Relevant Words of God:

Without God in his heart, man’s inner world is dark, hopeless and empty. Subsequently many social scientists, historians, and politicians have come to the fore to express theories of social science, the theory of human evolution, and other theories that contradict the truth that God created man, to fill the hearts and minds of mankind. And in this way, those who believe that God created everything have become ever fewer, and those who believe in the theory of evolution have become ever greater in number. More and more people treat the records of the work of God and His words during the age of the Old Testament as myths and legends. In their hearts, people become indifferent to the dignity and greatness of God, to the tenet that God exists and holds dominion over all things. The survival of mankind and the fate of countries and nations are no longer important to them, and man lives in a hollow world concerned only with eating, drinking, and the pursuit of pleasure. … Few people take it upon themselves to seek out where God does His work today, or to look for how He presides over and arranges the destination of man. And in this way, unbeknownst to man, human civilization becomes less and less able to hew to man’s wishes, and there are even many people who feel that, living in such a world, they are less happy than those who have already passed away. Even people of countries that used to be highly civilized air such grievances. For without the guidance of God, no matter how much rulers and sociologists wrack their brains to preserve human civilization, it is to no avail. No one can fill the emptiness in man’s heart, for no one can be the life of man, and no social theory can free man from the emptiness with which he is afflicted. Science, knowledge, freedom, democracy, leisure, comfort: these bring man only a temporary consolation. Even with these things, man still inevitably sins and bemoans the injustices of society. These things cannot restrain man’s craving and desire to explore. This is because man was made by God and the senseless sacrifices and explorations of man can only lead to more distress and can only cause man to exist in a constant state of fear, not knowing how to face the future of mankind or how to face the path that lies ahead. Man even comes to fear science and knowledge, and fear even more the feeling of emptiness. In this world, regardless of whether you live in a free country or one without human rights, you are utterly incapable of escaping the fate of mankind. Whether you are the ruler or the ruled, you are utterly incapable of escaping the desire to explore the fate, mysteries, and destination of mankind, much less are you capable of escaping the bewildering sense of emptiness. Such phenomena, which are common to all of mankind, are called social phenomena by sociologists, yet no great man can come forth to solve such problems. Man, after all, is man, and the position and life of God cannot be replaced by any man. Mankind does not just require a fair society in which everyone is well-fed and is equal and free; what mankind needs is the salvation of God and His provision of life to them. Only when man receives God’s provision of life and His salvation can the needs, the yearning to explore, and the spiritual emptiness of man be resolved.

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Appendix 2: God Presides Over the Fate of All Mankind

You have been born in this era and you feel that, in all respects, life is materially very rich. What kind of feeling is that? It is merely a feeling of happiness in the flesh. And what is the difference compared to the happiness of the heart? Can the various material things enjoyed by people’s flesh bring them comfort in their hearts? What can their feeling of superiority in life and material abundance bring? They make people depraved, and make them lose their way. To put it bluntly, these things make people not know good from bad, they cause them to get more and more carried away, they cause them to indulge in comfort more and more. There are even those who lose the ability to provide for themselves in life, who don’t know how to take care of themselves and are unable to live independently. They also make people increasingly greedy; once they’ve got something they want something else, and this goes on and on, without end. In sum, those superior living conditions and material abundance bring people nothing but depravity—they bring nothing good. The better you are toward the flesh, the greater the flesh’s rapacity; it is appropriate for the flesh to suffer. After suffering some hardship, people set foot upon the right path, and are diligent in their duties; if they don’t suffer, they revel in comfort, and they grow up in a nest of riches, then they will achieve nothing. They can’t possibly gain the truth, nor will they ever see reason, and as time goes on, the outcome for people can only be that they become more and more depraved. Many famous singers and film stars were pretty hardworking before they became famous, they were driven and committed, and devoted to their careers—but as soon as they became famous, when they had earned lots of money and grown wealthy, what was the outcome? Many took drugs and killed themselves, many only lived short lives. And what was the cause? They had too much material enjoyment, their lives were too comfortable, and not knowing how to find greater enjoyment or stimulation, they took drugs, in search of greater excitement and euphoria. And after taking drugs, as time went on they were unable to give them up. Some suffered overdoses and died; some, not knowing how to free themselves from the drugs, ultimately found a way out—suicide. There are so many examples like this. See, they’re all typical examples. No matter how well you eat, how nice your house is, how good your clothes are, how comfortable your life is, or how many of your desires have been fulfilled, this is all empty. After that, you look for death—the final outcome is death. Would you say that the happiness pursued by unbelievers is true happiness? Actually, it isn’t. It is what people imagine happiness to be, and it is a depraved method, a path that makes people depraved. People’s pursuit of this is not the objective that normal humanity ought to have, it is not the value in living. What was planted by Satan has caused people to make this their objective. Satan has used this means to benumb people, to corrupt, attract, entice, and beguile them, making them think that this is happiness, making them chase that goal. People think that this is happiness, that only when they gain this will they be happy, and so, regardless of how much effort it takes, they chase that goal—and the result is, once they’ve achieved it, they still feel that they haven’t gained true happiness, yes? (Yes.) This proves that this is not the right path, that it is the path to death.

And what is the happiness felt by believers in God like? What are the differences? Look at how, when they believe in God, most people stop pursuing wealth, they stop pursuing success, or a career, or becoming famous in the world. Instead, they live in obscurity, they live simple lives, and have no great demands toward their quality of life. There are even those who are satisfied with nothing more than being warm and well-fed. In a world such as this, they actually choose a path such as this; is it because they are incapable of earning great wealth? Would you say that the brothers and sisters of God’s house, these believers, do not possess the ability to earn great wealth? (No.) No. And so what do you see? After these people begin believing in God, to a greater or lesser extent, in the depths of their hearts they feel that nothing brings them greater happiness than following God, and that this happiness cannot be replaced by anything in the material world. There are even those who have tried; the years they spent toiling in the outside world were tiring and hard, they earned a little money, and enjoyed themselves, but what’s the result? They lived without dignity, and lived in a way that became more and more exhausting, and said to themselves, “It would be better to die than live like this!” They had already seen through these things. It is not that they only began believing in God when they had no other option, but that they had truly felt that nothing brings greater comfort to their hearts, and there is no greater thing in life, than following God, walking the path of pursuing the truth, and expending for and devoting one’s life to God; that nothing brings greater happiness than gaining God and gaining the truth, nothing makes people’s hearts more steadfast. They had already felt this happiness, and it was not something they had imagined.

—“Gaining God and the Truth Is the Happiest of Things” in Records of Christ’s Talks

After they start believing in God, people gain some truths, and the happiness these truths bring is sufficient to replace the happiness brought to people by material things, enjoyment and comfort. The more you gain those things, the less satisfied you are, and the less you are able to tell good from bad. With the truth, the clearer people’s understanding of it, and the more truths they gain, the more they know to thank God and be grateful, and the more they feel sated within their hearts.

—“Gaining God and the Truth Is the Happiest of Things” in Records of Christ’s Talks

God has given His life and what He has and is to people so that they can live them out, so that they can transform what God has and is and the truth He bestows upon them into the direction and the path for them to live, into their very life, so that they may live by this life. So, can we say that God has bestowed His life on people freely, thus making it become their life? Then what is it that people have obtained from God? God’s expectation? God’s promise? Or what? What they have obtained from God are not empty words, but God’s life! In addition to bestowing life upon people, the one requirement He has for you is that you take this life of God, turn it into your own life, and live it out. When God sees you living this life out, He feels satisfied. This is God’s only requirement. Thus, what humans obtain from God is priceless, and, while God is bestowing this most priceless of things upon humanity, God gains nothing; the greatest beneficiary is humankind. While accepting God’s words as their life, people also come to understand the truth, gain the principles of what it is to be human, grow the roots they need to be human, and gain the direction they need to follow to be human. They are no longer deceived and bound by Satan, no longer deceived and used by evil people, and no longer polluted or seduced by evil trends. Humans live free between heaven and earth, and they are liberated. They are able to live genuinely under God’s dominion, no longer to suffer harm by any evil or dark forces. That is, while they are living out this life, they no longer experience any pain, but instead live happily and without hardship; they live freely and have a normal relationship with God. They can no longer rebel against God or oppose Him; rather, they can live genuinely under God’s sovereignty. They live a right and proper life, from the inside out, and become authentic humans.

—“Man Is the Greatest Beneficiary of God’s Management Plan” in Records of Christ’s Talks

If people have a genuine understanding of God’s disposition, and can give heartfelt praise to His holiness and righteousness, then it means they truly know Him and possess the truth; only then do they live in the light. Only once a person’s view of the world and of life changes does one undergo a fundamental transformation. When one has a life goal and comports oneself according to the truth, when one submits absolutely to God and lives by His words, when one feels peaceful and illuminated to the depths of one’s soul, when one’s heart is free of darkness, and when one can live entirely free and unrestrained in God’s presence, only then does one lead a genuine human life, and only then has one become a person who possesses the truth. In addition, all the truths in your possession have come from God’s words and from God Himself. The Ruler of the entire universe and all things—God Most High—approves of you as a real person living a true human life. What could be more meaningful than God’s approval? This is what it means to be in possession of the truth.

—“How to Know Man’s Nature” in Records of Christ’s Talks

When man achieves the true life of man on earth and the entire forces of Satan are placed in bondage, man will live easily upon earth. Things will not be as complex as they are today: Human relationships, social relationships, complex familial relationships—they bring so much trouble, so much pain! Man’s life here is so miserable! Once man has been conquered, his heart and mind will change: He will have a heart that reveres and loves God. Once all those within the universe who seek to love God have been conquered, which is to say, once Satan has been defeated, and once Satan—all the forces of darkness—has been placed in bondage, then man’s life on earth will be untroubled, and he will be able to live freely upon earth. If man’s life were without fleshly relationships and the complexities of the flesh, then it would be so much easier. Man’s relationships of the flesh are too complex, and for man to have such things is proof that he has yet to free himself of the influence of Satan. If you had the same relationship with each of your brothers and sisters, if you had the same relationship with each member of your family, then you would have no concerns, and would not need to worry about anyone. Nothing could be better, and in this way man would be relieved of half of his suffering. Living a normal human life on earth, man will be similar to the angels; though still being of the flesh, he will be much like an angel. This is the final promise, the last promise bestowed upon man.

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Restoring the Normal Life of Man and Taking Him to a Wonderful Destination