By Natasha, USA

As a child, my parents and teachers taught me to be a good person, and to practice gratitude, just like the saying “The kindness of a drop of water should be repaid with a gushing spring.” So since childhood, this was the principle by which I comported myself and treated others in society. Especially when others were kind to me, I did my best to repay their kindness twofold. As time went on, I received approval and praise from most of the people around me, and my relatives and friends thought I was kind and loyal, so they were willing to interact and get along with me. After believing in God, I got along with my brothers and sisters in the same way. I thought conducting myself in this way made me a good person with a conscience. However, through the exposure of God’s words, I realized that the ideas of traditional culture are not the truth, and are not the criteria for how we should act and conduct ourselves.

In September 2018, I was dismissed as a leader for my inability to do real work. At the time, I was very negative and weak, but Sister Leslie, who was responsible for general affairs, sent me many passages of God’s word to support and help me, which made me really touched. I felt Leslie not only didn’t look down on me, but she also encouraged and helped me. After that, Leslie arranged for me to handle general affairs. She took very good care of me, and usually took the initiative to ask my thoughts and opinions on matters regarding our duty. Seeing that Leslie valued me so much, I felt even more grateful to her. Later, when a church leader investigated evaluations of me, some brothers and sisters said things which were misunderstandings, but Leslie was familiar with the context of the incident and clarified these facts about me on the spot. For this, I was even more grateful to her, because I felt she spoke up for me at a critical moment and saved my image. Although I didn’t express my thanks to her in words, I always wanted to find a chance to thank her.

Not long after, Leslie was dismissed for not doing real work, and I was selected as team leader. While checking up on her work, I found she was often absent-minded and forgetful. I asked her in a gentle tone, “Leslie, why are you so careless in your duty?” When she heard this, rather than reflect on herself, she said, “I’m old and have a bad memory.” Afterward, the sister who worked as my partner saw that Leslie was still forgetful in her duty and pointed it out to her several times, but she still didn’t change. I wanted to find a good time to talk to her about it, but then I remembered that when I was first dismissed, I was in a bad state, and she had helped and supported me so gently. Now, she had just been dismissed, so if I exposed her problems now, wouldn’t she think I was being too cruel? Besides, she had just been dismissed and was in a bad state, so her absent-mindedness was excusable. I should lovingly help her more and give her time to change. After that, when Leslie didn’t do something properly in her duty, my partner and I just did it for her. I feared she would forget something, so I reminded her often, and frequently fellowshipped with her and asked about her state. But her state didn’t improve. In several discussions about work, her suggestions weren’t in line with the principles, and most of the brothers and sisters didn’t approve, but she still insisted her point of view was right and forced others to accept it, which made the discussions nearly impossible to continue. I wanted very much to remind her, but then thought how she had been recently dismissed, and how miserable she must be. If I exposed her problems now, wouldn’t it be rubbing salt in her wound? So I let it go, hoping she would realize it on her own in time. I didn’t give her any reminders, and just tried to make sure she was less involved in work discussions. But rather than reflecting on herself, she indirectly blamed me by saying I wasn’t listening to her opinions. Seeing she had no knowledge of herself, I bit the bullet and leveled with her, saying, “Leslie, you are too arrogant and self-righteous. You really should reflect on yourself.” At that time, I saw her face harden a bit, and her voice dropped. I felt bad all of a sudden. Was it a bit too much for me to treat her like this? After all the help she gave me before, was I being insensitive? I started to blame myself.

A few days later, the supervisor saw that my partner and I often did Leslie’s work, so she asked us how Leslie was doing in her duty. The question made me anxious. If I answered honestly about Leslie’s situation, she might be dismissed. I was only able to handle general affairs because she arranged it. She usually treated me well, and she helped me at critical moments. If she was dismissed when I was the team leader, would she resent me and say I was unconscionable and ruthless? To keep her work, I gave an objective account of her behaviors, and even went out of my way to add, “These behaviors are due to her bad state after recently being dismissed. She is consciously trying to change.” Later, to keep her from being dismissed, at several gatherings, I deliberately fellowshipped on her state to help her, but she continued to muddle through as she always had, and there were constant problems in her duty. There was even one time when she purchased unnecessary items without consulting anyone, and the price was much higher than usual. At the time, I was very angry and wanted to prune her, but to preserve our relationship I held my temper. I simply persuaded her not to do it again, and to be more careful in her duty. She agreed in earnest, so I didn’t say any more about it. During that time, brothers and sisters were constantly telling me about problems with Leslie’s work. I really wanted to rebuke and prune her, but when I faced her, the words wouldn’t come out. They were at the tip of my tongue a few times, but I swallowed them. Later, the supervisor came to find out how Leslie was doing in her duty. She and the other brothers and sisters in our group evaluated Leslie together based on the principles, and determined that Leslie was unfit to continue handling general affairs, and urged me to dismiss her soon. But thinking that Leslie had just been dismissed as team leader, and now her duty was to be reassigned again—it would be such a blow! Could she take it? At that moment, memories of all the times she helped me flashed through my mind. For several days, whenever I thought of dismissing her, I felt repressed and miserable. For several nights, I tossed and turned, unable to sleep. It felt as bad as if I was dismissed. I couldn’t stop thinking, “She helped me before, but now I have to personally dismiss her and expose her behavior. Will she think I’m an ungrateful person and resent me for it?” To avoid feeling guilty, I wanted to let the supervisor fellowship with Leslie, while I stood in the background not saying much, or even make an excuse to not go at all. But I knew this sort of intent was very despicable and shameful, so I felt trapped by the dilemma. In misery, I prayed to God, “God, I know it is right to dismiss Leslie, but why is it so difficult for me? God, where is my problem? Please guide me in knowing myself.”

After I prayed, I pondered why I didn’t find it hard to dismiss other people, but was so indecisive about dismissing Leslie. As I sought, I read these words of God: “Some people are extremely sentimental. Every day, in all that they say, and in all of the ways they behave toward others, they live by their feelings. They feel affection for this person and that person, and they spend their days engaged in the niceties of affection. In everything they encounter, they live in the realm of feelings. … You could say that feelings are this person’s fatal flaw. They are constrained by their feelings in all matters, they are incapable of practicing the truth or acting according to principle, and they are often prone to rebel against God. Feelings are their greatest weakness, their fatal flaw, and their feelings are entirely able to bring them to ruin and destroy them. People who are overly sentimental are incapable of putting the truth into practice or submitting to God. They are preoccupied with the flesh and they are foolish and muddleheaded. It is that sort of person’s nature to be very sentimental, and they live by their feelings” (The Word, Vol. 3. The Discourses of Christ of the Last Days. How to Know Man’s Nature). “What characterizes feelings? Certainly not anything positive. It is a focus on physical relationships and satisfying the predilections of the flesh. Favoritism, defending other people’s shortcomings, doting, pampering, and indulging all fall under feelings. Some people place great stock in feelings, they react to whatever happens to them based on their feelings; in their hearts, they know full well this is wrong, and yet are still incapable of being objective, much less of acting according to principle. When people are always constrained by feelings, are they capable of practicing the truth? This is extremely difficult! Many people’s inability to practice the truth comes down to feelings; they regard feelings as especially important, they put them in the first place. Are they people who love the truth? Certainly not. What are feelings, in essence? They are a kind of corrupt disposition. The manifestations of feelings can be described using several words: favoritism, unprincipled protection of others, maintenance of physical relationships, and partiality; these are what feelings are” (The Word, Vol. 3. The Discourses of Christ of the Last Days. What Is the Truth Reality?). Only after reading God’s words did I realize that dismissing Leslie caused me so much pain and discomfort because my feelings for her were too strong and I always felt constrained by them. I thought because Leslie helped me and was kind to me before, I had to be grateful to her. When I saw she muddled through her duty, delayed work, and refused to change even after being fellowshipped with multiple times, I clearly knew I should have pruned her, but I feared it would hurt her pride and make her resent me, so I only talked to her about it gently and left it at that. She held incorrect views, but insisted that people listen to her and obey, which made work discussions grind to a halt several times, and caused a disturbance. All the while, I couldn’t bring myself to expose or prune her. When the supervisor came to ask how Leslie was doing her duty, I worried she would be dismissed, so I lied and said she was trying to change, hoping to confuse the supervisor and make it impossible for her to judge correctly. When I saw that Leslie was unprincipled in her duty and wasted the church’s money, I didn’t rebuke her, and instead blindly shielded and accommodated her. Now, I had to dismiss her and expose her behavior, but I wanted to pass it off to the supervisor. My feelings were too strong, and I lacked all testimony of practicing the truth. To protect Leslie, and keep her from resenting me and calling me an ingrate, I continued to protect and indulge her, with no regard for the church’s work. I lived in my feelings, cared for her flesh, and protected my personal relationship with her. I even thought this was lovingly helping her, acting out of affection and loyalty, but actually I was just engaging in the philosophy for worldly dealings. I wanted her to view me positively even if it harmed the church’s interests. Everything I did was for myself. I was so evil and despicable! I felt deep remorse. I was acting from feelings, which harmed the church’s work and made God loathe me. If I continued to act from feelings and not practice the truth, one day I would be eliminated.

After that, I wondered, “Why did I do so many things from feelings that go against the truth principles?” In my seeking, I read a passage of God’s words: “Intentions are a clear part of people’s state, and one of the most common; in most matters, people have their own thoughts and intentions. When such thoughts and intentions occur, people think them legitimate, but most of the time they are for their own sake, for their own pride and interests, or else to cover something up, or to satisfy themselves in some way. At such times, you must examine how your intention came about, why it was produced. For example, God’s house asks you to do the work of cleansing the church, and there is one individual who has always been perfunctory in their duty, always looking for ways to slack off. According to principle, this person should be cleansed away, but you have a good relationship with them. So what kinds of thoughts and intentions will arise in you? How will you practice? (Acting according to my own preferences.) And what produces these preferences? Because this person has been good to you or has done things for you, you have a good impression of them, and so at this time you want to protect them, and to defend them. Is this not the effect of feelings? You feel emotional toward them, and so take the approach of ‘While the higher authorities have policies, the localities have their counter-measures.’ You’re double-dealing. On the one hand, you say to them, ‘You must try a little harder when you do things. Stop being perfunctory, you have to suffer a little hardship; this is our duty.’ On the other, you reply to the Above and say, ‘They have changed for the better, they are more effective now when they perform their duty.’ But what you’re actually thinking in your mind is, ‘This is because I worked on them. If I hadn’t, they’d still be like they were.’ In your mind, you’re always thinking, ‘They have been nice to me, they can’t be cleared out!’ What state is it when such things are in your intention? This is harming the work of the church by protecting personal emotional relationships. Does acting in this way accord with the truth principles? And is there submission to your doing this? (No.) There is no submission; there is resistance in your heart. In the things that happen to you and the work you are supposed to do, your own ideas contain subjective judgments, and here emotional factors are mixed in. You are doing things based on feelings, and yet still believe that you are acting impartially, that you are giving people the chance to repent, and that you are giving them loving assistance; thus you do as you wish, not as God says. Working in this way reduces the quality of the work, reduces effectiveness, and harms the church’s work—which is all the outcome of acting according to feelings. If you do not examine yourself, will you be able to identify the problem here? You never will. You might know that it is wrong to act in this way, that this is a lack of submission, but you think it over and say to yourself, ‘I must help them with love, and after they have been helped and they get better, there will be no need to clear them out. Does God not give people the chance to repent? God loves people, so I must help them with love, and I must do as God asks.’ After thinking these things, you do things your own way. Afterward, your heart feels at ease; you feel that you are practicing the truth. During this process, did you practice according to the truth, or did you act according to your own preferences and intentions? Your actions were wholly according to your own preferences and intentions. Throughout the whole process, you used your so-called kindness and love, feelings, and philosophies for worldly dealings to smooth things over, and you tried to walk the fence. It seemed like you were helping this person with love, but in your heart you were actually constrained by feelings—and, fearing the Above would find out, you tried to win them over with compromise, so that no one was offended and the work got done—which is the same way that the nonbelievers try to walk the fence” (The Word, Vol. 3. The Discourses of Christ of the Last Days. The Attitude Man Should Have Toward God). It was only after reading God’s words that I realized why I knew Leslie had problems, yet I didn’t expose her, and still protected her. It was because I wanted her to view me positively. Actually, I was controlled by the idea that “The kindness of a drop of water should be repaid with a gushing spring.” I used this idea as my principle for conducting myself and treating others in society. I believed people should be kind and loyal to others, so if they were kind to me, I had to repay that kindness twofold. Otherwise, I would be ungrateful, and would be condemned and spurned by others. So, when I saw Leslie helping me and taking care of me, as well as speaking up for me, I felt I had to repay her. When I saw that Leslie consistently muddled through her duty, I would rather violate the principles and harm the church’s interests than expose and prune her. More seriously, I kept blindly offering love and fellowship to help her, and I lied and deceived the supervisor to cover up the fact that she was muddling through her duty and disturbing church work. I did this purely to make people think I was a good person who was grateful and kind to others. Through what God’s words exposed, I finally saw that these ideas and viewpoints are all to mislead and corrupt people. I lived by these things without knowing right from wrong, and I acted and conducted myself without principles. Outwardly, I was doing my duty, but actually, I did things by my own will, without any submission to God. I even obstructed church work and resisted God without realizing it. If we believe in God, yet do not practice the truth and still live by these things, no matter how good our outward behavior is and how well we get along with people, in God’s eyes, we are still someone who resists God. Only then did I gain some discernment of these absurd and despicable satanic viewpoints. I saw that these things are all from Satan and run contrary to the truth; they are all contaminated with human interests and desires, and they are evil and ugly. They shouldn’t be the criteria by which I act and conduct myself.

A few days later, I saw another passage of God’s word and gained some understanding of the nature of this matter. God’s words say: “This is not merely a failure to keep to God’s word and your duties, this is taking Satan’s schemes and philosophy for worldly dealings as if they were the truth, and following and practicing them. You are obeying Satan and living by a satanic philosophy, aren’t you? You are not a person who submits to God, much less a person who abides by God’s words. You are a complete scoundrel. Putting God’s words aside, and instead taking a satanic phrase and practicing it as the truth, is betraying the truth and God! You work in God’s house, yet the principles for your actions are satanic logic and philosophy for worldly dealings, what kind of person are you? This is someone who betrays God and someone who gravely shames God. What is the essence of this act? Openly condemning God and openly denying the truth. Isn’t that the essence of it? (It is.) In addition to not following God’s will, you are allowing one of Satan’s devilish sayings and satanic philosophies for worldly dealings to run rampant in the church. In doing this, you become Satan’s accomplice, assist Satan in carrying out its activities within the church, and disturb and disrupt church work. The essence of this problem is very serious, isn’t it?” (The Word, Vol. 4. Exposing Antichrists. Excursus One: What the Truth Is). God’s words felt like they were piercing my heart. Words like “a complete scoundrel,” “betraying the truth,” “someone who gravely shames God,” and “Satan’s accomplice” sank into my heart like sharp swords. I lived by these ideas of traditional culture. In God’s eyes, this was not just a momentary instance of acting on feelings instead of practicing the truth and safeguarding the church’s interests, it was being disloyal to God and my duty and was denying the truth, shaming and betraying God. The nature of this was very serious! Realizing this, I felt especially distressed and afraid. I didn’t know that relying on satanic thoughts when believing in God and doing my duty was such a serious problem. It took a long time to calm myself down.

Later, I read two more passages of God’s words. Almighty God says: “Throughout all of humankind, there is not a single race in which the truth holds power. No matter how high, ancient, or mysterious the ideas or traditional culture a race has produced, or the education that has been received, or the knowledge it possesses, one thing is for sure: None of these things are the truth, or bear any relation to the truth. Some people say, ‘Some of the morals, or the notions for measuring right and wrong, correct and incorrect, black and white, contained within traditional culture seem pretty close to the truth.’ The fact that they sound close to the truth does not signify that they are close to it in meaning. Corrupt mankind’s sayings derive from Satan, they are never the truth, whereas only God’s words are the truth. Thus, no matter how close some of mankind’s words may seem to God’s words, they are not the truth and cannot become the truth; this is beyond doubt. They are close in wording and expression only, but in fact, these traditional notions are incompatible with the truths of God’s words. Although there may be some closeness in the literal sense of these words, they do not share the same source. The words of God come from the Creator, whereas the words, ideas, and views of traditional culture come from Satan and the demons. Some people say, ‘The ideas, views, and famous sayings of traditional culture are universally acknowledged as positive; even if they are lies and fallacies, can they become the truth if people uphold them for several hundred—several thousand—years?’ Absolutely not. Such a viewpoint is as ridiculous as saying apes evolved into men. Traditional culture will never become the truth. Culture is culture, and no matter how noble it is, it is still merely something relatively positive produced by corrupt mankind. But being positive is not equivalent to being the truth, being positive does not make it a criterion; it is merely relatively positive, and nothing more. So is it now clear to us whether, behind this ‘positivity,’ the impact of traditional culture on mankind is good or bad? Without a doubt, it has a bad and negative impact on mankind” (The Word, Vol. 4. Exposing Antichrists. Excursus One: What the Truth Is). “Humankind has been conditioned, numbed, and corrupted by these aspects of traditional culture. And what is the final result? That humankind is misled, restrained, and bound by traditional culture, and a kind of mentality and theory arises naturally, which humankind advocates and spreads, transmits widely and makes people accept. Ultimately, it captures everyone’s heart, makes everyone endorse this kind of mentality and idea, and everyone is corrupted by this idea. When they have been corrupted to a certain degree, people no longer have any notions about right or wrong; they no longer want to discern what is justice and what is wickedness, nor are they willing to discern what are positive things and what are negative things anymore. There even comes a day when they are unclear whether they are actually human, and there are many sick people who don’t know whether they are a man or a woman. How far away from destruction is a human race such as this? … That Satan’s philosophies, laws, ideas, and so-called mentalities have misled and corrupted the entire human race. To what extent have they been misled and corrupted? People have all accepted the fallacies and devilish sayings of Satan as the truth; they all worship Satan and follow Satan. They do not understand the words of God, the Creator. No matter what the Creator says, how much He says, and how clear and practical His words are, no one understands; no one comprehends. They are all numb and dull-witted, and their thinking and minds are mixed up. How were they mixed up? It is Satan who mixed them up. Satan thoroughly corrupted people” (The Word, Vol. 4. Exposing Antichrists. Excursus One: What the Truth Is). In the past, I only knew that satanic philosophies for worldly dealings like “Every man for himself and the devil take the hindmost,” and “In all the universe, only I reign supreme,” were contrary to the truth, and not things those with normal humanity should possess. But for sayings from traditional culture that seemed to be in line with conscience and morality, like “A kindness received should be gratefully repaid,” “The kindness of a drop of water should be repaid with a gushing spring,” “Man is not inanimate; how can he be free from emotions?” and other seemingly civilized and noble-sounding traditional morals, I couldn’t discern them. I thought these things were passed down from generation to generation, and good people should follow these concepts. I didn’t exercise discernment for these traditional thoughts, and regarded them all as positive things to pursue and practice. If I went against these things I felt guilty, and I feared people would condemn and spurn me. Now, through what God’s words exposed, I finally saw that under the control of these ideas and views, people only think about feelings when they interact with each other, not principles, and can’t discern between good and evil, or between right and wrong. As long as others were kind to me, even if they were bad or evil people, and even if helping them was helping do evil, I had to repay their kindness and help them. Outwardly, I seemed conscionable, but I was actually confused and stupid, and I had my own motives and intents. I did it to protect my own good image and reputation; it was entirely for my own interests. I was very selfish, despicable, and hypocritical. I wasn’t a truly good person at all. If I clung to these satanic philosophies and doctrines, it would only make me more and more cunning, deceitful, selfish, and evil. I saw that these seemingly noble and legitimate traditional ideas and sayings are simply sugar-coated lies. They sound lofty and in line with human morality and ethics, but they are actually hostile to the truth, and are one of Satan’s ways of corrupting people. I realized I had believed in God for many years, but because I didn’t practice the truth, and lived by these traditional ideas, I put my conscience at the heart of all my interactions, always wanted to repay people’s kindness, but couldn’t discern between good and evil. I was such a confused idiot that couldn’t tell right from wrong! God has expressed so much truth in the last days and revealed in concrete detail all aspects of the truth that we should practice, in the hope that we conduct ourselves and act according to the truth and God’s word, and so that we can testify unto God and glorify Him. But I did my duty purely to maintain my fleshly relationships, and didn’t seek the truth or protect the church’s interests. Once I had recognized this, I felt guilt and remorse for all I had done. I came before God and prayed, “God, I live by satanic poisons. I have done too many things that go against the truth and resist You. God, I want to repent and act according to the truth principles.”

After that, I wondered, “If living by these traditional views and ideas doesn’t mean I have good humanity, what does it mean to have good humanity?” Later, I saw a passage of God’s words that gave me an accurate standard by which to evaluate things. God’s words say: “There must be a standard for having good humanity. It does not involve taking the path of moderation, not sticking to principles, endeavoring not to offend anyone, currying favor everywhere you go, being smooth and slick with everyone you meet, and making everyone speak well of you. This is not the standard. So, what is the standard? It is being able to submit to God and the truth. It is approaching one’s duty and all manner of people, events, and things with principles and a sense of responsibility. This is plain for all to see; everyone is clear about this in their heart. Moreover, God scrutinizes people’s hearts and knows their situation, each and every one; no matter who they are, no one can fool God. Some people always boast that they possess good humanity, that they never speak ill of others, never harm anyone else’s interests, and they claim never to have coveted other people’s property. When there is a dispute over interests, they even prefer to suffer loss than take advantage of others, and everyone else thinks they are good people. However, when performing their duties in God’s house, they are wily and slippery, always scheming for themselves. Never do they think of the interests of God’s house, never do they treat as urgent the things God treats as urgent or think as God thinks, and never can they set aside their own interests so as to perform their duties. They never forsake their own interests. Even when they see evil people committing evil, they do not expose them; they have no principles whatsoever. What kind of humanity is this? It is not good humanity. Pay no attention to what such people say; you must see what they live out, what they reveal, and what their attitude is when they perform their duties, as well as what their internal state is and what they love. If their love of their own fame and gain exceeds their loyalty to God, if their love of their own fame and gain exceeds the interests of God’s house, or if their love of their own fame and gain exceeds the consideration they show for God, then are such people possessed of humanity? They are not people with humanity” (The Word, Vol. 3. The Discourses of Christ of the Last Days. In Giving One’s Heart to God, One Can Obtain the Truth). After reading God’s words, I understood that a person of good humanity doesn’t compromise just so that no one is offended and everyone supports and approves of them. Instead, they can love the truth, love positive things, are responsible in their duties, can uphold the truth principles, and protect the church’s work. Only people like this are genuinely good people. If we protect our relationships with people, our own fame and status, and get along well with others, but are not loyal to God in our duty, and maintain relationships with people at the cost of harming the church’s work, then we are extremely selfish and despicable. No matter how morally acceptable our outward behavior is, it misleads people and is hostile to the truth. I thought about how I lived by these traditional ideas and viewpoints, and disguised myself as a good person. Actually, I only became more and more selfish, deceitful, and evil inside. Everything I did was to protect my reputation and status, and to satisfy my personal ambitions and desires. I had no human likeness at all; everything I lived out was demonic. In the past, when I judged whether someone had humanity, it was based on my own notions and imaginings. It didn’t accord with the truth at all, and wasn’t in line with God’s standards for evaluating people.

Over the next few days, I contemplated how to practice in accordance with the truth principles and God’s intentions. In God’s word, I read: “These relationships will then not be built upon the flesh, but upon the foundation of God’s love. You will have almost no fleshly interactions with other people, but on a spiritual level, there will be fellowship and mutual love, comfort, and provision between you. All of this is done upon the foundation of a desire to satisfy God—these relationships are not maintained through human philosophies for worldly dealings, they are formed naturally when one carries a burden for God. They do not require any artificial, human effort from you, you need only to practice according to the principles of God’s words. … Normal interpersonal relationships are established upon the foundation of turning one’s heart toward God, not through human effort. If God is absent from a person’s heart, then their relationships with other people are merely relationships of the flesh. They are not normal, they are lustful indulgences, and they are hated and loathed by God” (The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. It Is Very Important to Establish a Normal Relationship With God). God requires that we treat people according to the truth principles, use God’s love as a foundation to interact with our brothers and sisters, support and help each other in the truth and life, and not engage in fleshly philosophies for worldly dealings. Leslie helped me in the past, and this was God’s sovereignty and arrangement; I should have recognized that and accepted it from God. But instead, I attributed all of it to Leslie herself, and showed my gratitude to her in everything. I saw that my relationship with Leslie was based on the flesh, that what I did and how I conducted myself was not in line with God’s intentions at all, and that I had no principles. Actually, when brothers and sisters encounter failures or setbacks and become negative and weak, fellowshipping on God’s words to help and support them is in line with the truth principles, and something we should do. But those who consistently muddle through their duties and are irresponsible, and who even disrupt and disturb the work of the church should be restricted, exposed, pruned, or dismissed. They should never be sheltered or protected out of feelings. Even when we are affectionate, we must act according to principle. Leslie was still irresponsible and negligent in her duties after she was dismissed, and she had no real understanding of her own problems. If I used God’s words to fellowship on and dissect her behavior and the nature of her problems, so she could reflect on herself, repent, and change, this would actually be love for her. It would also benefit the church’s work. Once I realized this, I suddenly felt a sense of release, and I no longer wanted to protect my fleshly relationships.

After that, I used God’s words to expose Leslie’s attitude toward her duty and her various behaviors, and reassigned her duty. After fellowshipping, I felt very at ease. Leslie didn’t resent me, and she accepted it from God. She said that without being dismissed and exposed, she never would have realized that what she did caused such disruption and disturbance, and she had no complaints about how she was dealt with. When I heard her say that, I truly felt that by living according to God’s words we can genuinely benefit and help people, and we also feel very relieved. I personally experienced that these seemingly civilized and noble things from traditional culture—no matter how many people tout and admire them—are not the truth. They are all distorted and evil, and can only harm others and ourselves. The truth is the only standard for our actions and conduct.