a sudden drop in temperature, how should this principle be applied? (When the temperature suddenly drops, the one cooking can no longer stick to preparing cold dishes or salads as they were advised to before, but must adjust based on the weather, and make warm dishes instead. They cannot adhere to regulations.) That’s right. When the weather cools down occasionally in summer, you cannot stick to making cold dishes and cold drinks in summer—you cannot adhere to this regulation. When the temperature suddenly drops, the food and drink that people consume must also change immediately. Cold dishes and cold drinks should no longer be made, and ice cubes should definitely not be added. Instead, you should cook hot dishes, make some warm noodles, adjusting food and drink according to the temperature and weather. This is the principle. But the person with poor caliber, as long as it is summertime, sticks to making cold drinks and cold dishes, regardless of the temperature or weather conditions—what is the problem here? (Adhering to regulations.) This is adhering to regulations, being unable to apply principles flexibly according to the circumstances. These are the manifestations of people with poor caliber in terms of how they go about doing things—they remember one statement and treat it as a regulation to adhere to, and no matter how the environment, people, events, and things change, they cannot flexibly apply principles to handle matters. In fact, the result to be achieved by establishing principles regarding food and drink is to ensure that people eat in a way that makes their bodies feel comfortable. Such principles are not at all regulations. Those who adhere to regulations, however, without considering the temperature or weather, nor caring whether you feel comfortable eating, stick to making cold dishes and cold drinks as long as it is summer—this is called adhering to regulations. Practicing according to principles means that everything done revolves around achieving that ultimate good result. Adhering to regulations, however, disregards the result and focuses solely on the formality and the way of acting. This is exactly how people with poor caliber handle issues—no matter what things arise, they use this same approach to handle them.

People with poor caliber cannot see through anything that comes their way. Even when reading God’s words or listening to sermons, their comprehension carries some distortion and inevitably includes deviations. They are adhering to a regulation, way of acting, or ritual, which is entirely different from the truth principles, and consequently many distorted things arise. It can be said that the comprehension of people with poor caliber regarding any matter always carries a somewhat distorted nature. Although in simple and easily manageable things they may achieve obedience and submission without showing distortion, when it comes to principle-based matters or relatively complex issues, they cannot grasp the truth principles, and only know to adhere to regulations. Do you understand? (Yes.) People with poor caliber completely lack the ability to comprehend the truth and just know to adhere to regulations. Such people are also quite troublesome. They are very enthusiastic and determined in adhering to regulations. If you fellowship with them and say, “What you are doing is adhering to regulations, not observing the truth principles,” they cannot accept it. They feel: “I am steadfastly adhering to principles and cannot compromise with others! Others do not adhere to principles and are condemned for it, but when I adhere to them, I also get condemned. This is unfair!” See how stubborn they are, you just can’t persuade them. Have you encountered such people? (Yes.) For example, I tell some people, “If you want to learn dance, you can set aside two hours each day to train when work isn’t busy. If you persist for a period, you’ll learn it.” They remember the phrase “persist with training for two hours every day” and believe that doing so is practicing the truth and sticking to principles. Afterward, no matter how busy the duty is that they are doing, they still persist with training in dance for two hours every day. During a period of time when the church work is very busy from morning until evening and they basically don’t have two hours in a day to spare, they still insist on training in dance for two hours. When others remind them that this could delay the church work, they refuse to listen and say, “God instructed me to train in dance for two hours each day. I must do this. If I don’t do this, it means I am disobedient and have no submission.” If you tell them not to do it, they are unwilling. They are unable to handle things flexibly or to apply My words flexibly based on the needs of the work or the needs of the environment. They do not understand why they should train for two hours, what the significance of training for two hours is, or what result it is meant to achieve. They don’t understand and are unclear about these things. For them, practicing the truth simply means adhering to a single statement, a regulation, or a formality—that, in their view, is practicing the truth. Regardless of whether any result is achieved or what the result turns out to be, they stubbornly persist down a single path, refusing to turn back no matter what, not even if ten oxen were to pull them. Even if they deviate in their practice, they will constantly do it that way. When told that they are being absurd, they still insist on doing it. Aren’t such people very troublesome? No matter who fellowships with them, it doesn’t work. After you painstakingly explain things clearly, they might understand this matter today, but tomorrow they will adhere to regulations in another matter, endlessly adhering to regulations, and you constantly have to correct them. They are veering either to the left or to the right, and deviating either in this kind of matter or in that kind of matter—they continuously deviate without end. Watching them makes you anxious, but you cannot correct them however you try. Why? Because their caliber is too poor. They can never distinguish between positive and negative things, right and wrong, correct and incorrect, the truth and regulations. They have no standard for demarcating these matters, no ability to demarcate them, and simply cannot demarcate them. Therefore, people with poor caliber can only do regulation-based work and chores, or single-faceted work that does not involve the truth principles, such as following a routine schedule every day, doing one thing at a certain time and doing another at another set time—that is, they can only handle those simple tasks where adhering to the schedule, maintaining the formality, and following a way of doing things is sufficient to perform the work well. But they cannot handle work that is a bit more complex. Once it is required that they act according to the truth principles and achieve certain results, they are unable to accomplish this. If you assign them an item of work requiring them to flexibly apply the truth principles, handle various issues as appropriate, and adapt according to the environment, they become confused and cannot accomplish it. They must have someone to help and instruct them; you cannot expect them to do the work well independently. How should such people be treated? Although they can persist in doing their duty routinely every day, when faced with unexpected situations, they don’t know how to respond and may even stop doing their duty. For such people, it is necessary to frequently inquire about and inspect their work, asking, “During this period, have there been any disruptions or disturbances to the church work? Have there been any complex problems that you didn’t know how to handle?” After thinking it over, they say, “Everything has been fine during this period. Everyone is doing their duty and can normally gather and eat and drink God’s words. No one has disrupted or disturbed, and I haven’t heard of anyone spreading fallacies to mislead others.” They cannot identify any problems and do not know what to report, nor can they even raise questions. Therefore, you cannot expect them to handle or resolve issues that arise in real life or in doing their duty on their own. Neither can you expect them to seek from those above them or ask them questions when they don’t know how to handle something. They cannot achieve any of this because their caliber is insufficient. If such people do not report problems to those above them, others may think they have no problems. However, this is not the case. They cannot identify even ordinary problems, even when problems are piled up before them, they do not perceive them as problems. And so, they do not resolve problems either. They have a head, with two eyes and two ears on it; they can see, hear, and speak, and yet they cannot identify or resolve problems. Because they completely lack caliber and the ability to identify and handle problems, no matter how astute they seem to be from their looks, it is of no use. They cannot take what they see or hear and process it in their mind to think about and discern whether these are problems or how they should be handled. If they cannot handle problems involving the truth principles, they will not report them to those above them either. They are entirely incapable of doing any of this. Doesn’t this show they have poor caliber? Aren’t these the manifestations of people with poor caliber? (Yes.) If you ask someone with poor caliber, “Have there been any problems in the work during this period? Are there any areas where you don’t understand the principles?” they respond, “There aren’t any problems; everyone’s been busy, and things are going quite well!” To them, everything is just fine. As a leader or worker, if you simply believe them when they say everything is fine, then you are too foolish and just as much a person with poor caliber as they are. People with good caliber not only know how to learn about problems but can also identify them on their own. They can engage in conversations targeting problems, and as they talk, the problems naturally come to light. When you discover a problem and ask someone with poor caliber how they handled it, they respond, “What problem? How come I didn’t notice it?” People with poor caliber cannot identify problems, so in doing work, you must be adept at learning about and identifying problems, seize hold of the problems and not let go, and then assist in handling and resolving them. You need to know how to chat with people who have poor caliber, asking them questions and making inquiries in a chatty way, in order to identify problems. As you chat, they will unknowingly bring up the problems themselves. Without chatting like this, it would be impossible to identify these problems. Because you chat with them in this way, they become inspired and suddenly identify these problems. If you don’t use this approach to learn about the situation, they just won’t perceive these matters they see as problems. So, when problems are uncovered during your chats, they must be made clear bit by bit, like squeezing out toothpaste. They will only feel somewhat ashamed when all of the problems are resolved. Doesn’t this show they have poor caliber? (Yes.) These are the manifestations of people with poor caliber: Even when there are problems, they cannot identify them, and because they cannot identify problems, they are never able to bring them up or resolve them. Tell Me, if they cannot identify problems, can they do their work well? Can they do their work well by adhering to regulations? (No.) Absolutely not. This is a manifestation of having poor caliber. If you say their caliber is poor, they even think, “My caliber is excellent! After God speaks about something, I immediately grasp a way of acting or a regulation, and I can adhere to it for a lifetime. See? Isn’t my caliber good? You all fail to grasp the key points, but I can. For example, I was told that in summer the weather is hot and we should eat cold dishes. So, I keep on making cold dishes and serving cold drinks—I can adhere to what God says. You see, none of you can adhere to it, and you’re always talking about principles. Aren’t principles just regulations? If you adhere to regulations, isn’t that adhering to principles?” They even think their caliber is good, believing that they can grasp the key points of an issue, and that from a lengthy sermon, they can pick out a single statement, way of acting, regulation, or even one phrase or word that they feel they need to follow. Tell Me, isn’t this troublesome? There are quite a lot of such people. When you fellowship about the various details of the truth, they cannot understand and even say, “What a bother! You just won’t stop talking. Isn’t it just about not saying those words or not doing that kind of thing? Just adhere to that one statement and that’s all—it’s just a matter of one statement. Why make it so bothersome? You even distinguish states, environments, and the humanity of various types of people, and distinguish between distorted and pure comprehension. Are there really that many details involved? Why be so particular? You’re so fussy!” They even condemn others. These are the manifestations of people with poor caliber.

What are the characteristics of people with poor caliber? They do not understand the truth principles; whatever aspect of the truth principles it is, they treat it as a kind of regulation or formula, and then they follow it with tireless enthusiasm. They can speak many doctrines and so they think that they understand the truth principles, but in actuality, they do not understand the truth at all. If you explain some of the principles for leaders and workers doing work, asking such people to do work and handle various problems based on an understanding of these principles, these people with poor caliber will absolutely be unable to apply them. They do not understand these truth principles, nor can they apply these truth principles to do work. When they go down to do work, it is entirely adhering to regulations, following protocols, and mechanically applying dogmas. There are some people who want to adhere to the truth principles, but because their caliber is poor and they cannot attain an understanding of the truth, they are unable to adhere to the principles. No matter what work they do, when faced with problems, they are at a loss and even become overwhelmed—they are unable to do any work well. When the higher-ups fellowship about principles, they feel they have understood, comprehended, grasped, and remembered them all. But when they encounter problems in real life, they become confused, as the doctrines and regulations they have understood are of no use, so they think: “What should I do now?” They don’t know where to start the work, they don’t know what methods to use to do the work, they don’t know how to implement the work arrangements, and even less do they know which problems should be resolved right now to guarantee the normal progress of church work—they don’t know any of this. As a result, no matter how long they work, there are no results, and the work arrangements cannot be implemented. They cannot even resolve the issue of how to make church life good. They cannot implement even the most basic work and do not know how to implement it. They can only speak doctrines to people and ask them to adhere to regulations. When it comes to implementing work arrangements and doing concrete church work, they become confused and are unable to do it. They think to themselves, “How should these work arrangements be implemented? Which regulations should be adhered to?” They cannot see these things clearly. But they still have one last resort: They believe that as long as they hold more gatherings, the problems can be resolved. Therefore, their way of doing work is to relentlessly hold gatherings and relentlessly give sermons. When their preaching stirs everyone up and makes them excited, they think the problems are all resolved and that there are no more problems, and that as long as everyone is enthused, the work is all done properly. But it turns out that, after several days of gatherings, not only are the real problems not resolved, but the duties people do still yield no results, and the church work makes no progress at all. Yet they still have the mood to give sermons. People with poor caliber achieve no results no matter how long they do work, and cannot implement the work arrangements no matter how much time they are given—they have neither efficiency nor effectiveness. These are the manifestations of people with poor caliber. The manifestations of people with poor caliber are as I just described, to say nothing of those with no caliber. No matter how many sermons they hear or how much truth others fellowship with them, they cannot grasp the truth principles, and cannot even grasp the most basic regulations that ought to be adhered to. When someone’s caliber is poor to this extent, the truth principles are beyond their reach. Even if others fellowship the truth to them, they cannot find a path of practice, and they must have someone give them specific instructions before they know how to practice. Such people are as if reincarnated from beasts; their minds are always foggy and unclear, and they can never distinguish what are principles and what are regulations. In their hearts, they say, “Why does hearing these things always make my head hurt and make me sleepy?” In the end, they come to a conclusion: “Not only are the truth principles beyond my reach, but I cannot even adhere to regulations, so in future, I will shine as brightly as I can with however much heat is within me, exert as much effort as my ability allows, and just do whatever I am capable of doing, and that’s enough.” Some of these people even comfort themselves, saying, “I don’t know how to adhere to regulations, nor do I understand the truth principles, but I have a God-loving heart!” If they truly could love God, that would not be bad, but with such poor caliber, they do not even understand the truth—can their love for God be genuine? People with no caliber lack comprehension ability in all respects and do not even possess the ability to adhere to regulations. Some people with poor caliber, when practicing the truth, can at least grab hold of a partially understood principle, a regulation, or a formula and thereby put a little bit of the truth into practice. However, those with no caliber cannot even grasp or adhere to regulation-based things—this type of person is even more pitiful.

If we evaluate people’s caliber using the truth principles in this way, then the relevant manifestations are the ones we just fellowshipped on. So, if we use whether or not people have spiritual understanding to evaluate their caliber, how should we go about doing this? People with good caliber definitely have spiritual understanding, right? (Yes.) What is meant by having spiritual understanding is that they can understand the truth, grasp the truth principles, and use the truth to resolve various problems that appear in the process of believing in God which relate to the truth principles, as well as handle the various internal issues of God’s house using the truth. Then what about the various issues of the outside world? Because those with good caliber have spiritual understanding and possess the ability to handle various matters, they can also use some relatively humanity-based principles or some principles close to positive things to handle matters of the outside world. Despite superficial differences, the fundamentals of various things are the same, and the principles within various things are basically what people with good caliber can grasp, so it can generally be said that people with good caliber have spiritual understanding. Having spiritual understanding does not mean being able to communicate with the spiritual realm; rather, it means one can grasp the fundamental laws and the principles of various things. This is a straightforward, simple, and plain way of putting it. Being able to understand the fundamental laws of things of the outside world and the principles that involve the truth is a manifestation of people with good caliber. So, how can we gauge the manifestations of people with average caliber based on whether they have spiritual understanding? People with average caliber have spiritual understanding of half of the things but not the other half, understanding some parts while not understanding others. The parts where they have spiritual understanding are the parts that their caliber can reach. Through hearing fellowship about the various truths related to belief in God, they can come to understand them, and even without anyone’s instruction, they can figure out the principles that should be grasped within them. The parts where they have no spiritual understanding are the parts where their caliber falls short. Without guidance and instruction from others, they have no principles of practice, they cannot do their duty normally or resolve problems, and they need watering, guidance, and instruction to know how to do work and handle problems—these are the manifestations of them having no spiritual understanding. People with average caliber can be said to basically have spiritual understanding, but their level of spiritual understanding is lacking compared to that of people with good caliber—they only understand half. Where is it lacking? It is lacking in the degree to which they grasp the truth principles—they cannot independently complete various items of work. So, if we evaluate people with poor caliber using whether or not they have spiritual understanding, how should we go about doing this? Is it easy to evaluate? Do people with poor caliber have spiritual understanding? (No.) You can tell that people with poor caliber have no spiritual understanding just by looking at their manifestations, because they only adhere to regulations. People without caliber actually do not have human spirits, and not having human spirits means that they are as devoid of spiritual understanding as beasts. For such people, it is unnecessary to evaluate whether they have spiritual understanding or not. When a person without a spirit views any matters or deals with various people, they cannot evaluate them, and they have no viewpoints regarding positive or negative things. They only have some calculations for protecting their own interests and avoiding losses. When you express a viewpoint, if they are familiar with you and know that you have good caliber and a pure comprehension, and that you are a positive person, they go along with your viewpoint. But if they aren’t familiar with you, they look down on you. No matter how correct your viewpoint is or how much it aligns with the truth principles, they don’t accept it. They don’t know that it is correct, don’t know that it is something people should accept, and don’t know how beneficial this good viewpoint could be for them or how much help it could provide to them—they are unaware of all this. Whereas, when a negative person puts forward a negative viewpoint, if this negative person is dominating and someone they think highly of and revere, they accept the negative viewpoint even if they know that it will cause them harm after they do so. What kind of person are they? (One who has no caliber.) They are a person who has no caliber, which means they lack the ability to discern things. No matter what situation they encounter, they cannot see through it and do not know any of the principles they should hold to; this kind of person can commit bad deeds when following bad or evil people, and they can do some good things when following good people—they lack the ability to discern things. That’s why I say that they are a dead person with no spirit. People with poor caliber, after living for many years alongside people with good caliber or positive individuals, may be influenced by what they hear and see, and can learn some good things, adhere to some good regulations, and adhere to some positive sayings and ways of acting or positive thoughts and viewpoints. However, dead people with no spirits cannot even learn or adhere to positive thoughts and viewpoints, good ways of acting and regulations, good trains of thought, or some positive lifestyles and positive common knowledge of everyday life. When they start living independently, their living situation—which is that of a muddled person—gets completely exposed. These are the manifestations of dead people with no spirits.

People with spiritual understanding at the very least have average caliber. If the truth is within their reach and they can understand it, then they are people with good caliber. People without spiritual understanding are certainly either those with poor caliber or those without any caliber at all—these two kinds of people definitely lack spiritual understanding. Only people with good caliber can be said to have complete spiritual understanding, while people with average caliber have an average level of spiritual understanding. That is, there are many matters in which their caliber falls short and they are unable to achieve spiritual understanding. It is only in ordinary matters that they can achieve spiritual understanding and handle things independently. When they are faced with complex matters or multifaceted work, they cannot handle these things independently because the truth principles involved are beyond their reach and understanding. Therefore, their level of spiritual understanding is quite average. The characteristic of people with poor caliber is that the truth principles are beyond them, and they only adhere to regulations, because they cannot understand the truth principles, and they don’t even get what the concept of the truth principles is, and they believe that the truth principles are just regulations. Therefore, it is very clear that people of this sort have no spiritual understanding. A major characteristic of their lack of spiritual understanding is that the thoughts and viewpoints they reveal in their understanding of various people, events, and things are all distorted. How should “distorted” be understood here? It means being completely detached from the trajectory of the thinking of normal humanity and completely detached from the trajectory of the needs of normal humanity—this is being distorted. When you listen to the thinking logic of what these people say, you find it bizarre, and every time you hear them express a viewpoint or talk about something, you feel astonished. What does “astonished” mean? It means that when you hear them say something, you feel that it is unbelievable and think to yourself, “How could they have such an idea? Why is it so different from what normal people think? This idea is so strange—why does it feel kind of nonsensical?” In your heart, you find it particularly awkward and absurd. People whose words always make others feel astonished are those who are prone to distortions—especially so. For example, you ask them, “Have you had anything to eat?” They respond, “It’s quite cold today.” Is there any connection between these two things? (No.) You say, “Why are you wearing so little today?” They say, “I drank a cup of ginger tea today.” Does their response have any necessary connection to your question? Does their answer contain normal thinking and logic? (No.) How should someone with normal thinking and logic respond? They could say, “I’m wearing so little because it’s very warm inside, and besides, outside it’s very sunny and the temperature is relatively high.” Or they could say, “I’m wearing so little because I just finished exercising and I’ve gotten hot.” But if someone asks, “Why are you wearing so little?” and they respond, “Because I’m wearing fleece-lined shoes today,” this answer has nothing to do with the question. Their train of thought and the logic they follow when they think do not conform to the thinking and logic of normal humanity. It’s a very strange idea and a very strange train of thought that no person with the thinking of normal humanity would come up with. And so, after listening to their answer, you feel that it is awkward. You want to have a conversation with them, but you can’t connect with them—they always give irrelevant answers, making it impossible to continue the conversation. For example, someone was learning to make clothes, and I asked her, “How is your progress in learning to make clothes? Can you make padded clothing?” What would be a response that aligns with normal thinking and logic? (Either “I can” or “I can’t.”) That would reflect normal thinking and logic. Or she could also say, “Sometimes I do a bit better, and my instructor says it’s okay, just barely acceptable. But when it comes to some of the more complex parts, my work is inadequate and has to be redone.” Are these responses from someone with normal thinking and logic? (Yes.) How did this person without normal thinking and logic respond? I asked, “Can you make this type of padded clothing now?” She responded, “I was learning to make this type of clothing when I first came here.” I asked, “So can you make it now?” She still responded, “I was learning to make this type of clothing when I first came here.” I thought to myself, “I don’t understand. You were learning to make this type of clothing when you first came, so can you make it now? Why can’t I figure this out?” When I heard her response, I felt that it was awkward. I was asking if she could make this type of clothing, and she said that she had been learning to make it when she first arrived. I didn’t get how she had managed to shift to that topic—what did that have to do with whether she could make it or not? I thought to myself, “I just can’t follow this shift in topic.” Even when I asked two or three times in a row, “So can you make it now?” she kept answering, “When I first came, I was learning to make this, and my instructor was guiding me in making this—I’m mainly working on this.” I still didn’t get the answer I was looking for, and to this day, I still don’t know if she can make it or not. Analyze the logic behind her words and why she spoke this way. (Her response was somewhat irrelevant to the question. People who hear it will try to guess her meaning, but they still won’t know whether she really can make it or not.) Did she want to let Me know or not? Did she want to give Me an accurate answer? Here, she was giving a hint: “I’ve already told You that when I first came, I was mainly learning to make this, and now it’s been a week—so of course I can make it. Shouldn’t You be able to get what I mean? How can You not understand?” Can you get this meaning from her response? (No.) If her response allowed you to get an accurate answer and know whether she could or couldn’t, then her response would be logical. But her response only gives you a vague meaning and doesn’t let you truly know whether she can or can’t. People who always speak like this—aren’t they very muddleheaded? If they are intentionally responding this way, then it’s a matter of character. If they are not doing it intentionally and their response has no necessary connection to the answer you are trying to get, then there is a problem with their thinking and logic. If there is a problem with their thinking and logic, doesn’t this mean they have poor caliber? Aren’t they prone to distortions? (Yes.) This is a manifestation of being prone to distortions. That person thought, “I’m telling You that I was learning to make this when I first came, so the inevitable result is that I can make it.” What she wanted to convey was the answer “I can make it.” However, people with normal thinking do not get an accurate answer after hearing this. Therefore, her response, “I was learning to make this when I first came,” had no logical connection to her wanting to convey that she can make it. So, wasn’t her response muddled words? (Yes.) Speaking muddled words while thinking that they can communicate well and that they have already answered the question—does this not reflect poor caliber? (Yes.) This is one manifestation of poor caliber. That person doesn’t have the thinking and logic of normal humanity. No matter how you ask, she will be unable to realize what the crux of the problem is or why you keep asking the same thing. When you ask for the third time, she will still give the same response and even feel impatient, thinking, “Why do you keep asking? I already told you, and you still don’t get it and keep asking!” Even after being asked three times, she will be unable to realize that her answer is unclear and not what the other person is looking for, that she should change her wording and clearly state whether she can or cannot, and not make the other person guess. She is unable to realize how her words make others feel or how the other person reacts after hearing them—she cannot realize any of this. This shows she has no caliber. No matter how many times you ask, she will give the same response and even feel that what she’s saying is sincere and not false, thinking, “No matter how many times you asked about the same thing, I’ve given the same answer—I’m practicing being an honest person, and I’m saying what’s on my mind.” Isn’t this a reflection of poor caliber? (Yes.) When you ask about Tom, this kind of person always talks about Dick and Harry. When you ask about Dick and Harry, they always talk about Tom. People without normal thinking have muddled thoughts, and their thinking is jumbled. This is a major manifestation of poor caliber. In summary, these are the manifestations of people with different calibers. Whether you evaluate their caliber by their ability or lack of ability to understand and apply the truth principles, or by whether or not they have spiritual understanding, these are the manifestations. Although we’ve spoken in somewhat general terms, can’t you basically match up My words to real life? (Yes.) So, haven’t we more or less summarized the topic of caliber? (Yes.) That concludes our discussion on the topic of caliber.

Tell Me, does the degree to which people resist and rebel against God have anything to do with whether their caliber is good or bad? Do people resist and rebel against God because of poor caliber? Have you ever considered this question? Is this a question that’s worth considering? (Yes.) Some people say, “Because we have poor caliber, because the caliber God gave us isn’t good, we resist and rebel against God severely.” Is this statement correct? (No.) Based on our previous fellowship about the differences between innate conditions, humanity, and corrupt dispositions, which category does caliber belong to? (Innate conditions.) It belongs to innate conditions. So, do you know whether the various aspects of innate conditions are related to people’s humanity and corrupt dispositions? Let’s start with caliber—does caliber determine the degree to which a person rebels against and resists God? (No.) Why do we say that it does not determine it? This relates to the reason why people resist and rebel against God. Do people rebel against and resist God because of poor caliber? (No, it’s because we have corrupt dispositions.) That’s right—this aligns with reality. Your resistance and rebellion against God, and your inability to submit to the truth, are not due to poor caliber, they are due to you having corrupt dispositions. And so, you cannot complain about God giving you poor caliber just because you are able to resist Him. Caliber, or any other aspect of your innate conditions, are inherently conditions that you yourself have; they are intrinsic, innate conditions that you possess as a created being. Regardless of which aspect of innate conditions it is, it does not lead to resisting God, and it has no relation to corrupt dispositions. For example, being tall does not mean that you have less corrupt dispositions. Being beautiful or having fair skin does not mean that you have no corrupt dispositions. Being born into a race that people esteem and look up to does not mean that you have no corrupt dispositions. In other words, no matter what innate conditions God has given to a person, and no matter what a person’s innate conditions are like, they have no relation to that person’s corrupt dispositions. For example, a person’s appearance itself does not lead to resisting God. However, because people have corrupt dispositions, when someone is good-looking, they may think, “I’m beautiful, so I should have status and be respected.” These are revelations of corrupt dispositions. Some people use their good looks to bring their strengths into play, thus revealing many erroneous statements and actions. These statements and actions are all caused by their corrupt dispositions, not by their innate conditions. Regardless of whether you have good or poor caliber, caliber itself does not lead to resisting God. If you have good caliber but do not understand or accept the truth, you will still resist and rebel against God because you have corrupt dispositions. If you have poor caliber but can accept the truth, and once you understand what God tells you to do or not to do, you can abide by it, and you are able to not act based on your corrupt dispositions, then you will not rebel against God, nor will you be slippery and slack off, or be perfunctory, willful, or arbitrary and reckless. Regardless of whether you have poor caliber or not, as long as you have corrupt dispositions, then even if you can understand God’s words, you will still rebel against and resist God. Because you have corrupt dispositions as your life, you naturally develop various satanic thoughts and viewpoints, and satanic philosophies for worldly dealings, as well as satanic viewpoints that underlie how you view people and things, and you will show off, defend yourself, and constantly want to stand out and hold yourself above others, and even to control and rule over others. These manifestations all stem from people’s satanic nature. If you do various things based on your satanic nature and satanic life, then regardless of whether you have good or bad caliber, you will resist God. Caliber itself does not lead to resisting God. You have poor caliber, but can you act according to God’s words as long as you understand them? If you do not have corrupt dispositions or do not live by your corrupt dispositions, then you absolutely can achieve this. Take having a particular strength as an example—people often think, “Since I have this strength, I’m superior to others; I should have status in God’s house, I should be a leader or a pillar in God’s house.” These thoughts are not caused by having a strength but are caused by corrupt dispositions. Because people have corrupt dispositions as their life, all the things they reveal, live out, and exhibit, as well as their perspectives, stances, and principles in viewing various people, events, and things, are all caused by them having corrupt dispositions as their life. These are not caused by any innate condition that God has given them. Do you understand? (Yes.) What do I mean by fellowshipping these words? The purpose of this fellowship is to enable you to more clearly understand and recognize your actual situation, and to recognize what your caliber is like—don’t be a person who has no reason, and don’t engage in pointless struggles over having average or poor caliber, or even offer pointless excuses to illustrate that your caliber is not poor. These actions have no value. This fellowship is meant to enable you to accurately understand your caliber and your various abilities, and then find your proper position and conduct yourself according to your proper station. This will help you more to be a proper created being, stand properly in your position as a created being, and fulfill the duties of a created being. Of course it will also, to some extent, help you more to cast off your corrupt dispositions. Regardless of what level your caliber or various abilities are at, they do not determine the degree to which you resist and rebel against God. In other words, it could also be said that your corrupt dispositions do not depend on the class of your caliber, and even less do they depend on what your innate conditions are like. The corrupt dispositions of humans arise within their innate, intrinsic flesh. After humans were corrupted by Satan, their corrupt dispositions became their inner life. When you have not yet cast off your corrupt dispositions, you take advantage of your innate conditions to speak and act based on this satanic life. This means that before you have cast off your corrupt dispositions, you are taking advantage of the various innate conditions that God gave you to serve the attainment of your own purposes. And so, we can say this: If you do not cast off your corrupt dispositions, you are taking advantage of or trampling on the various innate conditions that God has given you; if you are in the process of pursuing the truth and practicing the truth to cast off your corrupt dispositions, you are taking advantage of the various innate conditions that God has given you properly and effectively; when you transform from having corrupt dispositions as your life to having the truth as your life, you are using the innate conditions that God has given you properly and correctly—in other words, in a more meaningful way. Do you understand now? Innate conditions themselves are not the root cause of humankind’s resistance against God. Instead, people’s satanic corrupt dispositions and the life implanted within people by Satan are the root cause of humankind’s resistance and rebellion against God. Isn’t this the case? (Yes.) Is this issue now basically clear to you? (Yes.)

Before we fellowshipped on the topic of caliber, we fellowshipped about some manifestations in three aspects: innate conditions, humanity, and corrupt dispositions. What manifestations did we fellowship last time? (Last time, the manifestations fellowshipped were diligence in doing things, doing things with structure, starting strong but finishing weak in doing things, and exercising caution in doing things, as well as talking big and boasting, carelessness, loving to showcase oneself, disdaining the poor and favoring the rich, currying favor with those who have power, having an exceptional memory, and so on.) We will not fellowship any further on these. We will continue fellowshipping about the various manifestations of innate conditions, humanity, and the revelations of corrupt dispositions. When these manifestations occur, you must know what type of manifestation they belong to, and you must be able to differentiate and discern them; only then can you approach them accurately. If some manifestation pertains to innate conditions, which are unchangeable, then you do not need to concern yourself with it. If it belongs to some defects or flaws of humanity that can be overcome, corrected, or changed, then you should try to correct and change them. If there is no need to overcome them and they do not affect your performance of duty or your pursuit of the truth, then you do not need to pay attention to them. If a manifestation is neither a problem of innate conditions nor a problem of humanity, but involves corrupt dispositions, then it must be changed. If you do not transform or change it, then, with a form of life that is dominated by corrupt dispositions taking root and wielding power within you, what you live out and reveal are not merely minor problems such as being unable to get along with others or being displeasing to others and failing to edify them. Instead, what you live out and reveal reaches the level of violating the truth, violating the truth principles, resisting God, rejecting God, being antagonistic toward God, and—it can even be said—of standing in opposition to God. Precisely because corrupt dispositions are of this nature, once these manifestations involve corrupt dispositions, you must come to know these corrupt dispositions, and then seek the truth, understand and grasp the principles of practicing the truth, and practice according to the truth principles to replace these corrupt dispositions, so that these corrupt dispositions no longer dominate your life, and in their place, the truth becomes your life and dominates your day-to-day life and what you live out.

We will continue to fellowship about the various manifestations of innate conditions, humanity, and corrupt dispositions. The last manifestation we fellowshipped about last time was having a good memory, right? (Yes.) Then what aspect does forgetfulness belong to? (Innate conditions.) This is an innate condition and also a defect of humanity—just these two aspects. Is forgetfulness a corrupt disposition? (No.) Obviously not. Some people are forgetful because they are naturally poor in memory, while others become forgetful due to aging of the brain and declining memory as they grow older. If forgetfulness is innate, it belongs to innate conditions; if it is acquired, then it is a defect of humanity. Being naturally forgetful is, of course, also considered a defect, right? (Yes.)

Being adept at planning before doing things—what aspect does this belong to? (A merit of humanity.) This is a merit of humanity. Before doing something, people who are adept at planning plan ahead, and then follow the steps, without being impulsive, reckless, or rash. They act in a steady way, not rushing to go do things on a whim, but consider beforehand how they should go, whom to go with, what to do in special circumstances, what documents or items need to be brought, whether to bring some essential daily necessities depending on the environment, and so forth. They are able to take all of these things into consideration. Before doing things, they make thorough preparations, considering more factors and being more meticulous in their considerations. They will assess in advance the distinction between favorable and unfavorable conditions, and they will differentiate between the best-case scenario and the worst possible consequences. They will make reasonable arrangements to achieve the best results. Because they are adept at planning and making reasonable arrangements, their handling of matters is usually more thorough. Unexpected situations in the things and itineraries they arrange occur less frequently, and the results of their work tend to be better. People who work with them do not feel anxious but instead feel more at ease. So, can it be said that being adept at planning belongs, relatively speaking, to a merit of humanity? (Yes.) That covers being adept at planning. Then, is being calculating good or not? (It’s not good. It is a defect of humanity.) Being adept at planning is a merit and strong point of humanity—it is positive—while being calculating is a defect of humanity. For example, if two people have a meal that costs ten yuan in total, and when paying, a calculating person pays five yuan and fifty cents while the other person pays four yuan and fifty cents, they feel: “This isn’t right—he paid fifty cents less. Each person should pay five yuan for it to be fair and reasonable.” They even calculate such a small amount. If they feel that they have lost out, they become uncomfortable and are always looking for an opportunity to recoup their losses through scheming means. If they cannot recoup their losses in this way, they can’t eat well or sleep well. Being calculating is a defect of humanity. If this becomes serious and they calculate even in major matters, always trying to extract benefit from others or take advantage of them, or frequently resorting to schemes for the sake of their calculations, then this is no longer merely a defect of humanity but involves a corrupt disposition. If one’s being calculating does not affect others or harm their interests and is only present in trivial matters of daily life, ultimately leading to frequent failures or poor results in handling affairs, this is a defect of humanity.

What kind of problem is being stingy? (A defect of humanity.) What manifestations constitute being stingy? For example, if a stingy person is about to drive somewhere and someone says, “It just happens to be on the way, can you give me a ride? It’ll only take five minutes, and I can give you some money for gas,” they fear that the person might not pay after the ride and find an excuse to refuse them a ride—this is being stingy. There are also those who, when someone asks to borrow something from them and they don’t want to lend it, say, “I’m using it right now. I’m not really in a position to lend it to you. You should ask someone else.” They are extremely miserly and mean; they don’t have normal interpersonal interactions and greatly fear being taken advantage of by others, while always hoping to take advantage of others. This is called being stingy. There are also those who, when you ask to borrow ten yuan to buy a meal and some other things, think it over: “I’ll only lend you five yuan for the meal—no more, not even a cent!” The next day when they see you, they even ask, “How was that meal? Did you use the whole five yuan?” Their words subtly hint, “Hurry up and pay me back! You still owe me for that meal. If you don’t pay me back, you’ll have to treat me to a meal!” People of this sort are extremely petty in their self-conduct and adept at calculating. They are not only adept at calculating when it comes to material things but are also especially adept at calculating in interpersonal interactions. No matter what someone says to them, they always read into it and ponder the meaning behind it. If the words harm them or infringe upon their interests, they immediately retaliate. Even in conversations, they seek to take advantage and adamantly refuse to suffer any loss. This is no longer merely being petty or stingy—it is a corrupt disposition. If it only involves always trying to take advantage and avoid losses in daily material and financial interactions, this is merely a defect of humanity and has not risen to the level of a corrupt disposition. However, if it involves the principles of conducting oneself and acting, then it is no longer a defect of humanity but has risen to the level of a corrupt disposition. So, what does generosity belong to? (A merit of humanity.) This can be classed as a merit of humanity. In interactions with others, generous people are not concerned very much about gains and losses. When others take small advantages or take a little something from them, or sometimes when someone fails to return borrowed money to them, they don’t really calculate in regard to such things. They are relatively generous and tolerant toward others—this is a merit of humanity.

What kind of problem is pettiness? (A defect of humanity.) It is a defect of humanity. What are the manifestations of pettiness? (A tendency to fuss over minor matters.) For example, during a meal, if you say to a petty person, “You have a really big appetite—you eat more than most people,” they get angry: “Are you calling me a glutton?” You made a remark that inadvertently hurt them or made them upset, and they take it to heart and won’t let it go. They can stay angry at you for half a month and refuse to speak to you, and you’ll have no idea what caused this. In actuality, you were just making a casual remark without any intention of mocking them, but they unexpectedly magnify this comment, believing that they were being laughed at. They take even this small matter to heart and exaggerate it endlessly, blowing things out of proportion and showing no forgiveness at all—this is pettiness. Just how petty can this kind of person be? They can be as willful as children—nobody dares to provoke them. When interacting with them, you always have to be cautious, not daring to speak to them normally, because if you do, anything you say might offend or hurt them, and that will result in consequences—the next time you meet, they will give you a sullen face, avoid eye contact, and even smash things. If you try to talk to them, they will ignore you. Neither talking things over with them nor trying to coax them will work. If you sit near them, they will avoid you and ignore you. No matter their age, they are always throwing childish tantrums and acting willfully—isn’t this pettiness? (Yes.) This is a defect of humanity. People like this are very difficult to get along with. When the brothers and sisters fellowship with open hearts together, pointing out each other’s shortcomings, no one dares to point anything out to people of this sort. But if they are not included in the fellowship, they become dissatisfied and start to have some thoughts: “You all fellowship with open hearts together, helping one another, but you don’t treat me as a brother or sister.” Saying nothing at all to them is no good—you have to say a little something to them: “You’re great, but sometimes your temper isn’t so good. However, we also have our faults and often don’t pay attention to what we’re saying.” If you don’t phrase it that way and only say that they have a bad temper and are small-minded, it won’t work—they will get angry. When interacting with them, you have to be especially cautious and speak carefully. If you say one thing that is inappropriate, you will have to bear the consequences. Therefore, it is particularly exhausting to interact with them. Nonbelievers have a term for this, they say people of this sort have “glass hearts,” meaning that they are especially easily hurt. At the drop of a hat, people like this feel wounded, start crying, refuse to eat, can’t sleep, and become negative. They say, “You all say that I’m no good. None of you like me, none of you chat to me, and all of you avoid me and don’t want to be near me.” Isn’t this childish? (Yes.) Someone says, “Your heart is so fragile, like glass—it shatters at the slightest hurt. Who would dare to expose you? Who would dare to have dealings with you? Everyone is scared of doing that.” Saying that people of this sort have evil humanity wouldn’t be objective—they really don’t engage in any evil deeds. It’s just that they’re especially petulant—they’re willful, fussy, and have the temper of a child. You can’t bump up against them or provoke them. If you are forgiving toward them, they say that you’re looking down on them and not taking them seriously; if you get serious with them, they say that you’re being fussy with them—no matter what you do, it’s wrong. When interacting with people of this sort, if your approach is suitable and you manage to please them, even if their caliber is somewhat poor, they can do their duty well. But if your approach is not suitable and something upsets them, they become negative, and you have to rack your brain for ways to appease them. People who are petty are very troublesome. Over a trivial matter, they can cry for ages, to the point that their eyes become very red. If a trivial matter doesn’t go their way, they can pout for hours. When they are out of temper, they can go half a month without paying any heed or speaking to others. People of this sort have a bad temper and are petty, but they still do the work they’re supposed to do—it’s just that they do it with anger. Once their mood improves, they can work well again. Overall, this defect and problem of their humanity is severe. They are likely to create a tense atmosphere and to cause trouble for and place burdens on both themselves and others. People of this sort do not have the magnanimity of adults or the attitude of adults for worldly dealings. They are somewhat like children around ten years old—you couldn’t say that they’re sensible, because they’re not really sensible, but you couldn’t say that they’re immature, because they always speak like adults. If you treat them like adults, then it’s possible that anything you say may displease them and make them feel constrained, causing them to suddenly throw a tantrum like a child. But if you treat them like children, they feel that you are looking down on them. In short, they are very abnormal. This is a defect of humanity. If someone has this kind of problem, they should change and strive to learn to be tolerant and forbearing, to learn to approach and handle issues in the correct way and with the correct attitude, and to interact with others in the rational manner of normal people. Even if most people do not accept the truth or the correct way of doing things, you should not be constrained or influenced by this, nor should you be restricted or bound by this. You should still persist in doing things the correct way. Even if you feel it is difficult, do not give up—this is also part of the learning process. Gradually, your humanity, insight, and other aspects will mature, and you will grow. What is the mark of growth? It is being able to get along harmoniously with most people; it is being able to bear it, understand it, and approach it correctly when someone says something unpleasant, makes a joke, or says something hurtful to you. If what others say sounds unpleasant but reflects your actual situation, you should accept and acknowledge it. If someone inadvertently says something that offends you, and you see that it was unintentional, you should choose to practice tolerance. If someone deliberately targets you and says some very hurtful things, then you need to calm down, pray to God, and seek: “Why are they targeting me like this? What is their intention? Are they an evil person, or is this a revelation of a corrupt disposition? If they are an evil person, then I need to be more discerning and guarded toward them. If what they say is correct and aligns with the truth, I will accept it; if it is incorrect, then there is also no need to argue with them. If they are revealing a corrupt disposition, I will see whether they can accept the truth. If they can accept the truth, then I will fellowship the truth with them. If they do not accept the truth, then I can only practice forbearance.” Doesn’t that resolve the issue? In this way, when you interact with all kinds of people, you can do so with mutual tolerance and mutual assistance, and get along with them harmoniously—this is always better than being a petty person. Petty people, in one respect, bring significant discomfort to others, and, in another respect, they fail to fit in with any group, appearing very isolated and out of place. Some kind-hearted people will feel sorry for you, and everyone will actually want to help you, because you’re all brothers and sisters, but when you always isolate yourself and remain alone like this, don’t you think that you appear awkward to others? (Yes.) Why are you out of place? It’s because you have this defect of humanity, so you should work to overcome it and gradually change, right? (Yes.)

Having a bad temper, being hot-tempered—what aspect does this belong to? (A defect of humanity.) Having a bad temper can also be called being hot-tempered—does this count as a defect of humanity? (No.) How should this be viewed? A person who has a good temper, hides their malice behind a smile, always speaks in a gentle and friendly manner, never argues with anyone, and always says what other people want to hear—is this good? (No.) If someone says that this person is crude, they say, “Being crude is good; crude people don’t cause trouble.” If someone says they are bald, they say, “Being bald is good; bald people are smart.” That is, no matter what others say or how others treat them, they never lose their temper or get angry—is this kind of person good? (No.) When it comes to which people they really like, what their thoughts and viewpoints are on good people and good things and evil people and evil things, and whether they approve of good people and detest evil people, or approve of evil people and detest good people, they have no clear viewpoints or stance on these things, and they do not comment on anything. Regardless of what matter they encounter, they always dismiss it with a smile, and they are especially agreeable and have no temper. Is this a merit of humanity? (No.) Having a good temper is not a merit of humanity, so is having a bad temper a defect of humanity? Can a person having a good or bad temper determine what their humanity is like? (No.) For example, some people see someone being perfunctory in their duty and do not care, they see someone disturbing the church’s work and do not feel outraged; and they even say, “It’s fine, you will improve—take your time. God has painstaking intentions for us; we must repay God’s love and His grace, and we cannot be perfunctory. Pay attention to this next time.” Do these people have a good temper? (Yes.) Some people, when they see someone not safeguarding the interests of God’s house, say, “Could you try to safeguard the interests of God’s house? It would be so great if you were considerate of God’s intentions. We must be good people—if we’re not good people, God will not like us. In the way we conduct ourselves, at the very least, we must safeguard the interests of God’s house—pay attention to this in the future.” Is a temper being shown in this? (No.) Their temper is quite good, right? Some people never get angry no matter what happens. When they see that some people often report false numbers to deceive the Above and God’s house while preaching the gospel, they say, “If the majority of people are reporting false numbers like this, then this is the stream of the Holy Spirit’s work—we must submit to it!” Someone refutes them, saying, “Reporting false numbers is lying and deceiving God; I cannot do that.” They reply, “Why not? Other people report false numbers, reporting only the good news and not the bad. Why are you being so foolish?” When they see people reporting false numbers, they feel happy. When they see some people sticking to the principles and refusing to report false numbers, they become angry and enraged, slam the table, and say, “Why aren’t you reporting false numbers? Do you want to go against the stream of the Holy Spirit? If you don’t report false numbers, I’ll dismiss you! I’ll clear you out!” What do you think of them losing their temper in this way? (It is bad.) This is an outburst of wicked anger. Not losing their temper when they should and losing it arbitrarily when they shouldn’t, calling evil things just, calling the reporting of false numbers the stream of the Holy Spirit and praising it so much, and even promoting it—isn’t this vile? (Yes.) When they see that someone refuses to report false numbers, they slam the table, get angry, and glare, wanting to dismiss them or clear them out—this is “thunderous fury!” The great red dragon has a “Thunder Operation”; that devil’s show of force is called a “Thunder Operation,” and this is the “thunderous fury” of these people. If you refuse to report false numbers, and they slam the table and unleash their thunderous fury against you, in such a situation, would you dare to stick to the principles, reporting only the real numbers and refusing to report false ones? Would you dare to stand up and criticize and expose them, saying: “You are forcing people to report false numbers—you are a devil! You even call following antichrists in reporting false numbers the stream of the Holy Spirit. Isn’t this blaspheming the Holy Spirit and blaspheming God? You do not distinguish right from wrong and you blaspheme the Holy Spirit, and yet you think of yourself as a just angel. You won’t allow anyone to go against your demand to report false numbers, and you even lose your temper. You have not the slightest sense of justice. Not only do you not expose and condemn evil things, but you also let your temper flare up massively at those who stick to the truth and refuse to report false numbers, even unleashing your ‘thunderous fury’ at them. Isn’t this deliberately disrupting and disturbing the work of God’s house? Isn’t this behavior of the same nature as what the great red dragon does?” So, looking again at whether having a bad temper really is a defect of humanity or a merit of humanity, this cannot be generalized. It depends on what situations cause a person to lose their temper and what situations do not, as well as why that person usually has a bad temper. It depends on what that person is pursuing, whether that person has principles for their self-conduct, and what exactly their attitude toward the truth is like, as well as their attitude toward God, God’s work, the interests of God’s house, and the church’s work. If, for the sake of upholding the truth principles, safeguarding the interests of God’s house, and safeguarding the work of God’s house, they consistently have a bad temper when facing various evil people, events, and things, then this is a merit of their humanity. But if they never get mad or angry when faced with various evil things or things that resist God, as though they have nothing to do with them, then this is not a defect of their humanity—this is poor humanity, an absence of a sense of justice, and of course it belongs to the category of corrupt dispositions. So, how should temper be viewed? A person having a good temper does not necessarily mean that their humanity is good, and a person having a bad temper does not necessarily mean that their humanity is poor—it depends on what their bad temper is directed toward. If their bad temper is directed toward things that are evil, dark, and do not align with the truth—if it is directed toward things that violate the principles of God’s house, harm the interests of God’s house, and disrupt and disturb the church’s work—and they frequently get angry and lose their temper due to feeling anxious, agitated, and worried about these things, then this is not poor humanity. This is being considerate of God’s intentions, this is a merit of humanity. Conversely, if, when faced with these negative things, they show no temper, do not step forward to safeguard the interests of God’s house or God’s testimony, and do not stick to the truth principles and step forward to stop or restrict these things, but instead allow these disruptions and disturbances to grow and spread unchecked, then although such people may appear to have a very good temper, in actuality, their character is extremely poor. Isn’t this the case? (It is.) How should the issue of having a bad temper be viewed? It depends on what matters a person’s bad temper is directed toward; you should look at what that person’s character is like, what they pursue and what path they walk, and what attitude they have toward the truth, toward God, toward the work of God’s house, and toward the interests of God’s house. Is this way of viewing it accurate? (Yes.) If a person has no sense of justice but is hot-tempered, easily enraged, and very hotheaded when associating with people in their day-to-day life, frequently bristling with anger, and often arguing and going head-to-head with others over trivial matters, even using foul language, this is not a defect of humanity—this is extremely poor character. Looking at it in terms of corrupt dispositions, this person’s disposition is vicious, and no one dares to provoke them. They do not lose their temper for the sake of safeguarding just causes, safeguarding positive things, upholding the truth principles, or safeguarding the interests and work of God’s house, but rather for the sake of safeguarding all of their own interests, their reputation, status, vanity, material possessions, money, and so forth. Such a person’s bad temper can be classed as extremely poor character. A bad temper must be viewed based on the situation, considering what someone’s bad temper is directed toward and the intentions behind it. If, in order to safeguard their own interests or protect their reputation and status, they can really lose their temper and raise hell over a single remark, then their character is extremely poor. If they are generally quite magnanimous when it comes to matters involving their personal interests—for example, when people occasionally make remarks that target them and hurt their pride a bit, or take advantage of them a bit, they usually let it slide and don’t lose their temper—if they do not fuss over little things and can be accommodating while associating with others, and yet they lose their temper when they see someone disrupting and disturbing the church’s work and causing harm to the interests of God’s house, then this is not bad character. Rather, it is the sense of justice that humanity ought to have; it is a merit of humanity.

Being prone to sulking—what kind of problem does this belong to? (A defect of humanity.) This is a defect of humanity. What kind of people are prone to sulking? (Petty people.) Petty people, touchy people, and children are all prone to sulking. When they encounter some minor issue, they become angry at the drop of a hat, refuse to speak with you, refuse to see you, and won’t answer your phone. You unintentionally say something that hurts them, and they start sulking, ignoring you for a long time, and even when asked about this, they don’t say anything. You ask them, “What’s wrong? If there’s a problem, let’s resolve it. If I owe you something, I’ll make up for it. If something I said hurt you, I apologize, and I can do whatever you need me to do.” Yet they still remain silent, sulking. Aren’t such people troublesome? (Yes.) This is abnormal humanity. Problems related to humanity that do not rise to the level of issues concerning character all belong to defects of humanity. A defect means that something which should be present within normal humanity is lacking in someone—one’s attitude or manner in conducting oneself and handling matters is abnormal or immature and does not meet the standard of reason for normal humanity. This is a defect. Being prone to sulking, for one thing, irritates others, and they dislike interacting with such people. Additionally, being prone to sulking is childishly immature. Generally, only children around ten years old behave this way—adults do not have these manifestations. When such a person has a good relationship with you, the two of you are like two peas in a pod. But when things sour between you, they turn hostile, sulk, refuse to speak with you, return everything you gave them, and cut you off for good. Yet, who knows—one day they might reconcile and become as close as before. These are manifestations of immaturity. All of these manifestations of immaturity are referred to as defects of humanity. Being prone to sulking is a defect of humanity. People who are prone to sulking are most likely to delay things when doing a duty. You never know when they might go into a days-long sulk because someone said something that hurt them. No matter how important the duty is, they can stop without saying anything. You may think they are still normally doing their duty, but in actuality, they have already stopped their work long ago. Therefore, it is imperative to never assign important work to people who are prone to sulking, especially tasks in critical stages, as they are extremely willful, always emotional, and prone to sulking, lacking rationality, which easily leads to them abandoning their work during the course of doing their duty. If this work absolutely must be done by them or there is no one else to replace them, then when assigning them the work, you must have someone supervise their work. If there is someone else who can replace them, then relatively important work should not be assigned to them. For example, some people have a bit of caliber and can handle the work of a church leader, but when a brother or sister says something that hurts them, they go into a sulk: “I quit! You can let whoever you want be the leader. I’m going back home to live my life—I’m done with this!” Once they start sulking, they can give up their duty and leave, and who knows when they’ll come back. Are such people reliable? (No.) They take out their anger on their duty and the church’s work, giving up their duty at any time. Isn’t this a manifestation of immaturity? (Yes.) Treating their duty and the church’s work as if it’s a child’s game, like playing house—that is a manifestation of immaturity. When children play house, it’s just a game—if they get upset, they stop playing; it doesn’t delay anything. But treating church work or some duty like a child playing house, quitting whenever they want—doesn’t that delay things? This doesn’t just delay their own matters—if they are a church leader, the church’s work gets delayed by them. If they are doing an important duty, then that important duty gets delayed. Therefore, when selecting people to use, you must consider whether they have the problem of being prone to sulking. If they do have this problem, is it severe? How severe is it? Will they give up their work? When they sulk, will they go into a huff, go home, and stop doing their duty, refusing to return no matter who calls on them? People of this sort are very difficult to handle. Never use them—they are a prickly sort. Coaxing them doesn’t work, disciplining them doesn’t work, and no matter how you fellowship about the truth, they find it hard to accept. Only when they figure it out themselves and understand it on their own can they recover and revert to normal reason. Therefore, aside from having corrupt dispositions, if someone’s humanity also has many defects or flaws, then once they encounter something unpleasant, it can cause them to become so negative that they cannot recover. Even if they have some resolve and are willing to pursue the truth to attain salvation, and even if they have a mind to do their duty well and be up to standard as a created being, when difficulties or unpleasant situations arise, they can no longer move forward. Therefore, if a person wants to pursue the truth and do their duty well, they must seek the truth to resolve any defects or flaws that may exist in their humanity. If you do not possess a heart that has a tremendous desire for God or longs for the truth, and you are unwilling to overcome these defects of humanity or have insufficient resolve to do so, then the challenges you face will be numerous. If you cannot even change or surmount these personal defects, it will be even more difficult to cast off your corrupt disposition.

Let’s now talk about “loving to take advantage”—what kind of problem is this? (A defect of humanity.) Is this a defect of humanity? Loving to take advantage is a problem of character. If someone takes advantage in every situation, even over something as small as a vegetable, a piece of paper, or a little water bottle, this is a problem with their character—their character is extremely poor. This is not a defect of humanity. Do you understand? (Yes.) Such people have extremely poor character and no integrity. When they shop at a store, they always try to haggle and ask for discounts. When they buy vegetables at the market, they argue endlessly over a few cents. When they stay at a hotel and see complimentary items like disposable towels, toothbrushes, and toothpaste, they take everything home without leaving a single item behind, afraid to miss out on anything. Some people say, “Do they love to take advantage because they’re poor?” No, this kind of person simply has this kind of character. Their family isn’t short of money, but they nevertheless insist on taking advantage. After believing in God, this kind of person even takes advantage of God’s house. Some people don’t eat at their own home but always go to the host home to freeload meals, pretending they’re there to help do things for the host home. They secretly use the belongings of the brothers and sisters. They avoid using their own things and always use others’ belongings. They don’t wear their own clothes and always wear someone else’s. When they see someone doing laundry, they ask them to wash a couple of items for them while they’re at it and end up giving them seven or eight pieces to wash—this is clearly taking advantage. They simply have this kind of character. Even though their family clearly has money, they still borrow money from the brothers and sisters. When asked when they will repay it, they say, “I’ll pay it back when I have money. If I don’t have money, how can I pay it back? I have no money—just my life!” What do these words mean? They clearly don’t want to repay and never intended to—they just want to take advantage, using other people’s money for their own enjoyment and to spend freely. This is their purpose. When they see someone has bought something new, they become very interested and constantly think about borrowing it. If the owner needs it and doesn’t want to lend it, they forcefully borrow it anyway. They use it until it’s old or broken and still don’t return it, treating it as if it were their own. This kind of person takes advantage everywhere, borrowing things and never returning them. Is this a defect of humanity? (No.) This is having no integrity and extremely poor character. Have you ever seen this kind of person? (Yes.) There are quite a few of them. Tell Me, can this kind of person practice the truth? (No.) What kind of people are most of these individuals? Aren’t they scoundrels? No matter how much they take advantage of others, their conscience feels no self-accusation. Tell Me, do they have a conscience? (No.) What kind of person are those without a conscience? Let’s not say whether they are good people or evil people—at the very least, they lack the most basic standards and conditions of humanity required to practice the truth. We previously fellowshipped that to practice the truth, a person must at the very least possess a conscience. A person’s conscience includes a sense of shame. Do those who are always taking advantage of others without feeling any self-accusation in their conscience have a sense of shame? (No.) Can people without a sense of shame practice the truth? (No.) They commit evil without feeling anything and without any reproach from their conscience. Therefore, doing just deeds and walking the right path holds no appeal for them because their humanity has no need for such things. What are their needs? Their need is to protect their own interests from any loss while also taking others’ interests and using them to serve themselves. Their humanity has no sense of reproach or self-accusation for such behavior, nor any sense of shame. Therefore, it is very difficult for this kind of person to practice the truth. Their creed for conducting themselves is: anything beneficial to themselves, whether in material terms or in a psychological sense, must not be given up in the slightest. As for others’ good and valuable things, they always want to own, seize, or even forcibly take possession of them. Once they have the opportunity, they will seize others’ good things for themselves. They absolutely cannot allow themselves to miss the opportunity, and if they do miss it, they will regret it for a lifetime. This is their creed in how they conduct themselves. Because they are governed by this creed, they feel justified and at ease when taking advantage of others and claiming others’ benefits as their own, feeling a great sense of accomplishment. If they fail to take advantage or miss an opportunity to do so, they feel that they’ve failed and think of themselves as foolish. When they take advantage, they feel good, delighted, and at peace. But when they see an opportunity to take advantage and don’t, they feel upset and unsettled: “If I don’t take this advantage, it’s a waste. If someone else takes it, won’t I be the one losing out?” Look at that—can someone governed by this creed try to be a good person? (No.) When practicing the truth, people need to let go of many things, such as their cherished sense of pride, status, and other psychological things, as well as some material things. All of these involve personal interests, and practicing the truth requires people to rebel against, overcome, cast off, and let go of these things. People who love to take advantage can’t do any of this at all. They can’t let go of their pride or status, and they are even less capable of giving up any material interests. When practicing the truth, they can’t do any of it. So, can they practice the truth? (No.) Therefore, it is extremely difficult for them to practice the truth. They want to possess all the psychological and material good things for themselves and can never let them go, which directly conflicts with and goes against the principles of practicing the truth. That’s why they cannot put the truth into practice. Just look at those who especially love to take advantage—how far do they go? When visiting someone’s home, they even make sure to drink some of their water and eat some of their food before leaving. Tell Me, can people with this kind of character practice the truth? (No.) Their standard for measuring everything is based on the principle of whether they can take advantage and gain benefits. Personal gain is the principle by which they measure everything. Their self-conduct is focused solely on taking advantage of others. As long as they don’t suffer losses and can take advantage, they feel it’s worthwhile. They believe that in conducting oneself, one must be able to take advantage, and that one is only intelligent and shrewd if they have frequently taken advantage—if someone doesn’t know how to take advantage, that person is foolish! Their standard for self-conduct is to only take advantage and never take any losses. They take this approach as their standard for conducting themselves—can they practice the truth? (No.) Does the truth have any place in their hearts? Can it hold power in their hearts? (No.) Then what truths can they practice? (None at all.) They cannot practice any truths at all—their character is too low, causing others to despise them. Some people do duty in God’s house; God’s house provides some items to them for daily use, and they frequently request more using the excuse that they’ve run out, when actually they still have some left. Why do they always request more? They think, “If I don’t take advantage of this and someone else does, won’t I be the one losing out?” Look at that—what kind of character is this? The standard this kind of person uses for measuring everything is based on the principle of whether they can take advantage and gain benefits. Their hearts are entirely consumed by thoughts of interests. No matter how you fellowship with them about positive things or the truth, they refuse to accept it, which has nothing to do with their caliber or whether they can understand—it’s that their creed in how they conduct themselves is problematic. They absolutely won’t accept or practice positive things, nor adhere to the truth principles. Their character is extremely low. Tell Me, is it necessary to fellowship about the truth with this kind of person? (No.) Why not? (Because they will never practice the truth.) They lack a sense of conscience in their humanity and do not possess the basic conditions for practicing the truth. Their hearts are focused solely on taking advantage and gaining benefits. It can be said that this kind of person is simply unworthy of hearing the truth and unworthy of listening to sermons about attaining salvation. See, you didn’t fully understand what kind of problem loving to take advantage is, did you? You even thought it was a defect of humanity. Is it a defect of humanity? (No.) You understand now, don’t you? What kind of problem is it? (It’s a problem of character—this kind of person is of low character.)

Let’s now talk about tending to give charity. If there are no motives behind a person’s tendency to give charity, and it is merely a behavior or a common practice in their daily life, then this tendency to give charity should be considered a merit of humanity. Giving is, at any rate, better than receiving. At the very least, a person who tends to give charity has a heart that sympathizes with others, and an element of kindness within their humanity, and they are not miserly and do not place much importance on material things. Moreover, when they possess relatively abundant material goods, they will give away their surplus items, or those that they do not use but are suitable for others to use, making other people’s lives a bit more comfortable or convenient. Judging from the motive behind these actions, at the very least, people who have a tendency to give charity have kind humanity, and display essential manifestations of sympathizing with and pitying others—it is a merit of their humanity. Such people have relatively good character, far better than that of evil people who love to take advantage of others and arbitrarily seize others’ possessions—they have somewhat greater integrity. They give charity and help others without seeking anything in return, without seeking praise from others or to leave behind a good reputation. This is simply their attitude in conducting themselves, or their way of life. For example, when they see that someone lacks clothes, they immediately give their surplus clothing to that person to wear. When they see that another person’s family is poor and often cannot get enough to eat, they give some of their family’s rice to them so that they can also have enough to eat. When they buy a new computer and see that someone else’s computer is barely usable, they give their old computer to that person to use. They give charity without seeking anything in return—this is simply their character. This is a merit of humanity and can also be classed as a manifestation of good character. The behavior of tending to give charity is not bad at all, but some people, because they tend to give charity, often think, “I am kind, I am noble, I am generous. Many people’s lives have improved after receiving my charity and help. I am an object of God’s salvation. If God does not save someone like me, what kind of person would He save?” They often regard themselves as “a good person who tends to give charity.” Suppose that someone says to them, “Your humanity is not good. You do many things that go against the truth, and you do not love the truth.” After hearing this, they will become angry. What is the problem here? Some people’s families are relatively well-off, and the brothers and sisters around them have all received favors from them. So those people often ponder, “I have treated these people in the church very well—they have all received some help from me. Don’t I have prestige and status in the hearts of these people? Aren’t I the one with the best caliber and the best humanity in the church? Shouldn’t I be a leader? Shouldn’t the brothers and sisters all listen to me?” What kind of issue is this? Isn’t this an issue of corrupt dispositions? (Yes.) Just because they have a bit of good behavior, they no longer know their own true measure, they treat this behavior as capital, always wanting to be a church leader, and they get an inflated ego, thinking that they are exceptional. They do not link the various corrupt dispositions exposed by God’s words to themselves. They believe that their tendency to give charity means that they are a good person, that they don’t have any corrupt dispositions, that everything they do is right, and that they should be a leader and an exemplar in the church, and that the brothers and sisters should all emulate them. What are these revelations of? (Corrupt dispositions.) This has risen to the level of corrupt dispositions. Although tending to give charity is a merit of humanity, if someone judges themselves to be a good person who is certain to be saved because of this, is this kind of thought and viewpoint correct? They regard their good behavior of tending to give charity as them having good character and noble integrity, and even regard it as practicing the truth and submitting to God. This is a grave mistake. This is arrogance and self-righteousness, and an absence of self-awareness. Tending to give charity can be said to be a good behavior. At most, a person who tends to give charity has relatively good character, much better than those who take advantage. However, you cannot claim that you are a good person, that you have no corrupt dispositions and possess the truth reality, and that you are qualified to be a church leader and to stand above others and issue commands, simply because you have this good behavior of tending to give charity. This is an arrogant disposition. Although you tend to give charity and help others—possessing some of these good deeds—which is a merit of humanity, this does not prove that you have no corrupt dispositions. If you treat your tendency to give charity and help others like capital and develop an ambition to become a church leader and to elevate yourself above others, this is an issue of corrupt dispositions. Can you see the distinction now? Having good character does not mean that one has no corrupt dispositions. Some people basically interact and associate with others reasonably well—they do not take advantage of others and they even give charity and help others—they have some merits of humanity. However, after spending some time with them, you discover that they are very arrogant, that they love to boast, and that they sometimes even tell lies and are quite deceitful. If you criticize them, they refuse to accept it and are somewhat vicious, even slamming the table and saying, “I have believed in God for so many years—who hasn’t received charity from me? Ask the brothers and sisters—have I ever taken advantage of anyone? Have I ever harmed or hurt anyone?” Does not having harmed others make you a good person? Isn’t not harming others just the bare minimum that a person should do? What reason do you have to be haughty? Not having harmed or hurt anyone is what a person ought to do—it is not capital. Not taking advantage of others does not mean you are able to practice the truth and submit to God. You should learn to reflect on yourself and be able to accept others’ criticism and help—only then will you be someone with reason. You are being pruned now because you have revealed a corrupt disposition and your actions do not align with the truth. This is not a denial of the fact that your good behavior of tending to give charity is a positive thing, or a denial of your character. Rather, pruning and exposure are being practiced because you have made a mistake and violated the truth principles. If you can accept it, then you are someone who loves the truth and can practice the truth. If you do not accept it, then your tendency to give charity is, at most, a merit of humanity. But because the arrogance, viciousness, and wickedness within your corrupt dispositions dominate, you cannot accept the truth, and so you are utterly base, and you are worthless. When faced with pruning, people of this sort make a huge scene, talk about their qualifications, and flaunt the bit of good behavior that they’ve engaged in. They behave like mad dogs, throwing fits. That little bit of good image they had completely vanishes, and their nature is thoroughly exposed. Everyone sees this clearly and says, “This person has a severely corrupt disposition—they’re an evil person, a shrew! It’s fortunate that they weren’t chosen as a church leader. If they had become a church leader, they wouldn’t be able to stand the slightest criticism—if anyone tried to dismiss them, they would never leave that person be and they would fight to the death against them. That would be disastrous!” If you only look at one good behavior of theirs or one quality of their humanity, you simply cannot see what their corrupt dispositions are like, what their attitude toward the truth is, or whether they can submit to the truth. When they reveal a corrupt disposition and then undergo exposure and pruning, their attitude toward the truth will come to the surface bit by bit and be exposed. Therefore, a person’s character, or the merits and shortcomings of their humanity, cannot fully determine whether they accept the truth. Looking at their character or the merits and shortcomings of their humanity, it is also impossible to see what their attitude toward the truth is like. Only when they reveal a corrupt disposition, or when they are faced with exposure and pruning, will their attitude toward the truth be revealed, and only then can it be known whether they love the truth, whether they can practice the truth, and how much hope they have of being saved in the end. From such people’s tendency to give charity and help others, you can see what merits and defects of humanity they have. Then, from their series of problems—such as them becoming arrogant and self-righteous, and wanting to become a leader and stand above others on account of their tendency to give charity and help others—you can see clearly their attitude toward the truth; and based on their attitude toward the truth, you can see clearly whether they can attain salvation. Through these behaviors, you can discern the merits and shortcomings of their humanity, discern their character, and at the same time learn to tell the difference between humanity and a corrupt disposition, but you cannot completely tell whether they can ultimately be saved or what their result will be like. Judging whether someone can be saved is somewhat more complex—you also have to look at whether they can accept the truth, reflect on themselves, and have genuine repentance when they reveal a corrupt disposition; it must be judged based on these aspects.

Loving to socialize—what aspect is this? (An innate condition.) This is an innate condition, a method for worldly dealings while among groups of people. Some people enjoy associating with others, they never tire of it, and no matter the personality of the other people, they are able and willing to associate with them. Some people, however, prefer to avoid crowds and are unwilling to associate with others. This has a certain connection to one’s inborn personality. When it involves personality, it definitely involves innate conditions. Loving to socialize is related to a person’s personality; it does not involve the merits or shortcomings of humanity, and it of course does not involve any corrupt disposition. This is a relatively simple manifestation. Being reclusive—what aspect does this fall under? (It’s a part of one’s inborn personality.) (It’s a defect of humanity.) There’s some disagreement here—so, just what kind of issue is being reclusive? (Being reclusive indicates one’s personality is poor.) Having a poor personality is a defect of humanity. Personality itself is also an aspect of one’s innate conditions, so this trait of being reclusive is both an innate condition and a defect of humanity. This does not belong to a corrupt disposition and does not involve one’s self-conduct. Being reclusive means always avoiding people, being unwilling to communicate one’s thoughts with others, preferring to do things alone, disliking associating with others, and disliking living among people. Such people only like staying in a solitary environment or in a corner. When there are many people, they are unwilling to speak. They are not good at communicating with others. When they do communicate with others, they feel anxious and panicked, or end up in some embarrassing and awkward situations. This is a personality issue within innate conditions and, of course, is also a defect of humanity, right? (Right.)

Now let’s take a look at being timid—what kind of issue is this? (An innate condition.) (A defect of humanity.) It is an innate condition and also a defect of humanity. Tell Me, what does it mean to be timid? Being afraid to go out at night, fearing mice, centipedes, and scorpions, as well as fearing trouble and being unwilling to face complicated issues—these are all manifestations of being timid. Some people faint from fright when they see a snake. Some people get so scared they tremble all over when they hear about a car accident. Some people, upon hearing that believers in God are persecuted and can be arrested, sentenced, and imprisoned, become so afraid that they don’t dare to believe. There are also those who don’t dare to ride roller coasters. Such people don’t dare to participate in or try anything if there’s even a little they cannot see through or if it’s something they haven’t done before. They not only do not dare to try dangerous work or dangerous activities, but they are also afraid to do things that normal people should do in daily life. For example, if asked to learn how to drive, they say, “I do not dare to drive. There are so many cars on the road, and they drive so fast—what if I get hit?” Someone says, “Why are you always worried about a car crash? Can’t you just be a bit more cautious when driving?” But they are still afraid: “Once the car starts moving, it’s out of my control. If a crash really happens, no one can control it!” They always think in a negative direction, so they cannot accomplish anything. Being timid is an innate condition, and it is also a defect of humanity. Timid people are overly cautious and meticulous in everything they do. They usually do not make big mistakes or commit major wrongdoings. But from any perspective, this cannot be considered a merit—this is a defect of humanity. Then what about being bold? What terms are commonly associated with being bold? (Being foolishly bold, acting recklessly out of boldness.) “Acting recklessly out of boldness,” “being outrageously bold,” and “being bold as brass” all refer to being bold. So, is being bold good or not? (It depends on the matter.) It depends on the situation and what kind of person they are. If viewed from the perspective of humanity, being bold cannot be classed as a merit or a shortcoming—we’ll categorize it as an innate condition. A person’s boldness must be considered in terms of the matter; additionally, you have to look at whether they have boundaries in doing things and what their character is like. If their character is bad, boldness can lead them to break the law, do evil, and commit crimes, taking advantage to profit, and swindling and cheating others, everywhere. If someone offers them money to commit wrongdoing, they are capable of doing it. In order to take advantage, they dare to do any bad deed, without regard for consequences or consideration for others. Is acting recklessly out of boldness like this good? (No.) Some people deceive others everywhere for the sake of their business. The business they run is illegal—it’s just a shell company without real operations. But because of their boldness combined with their ability to deceive, they temporarily make a fortune, live in villas, and drive sedans—they enjoy a very good life, but the money and material possessions they enjoy were all obtained by deceit as a result of their boldness. Is this a good thing? Tell Me, is this boldness good? (No.) Therefore, when it comes to bold people, you have to look at the path they take. If they dare to swindle and cheat others because of their boldness, they are committing great evil. The more you deceive and the more you take advantage of others, the more severe the punishment you will receive in the future, right? Doesn’t this bring calamity? (Yes.) If you are timid and want to swindle and cheat others, you will engage in a bit less deception, and the punishment you receive in the future will be lighter. So, for such people who do not walk the right path, is it better for them to be somewhat timid or somewhat bold? (Being somewhat timid is better.) For these people who do not walk the right path, who are capable of swindling and cheating others, who disregard the law and always seek to exploit legal loopholes to make windfall gains, and who can break the law at any time, boldness is a calamity—it is a defect and a failing of their humanity. Being timid, on the other hand, becomes a good thing—it is even a safeguard for them. Timid people earn some money so they can provide for the basic needs of their family and themselves, and also enjoy some luxuries, and stop there. The punishment they receive in the future will be lighter. Bold people dare to recklessly commit misdeeds, and cheat and swindle others, taking what belongs to others so they themselves have more to enjoy. They take advantage of others—won’t they have to compensate for it in the future? (Yes.) If they have a next life, the punishment they receive then will be severe—they may not even be able to fully compensate for it in one or two lifetimes. Some people spend their whole lives running restaurants or doing business, earning one or two million or even tens of millions in assets, yet they don’t get to enjoy any of it themselves because it’s all used to repay debts. Even by the time they are in their seventies or eighties, they still haven’t finished repaying. What is going on here? This is causal retribution—perhaps it’s because in their past lives, they took too much from others out of greed, so they’ve been repaying debts over these several lifetimes. Isn’t it that, in their past lives, they were too greedy, too bold, and took advantage of others too much, resulting in retribution in their current life? (Yes.) For people who do not walk the right path, being a bit timid is a safeguard for them, while boldness is a bad sign.

If a person walks the right path, is boldness good? (Yes.) What is good about it? (If they are bold, they can still persist in believing in God when facing persecution.) This boldness does not merely refer to fleshly courage. If it is the kind of boldness that is fleshly courage, then it is recklessness and rashness—it is somewhat impulsive and blind. For example, if you are bold, and you are arrested for believing in God, will you be afraid of being tortured? Will you be afraid of death? Will you be afraid of being imprisoned for twenty or thirty years? If you will be afraid, then you saying, “I am not afraid” when you start believing in God is recklessness, not true boldness. What manifestation is not recklessness? It is that, when you start believing in God, you have a certain courage, but you also have genuine faith. What does this genuine faith refer to? It means that in believing in God, you have resolve: “If I am persecuted, arrested, and tortured for believing in God, I must be ready to lay down my life. No matter how I am tormented or to what extent, I will not sell out the church or become a Judas—I do not fear death!” This is one aspect. The other aspect is that, if you are truly arrested and persecuted, and the great red dragon threatens you to get you to sell out the church, you can see through Satan’s schemes, and not be constrained by it, and stand firm in your testimony, saying, “Everything about a person, including their life and death, is in God’s hands. I am not afraid!” This is neither recklessness nor mere courage; this is genuine faith. Having this genuine faith and being able to stand firm in your testimony is your merit. Suppose that you do not have genuine faith and only say, “I am not afraid—at worst, it’s just death,” but when you face arrest, you are so scared that you wet your pants. After being arrested, the first thing you think is, “Will I be tortured? Will my flesh suffer? If an electric branding iron is pressed against my body, will I be able to withstand it? If the torture is severe, will I die? If I die, will God not remember me? Will I not be able to attain salvation? If I truly cannot bear it, I will sell out the church and become a Judas. If I get punished and destroyed after I become a Judas, so be it—at least I won’t suffer pain right now.” In that case, aren’t you losing your testimony? Say that the Communist Party then threatens you, using your family to blackmail you—not allowing your children to attend university, denying your parents access to medical insurance, stripping away all the rights of your family—then you will become afraid and not have genuine faith. Where will your courage have gone? Are you truly bold? If you do not have genuine faith, then your boldness is just recklessness. Only when you have genuine faith is your courage genuine. Before being arrested, if you think, “God won’t let me be arrested,” and you become emboldened because of this thought, that is not true fortitude or true faith. Suppose that, before being arrested, you have already thought through all of this and say, “A person’s life and death are in God’s hands. If God truly wants to take my life, I should submit. As for my future destination, that is determined by a single word from God. However God treats me and whatever destination He grants me, it is all God’s righteousness, and I will submit. If God arranges for me to die in prison, that is my honor—I am willing to offer this life to God. No matter how great suffering I experience, I will have one unchanging creed, which is that I entrust my life into God’s hands, and, no matter how Satan torments me, ravages me, or inflicts torture on me, I will never yield to it. I am not concerned about whether I will die. Even if I die, it is under God’s sovereignty and He has predestined it. I will still thank and praise God!” This is the kind of faith you must have; only with such faith can you have true courage. Say that, before being arrested, before that really happens to you, you have seen through to these matters, have genuine faith in God, genuine submission to God, and a genuine understanding and acceptance of the matters of life and death, and you can completely entrust yourself into God’s hands, and, when you are truly arrested and face the possibility of death, these understandings in your heart remain unchanged—then your faith will not waver. No matter the circumstances, if your faith is not crushed or defeated, you will always have courage. Suppose that, before being arrested, before that really happens to you, you have not thought these things through and only wishfully think, “I am willing to offer my life. My life was given by God—at worst, I will die as a martyr for God!” In that case, when the great red dragon tortures you and then sentences you to ten years in prison, you will be dumbfounded: “I thought dying would be the end of it. If I were martyred, God would remember me. I didn’t expect that I would fail to bear that testimony and, in the end, be sentenced to ten years. Ten years—that’s not ten days or ten months! How am I supposed to endure this?” Since you haven’t thought about these things before, will it be easy to figure them out at this time? It will be somewhat difficult, right? (Yes.) When difficulties arise, people only think about how to handle them and how to escape from them. If your drive to escape from difficulties is strong, then your drive to adapt to them in the midst of a plight will be extremely weak. Therefore, when facing difficulties, it becomes very hard for you to submit to such an environment. So how should such situations be resolved? You must immediately seek the truth and think these matters through; you must also figure out the path for how you should practice the truth. For example, if you are to be imprisoned for ten years, what will you think? “Will my wife (or husband) divorce me? How old will my children be after ten years? I won’t have fulfilled my responsibility toward them—will they disown me and refuse to care for me in my old age? How will I live after being released? After ten years, my parents will be old, and I won’t have fulfilled my filial responsibility toward them—won’t that make me unfilial? Will God’s work be finished after ten years? I won’t have gained anything in prison—I won’t have attended any gatherings, or listened to any sermons, and I won’t have understood the truth. Won’t I have fallen behind during these ten years? Won’t this mean I’ve been eliminated? Will God still want me? If I undergo this suffering, will God remember this? If He doesn’t remember this and I cannot attain salvation, then won’t I have spent this time in prison for nothing? A lot will change in ten years, and I will gain nothing while losing a lot.” When you think of these things, the difficulties arise. How should you face these difficulties? Shouldn’t you think about how to get through each day? If you haven’t thought these things through and haven’t reached a point where you understand the truth and see matters clearly, then when you face being arrested, your life and death will hang on a single thought: A moment of timidity and fear, a single thought or idea, can cause you to become a Judas, sell out the church, and waste all your previous efforts. If you cannot think through or see through this matter, it will be very difficult not to worry about your prospects and fate, and it will be very hard to entrust your life and death into God’s hands and allow Him to orchestrate as He wills. If you cannot see through matters of life and death and still harbor a mentality of trying your luck, wanting to muddle through, then when an environment comes upon you, you will be revealed. All those who became Judases when they were arrested, signing the “Three Statements,” did so overnight, and they were branded by Satan with the mark of the beast. A person’s life and death sometimes hang on a single thought. Without the truth, it is very difficult to get through crises. So, what is true boldness? If someone accomplishes something by relying on a burst of brute force, is that true boldness? It is not—it is impulsiveness. A truly courageous person has a certain level of discernment in their heart regarding many positive and negative things. They are able to internally agree with, accept, and firmly recognize positive things, reaching the point of being able to submit to the truth and to God’s sovereignty. Only in this way can you have true courage. If you do not possess these things in your heart, your boldness is just a foolish one—like a newborn calf being unafraid of a tiger. Therefore, in a country that resists God, believing in and following God not only requires courage but, more importantly, requires faith. You dare to believe in God not because you are bold, but because you have faith. Some people say, “I think that I believe in God simply because I am bold and unafraid of persecution.” This statement may be correct. You believe because of audacity, but in light of your foolishness, ignorance, and simplicity, God shows you special grace, laying out certain environments for you, as well as giving you the watering and provision of the truth. Through this, you come to understand and gain quite a few truths. Over time, your audacity gains elements of genuine faith, and it is only then that your courage grows, and you dare more to face future environments or persecution. If a person does not have genuine faith and relies on a burst of strength, saying, “I dare to believe in God! I’m not afraid of persecution or of being arrested and imprisoned!”—that kind of courage won’t last long. Without the provision of the truth, without God laying out environments in real life to train you, to get you to practice, and to teach you how to face various things, your boldness is purely audacity, and it is not genuine faith at all. Do you understand? (Yes.) If it is truly audacity, then that makes you a reckless, foolish, ignorant person. Some people who believe in God have very simple thoughts, imagining things to be very straightforward, without at all anticipating what dangers will be involved in following God. But when they encounter setbacks, only then do they realize that following God is not a straightforward matter. If a person’s boldness is a merit of humanity, then at the very least, they are simple and straightforward, not complicated, and they do not worry about this and that. But suppose that your boldness is driven by an intention to obtain blessings, and you think, “If you believe in God, you can get into heaven, obtain great blessings, and escape the disasters and avoid death, so I’ll believe, come what may!” In other words, your belief is driven by a burst of audacious brute strength; it is not you desiring, in a simple manner, to believe in God; instead, it is chasing blessings. In that case, your boldness is at best audacity and cannot be classed as a merit of humanity. Therefore, when it comes to bold people, you must see what their humanity essence is like. If they have no conscience and reason and are merely audacious, then they have little value and cannot accomplish anything meaningful. But if they are able to believe in God and accept the truth, then such people have value. If a person is bold but has no comprehension ability, cannot understand the truth, and believes in God solely for the sake of obtaining blessings, and they are willing to give up their family and career and do not fear persecution in order to gain blessings—then this is not a merit of humanity but rather a wrong thought and viewpoint. Do wrong thoughts and viewpoints align with God’s intentions? (No.) Whether someone is timid or bold involves their innate conditions and has little to do with the essence of their humanity.

If we didn’t fellowship on the various manifestations of innate conditions, humanity, and corrupt dispositions, could you discern them on your own? (We perhaps could with simple manifestations, but we could not with more complex ones.) Now that the distinctions between innate conditions, humanity, and corrupt dispositions have been fellowshipped about, can you discern them now? (We can discern them a bit better than before.) If I give some more unusual examples, then, will you be able to discern them based on what I have fellowshipped? It’s hard to say, right? Then next time, we’ll continue to fellowship about issues related to this topic. As we fellowship more, you will identify some rules for discerning different kinds of issues. In terms of the various manifestations of humanity, innate conditions, and corrupt dispositions, you can generally discern the manifestations that have been fellowshipped about. For those that have not been fellowshipped about, only people with spiritual understanding or those who know how to seek the truth may be able to discern some of them. Those with poor caliber may fall short and be unable to discern them, so they need to listen more and ask more questions. If we do not fellowship about these issues, they will always remain vague for you, and what you say will also be unclear; there will always be a gap between your understanding and pure understanding of the truth, right? (Yes.)

Today we fellowshipped on matters of caliber. Can you now discern what people’s caliber is like? (We can roughly discern it.) If you cannot discern it, then take your time and experience things. In daily life, you will encounter these matters. Learn to apply the words from our fellowship to real life, matching them with people’s manifestations bit by bit—discerning yourself and discerning others, coming to know yourself and coming to know others. Gradually, you will be able to gauge these things and have a standard for doing this. The principles for viewing people and things, as well as for conducting yourself and acting, will become increasingly clear. We have fellowshipped a lot about the various aspects of discerning innate conditions, humanity, and corrupt dispositions. No matter which manifestations or which revelations of humanity we fellowship about, none of it is empty words—these things can all be encountered, seen, and sensed in real life. Therefore, you must learn to view various things and various kinds of people by matching God’s words up to them. Only by learning to match the various states and matters from our fellowship to real life can you gradually make progress in viewing people and things, as well as in conducting yourself and acting, have an accurate understanding of various matters related to the truth, and gradually grasp the various truth principles. Do you understand? (Yes.) Although the matters we’ve discussed are primarily used to discern the various states and revelations exhibited by people, and do not directly enable you to understand and enter into the truth, these matters will all affect your understanding of the truth and the truth principles, as well as your entry into the truth and the truth principles. Therefore, although these matters may seem, in people’s notions, to only involve humanity, innate conditions, or some obvious corrupt dispositions, every matter and every statement is related to people’s entry into the truth. And so, these matters are ones that you must face on the path of entering into the truth—you cannot avoid them. The various matters and manifestations of humanity, whether positive or negative, are all things you will face and encounter in various environments in daily life. If, when you face various matters, you cannot discern any of them and generalize them all, regarding the truth principles from our fellowship as regulations or doctrines, then you will never be able to enter into the truth reality. Why is that? Because you will never understand what the truth is.

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

November 25, 2023