By Lu Jing, China

In August 2023, I began collaborating with Lin Mu in our text-based duties. Lin Mu had been doing this duty for a long time, had good caliber, and was well versed in the principles. As I was new to this role and unfamiliar with the principles and professional skills, I thought I should learn more from Lin Mu to quickly grasp the principles and take on my share of the responsibility. At first, I put effort into learning the professional skills and principles. When the materials I organized were lacking, I’d ask Lin Mu to help improve them. She would quickly complete and supplement the issues that seemed somewhat complex to me. I felt a bit envious, but also somewhat relieved, thinking that if I faced difficulties in the future, she could help resolve them. That way, I wouldn’t need to spend time looking for materials or principles—it would save time and effort, making things easier for me. Gradually, when I encountered difficult issues that required more time and careful thought, I would turn to Lin Mu to solve them. This became my way of solving problems. Lin Mu pointed it out to me several times, saying that every time she reviewed the materials I organized, it took her a lot of time, as some issues were not clearly stated, and that I should put more thought into my writing. I felt a bit guilty, but then I thought, “Lin Mu has better caliber than I do and understands the principles better. She can quickly fix these issues. Just let the capable do more work.” So I didn’t reflect on myself.

One day, Lin Mu was busy and didn’t have time to review the work communication letter I had written. She asked me to check it carefully myself. I noticed there were two parts where I hadn’t clearly explained things. I remembered that I’d realized this when I was writing, but I couldn’t come up with better ideas after pondering for a while, so I left it for Lin Mu to modify and improve later. Now, thinking about it, what if Lin Mu didn’t have time to review, and directly sent out a problematic letter? Wouldn’t that be unedifying to the brothers and sisters? In serious cases, it could even cause disruption and disturbance. I became a bit scared and told myself, “If I encounter something I cannot see clearly in the future, I should discuss it with Lin Mu and proceed after figuring it out. I cannot just take the easy way out and leave the problems for others.” Afterward, I began to reflect on why I always wanted to push problems onto others. Then, I read a passage of God’s words that really addressed my state. Almighty God says: “When doing a duty, people always pick light work, work that isn’t tiring, and that does not involve braving the elements outdoors. This is picking easy jobs and shirking hard ones, and it is a manifestation of coveting the comforts of the flesh. What else? (Always complaining when their duty is a little hard, a little tiring, when it involves paying a price.) (Being preoccupied with food and clothing, and the pleasures of the flesh.) These are all manifestations of coveting the comforts of the flesh. When such a person sees that a task is too laborious or risky, they foist it off on someone else; they themselves only do leisurely work, and they make excuses, saying that they are of poor caliber, that they lack work capability, and cannot take on this task—when in fact, it is because they covet the comforts of the flesh. They do not wish to suffer, regardless of what work they do or what duty they perform. … No matter how busy the work of the church is or how busy their duties are, the routine and normal condition of their lives is never disrupted. They are never careless about any small details of the life of the flesh and control them perfectly, being very strict and serious. But, when dealing with the work of God’s house, no matter how great the matter and even if it might involve the safety of the brothers and sisters, they deal with it carelessly. They do not even care about those things that involve God’s commission or the duty they should do. They take no responsibility. This is indulging in the comforts of the flesh, is it not? Are people who indulge in the comforts of the flesh suitable for doing a duty? As soon as someone brings up the subject of doing their duty, or talks about paying a price and suffering hardship, they keep shaking their heads. They have too many problems, they are full of complaints, and they are filled with negativity. Such people are useless, they are not qualified to do their duty, and should be eliminated” (The Word, Vol. 5. The Responsibilities of Leaders and Workers. The Responsibilities of Leaders and Workers (2)). What God’s words exposed was exactly my state. When doing duties, I preferred to do tasks that were easier and more convenient, and I always left more demanding problems for others to handle. This was a manifestation of coveting the comforts of the flesh. When writing the letter, I preferred to choose the simpler issues to respond to, and if an issue was more complex, I’d view it as too troublesome and not want to respond. Even if I did respond to such an issue, I didn’t put effort into thinking about how to clearly fellowship the problem. I always left the difficult issues for Lin Mu to deal with, making excuses that I couldn’t communicate such things clearly, when in reality, I didn’t want to put in much effort or endure much hardship in my duty, and I was coveting the comforts of the flesh. After gaining some knowledge of my state, I prayed to God, expressing my willingness to rebel against myself and repent to Him.

Later, I came across a passage of God’s words that pierced my heart deeply. Almighty God says: “No matter what work some people do or what duty they perform, they are incompetent in it, they cannot shoulder it, and they are incapable of fulfilling any of the obligations or responsibilities that a person ought to. Are they not trash? Are they still worthy of being called human? With the exception of simpletons, the mentally incompetent, and those who suffer from physical impairments, is there anyone alive who ought not to do their duties and fulfill their responsibilities? But this kind of person is always slippery and slacking off, and does not wish to fulfill their responsibilities; the implication is that they do not wish to be a proper human being. God gave them the opportunity to be a human being, and He gave them caliber and gifts, yet they cannot use these in doing their duty. They do nothing, but wish to relish enjoyment at every turn. Is such a person fit to be called a human being? No matter what work is given to them—whether it be important or ordinary, difficult or simple—they are always perfunctory and slippery and slacking off. When problems arise, they try to push responsibility for them onto other people, taking no responsibility, and they wish to keep living their parasitic lives. Are they not useless trash? In society, who does not have to depend on themselves to make a living? Once a person becomes an adult, they must provide for themselves. Their parents have fulfilled their responsibility. Even if their parents were willing to support them, they would be uneasy with it. They ought to be able to realize that their parents have finished their mission of raising them, and that they are an able-bodied adult, and should be able to live independently. Is this not the minimum reason that an adult ought to have? If someone truly has reason, they could not possibly continue mooching off their parents; they would be afraid of others’ laughter, of losing face. So, does one who loves ease and hates work have reason? (No.) They always want something for nothing; they want to never fulfill any responsibility, wishing sweets would just fall from the sky and drop into their mouths; they always want to get three square meals a day, to have someone wait on them, and to enjoy good food and drinks without doing the slightest bit of work. Is this not the mindset of a parasite? And do people who are parasites have conscience and reason? Do they have integrity and dignity? Absolutely not. They are all freeloading good-for-nothings, all beasts without conscience or reason. None of them are fit to remain in God’s house” (The Word, Vol. 5. The Responsibilities of Leaders and Workers. The Responsibilities of Leaders and Workers (8)). God exposes the fact that those who are irresponsible, slippery and slack off in their duties have no integrity or dignity. Such people are parasites and wastes of space in God’s house. They contribute nothing and are the kind of people God eliminates. Pondering on God’s words, I felt somewhat upset. When encountering difficulties, I didn’t want to put in the effort to think them through and always relied on Lin Mu, and when responding to issues, even though I knew that some of my explanations weren’t clear, I didn’t take the time to think them through, and instead, I just left it to Lin Mu to improve them. Even after she pointed out these problems to me, I didn’t reflect on myself. Instead, I continued to rely on her, justifying this by thinking she had better caliber and that those who are more capable should do more work. I realized that I’d been slippery and slacking off in my duty, always wanting something for nothing. I’d relied on others to complete my work, and I’d failed to shoulder any responsibility. After enjoying the watering and provision of God’s words for so many years, I was still being perfunctory and slacking off in my duties, and unable to shoulder the responsibilities I should have been shouldering. Was I not utterly useless and lacking all integrity and dignity? It’s like those parents who work hard to raise a child to adulthood, but when the child should be independent, they cite various difficulties as excuses, are unwilling to work to support themselves, and continue to rely on their parents. How does this make these parents feel? Having been assigned text-based duties, I should have cherished this opportunity, put in more effort to learn the professional skills and the principles, and sought guidance from Lin Mu on things I didn’t understand so that I could grasp the principles sooner and take on my share of responsibilities. But I always refused to put in the mental effort, choosing instead to rely on others. This attitude of mine toward my duties was disgusting and detestable to God, and if I didn’t change my ways, I’d end up being completely useless.

Later, I read a passage of God’s words: “There are some people who are unwilling to suffer at all in their duties, who always complain whenever they encounter a problem and refuse to pay a price. What kind of attitude is that? It is a perfunctory one. If you perform your duty perfunctorily, and approach it with an irreverent attitude, what will the result be? You will perform your duty poorly, though you are capable of performing it well—your performance will not be up to standard, and God will be very dissatisfied with the attitude you have toward your duty. If you could have prayed to God, sought the truth, and put your whole heart and mind into it, if you could have cooperated in this way, then God would have prepared everything for you in advance, so that when you were handling matters, everything would fall into place, and get good results. You would not need to exert a vast amount of energy; when you did your utmost to cooperate, God would have already arranged everything for you. If you are slippery and slack off, if you do not attend properly to your duty, and always go down the wrong path, then God will not act upon you; you will lose this opportunity, and God will say, ‘You are no good; I cannot use you. Go stand off to the side. You like being wily and slacking off, don’t you? You like being lazy, and taking it easy, do you not? Well then, take it easy forevermore!’ God will give this grace and opportunity to someone else. What do you say: Is this a loss or a gain? (A loss.) It is an enormous loss!” (The Word, Vol. 3. The Discourses of Christ of the Last Days. Part Three). Pondering God’s words, I realized that when we encounter difficulties in our duties, if we put all our hearts and minds into our duties, are willing to pay the price, and seek the truth, God will enlighten and guide us. The more we apply this approach, the clearer the path forward becomes, and our thoughts become more lucid. However, if we run into difficulties but don’t make an effort to seek the truth principles, and instead always slack off, in the end, we won’t gain anything and we won’t be able to do any duty well, and eventually, we will be revealed and eliminated for slacking off, and lose the opportunity to do our duties. Thinking back, when I first began this duty, I put in a lot of thought and effort, but later, when I saw that Lin Mu had mastered some principles and that her work was more efficient, I started leaving the difficult tasks to her, so that I could take it easy. In fact, though cutting corners had spared me from suffering and exhaustion, I’d made no progress at all in understanding professional skills and principles, and I’d even become a burden upon others. If I carried on like this, I’d just end up being loathed and eliminated by God. This reminded me of the Lord Jesus’ words: “Whoever has, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whoever has not, from him shall be taken away even that he has” (Matthew 13:12). God is righteous. As long as a person is willing to put in effort, seek the truth and pay the price in their duties, they will receive God’s enlightenment and guidance. The more they do so, the clearer their path will become, and the more lucid their mind will be. But I was slippery and slacking off in my duties, unwilling to pay the price, and I always pushed the work onto others, believing that relying on others was time-saving and effortless, allowing me to complete tasks without much effort. I thought I was clever in doing this, but in the end, I didn’t gain any truth and couldn’t solve any issues. This was self-deception, and I ended up suffering great losses for it. How stupid I was! Realizing all this made me feel scared, and I was willing to repent before God and do my duty diligently with a sincere heart.

I then read these words of God: “Suppose the church arranges a job for you, and you say, ‘Whether the job is one that allows me to gain attention or not—since it’s been given to me, I’ll do it well and take on this responsibility. If I’m arranged to do hosting, I’ll give my all to doing it well; I’ll look after the brothers and sisters well, and do my best to ensure everyone’s safety. If I’m arranged to preach the gospel, I’ll equip myself with the truth and preach the gospel well with love and fulfill my duty. If I’m arranged to learn a foreign language, I’ll study it wholeheartedly and work hard at it, and try to master it as quickly as possible, within a year or two, so that I can testify of God to foreigners. If I’m asked to write testimony articles, I’ll conscientiously train myself to do so, view things according to the truth principles, and learn about language. Though I may not be able to write articles with beautiful prose, I’ll at least be able to clearly communicate my experiential testimony, to fellowship comprehensibly about the truth, and to give true testimony for God, such that people are edified and benefited by reading my articles. Whatever job the church assigns me, I’ll take it up with all my heart and strength. If there’s something I don’t understand or a problem comes up, I’ll pray to God, seek the truth, resolve problems according to the truth principles, and do the job well. Whatever my duty, I’ll use everything I have to do it well and satisfy God. For whatever I can achieve, I will do my best to shoulder the responsibility that I should bear, and at the least, I will not go against my conscience and reason, or be perfunctory, or be slippery and slack off, or indulge in the fruits of others’ labor. Nothing I do will be beneath the standard of conscience.’ This is the minimum standard for self-conduct, and one who does their duty in such a way may qualify as a person with conscience and reason. You must at least be clear of conscience in doing your duty, and you must at least be worthy of your three meals a day and not be freeloading. This is called having a sense of responsibility. Whether your caliber is high or low, and whether or not you understand the truth, in any case, you must have this attitude: ‘Since this work was given to me to do, I must treat it seriously, I must make it my concern, and I must use all my heart and strength to do it well. As for whether I can do it perfectly well, I can’t presume to offer a guarantee, but my attitude is that I’ll do my best to perform it well, and I certainly won’t be perfunctory about it. If a problem arises in work, I should take responsibility then, and ensure I draw a lesson from it and do my duty well.’ This is the right attitude” (The Word, Vol. 5. The Responsibilities of Leaders and Workers. The Responsibilities of Leaders and Workers (8)). From God’s words, I came to understand that no matter what difficulties or problems we encounter in our duties, we should sincerely pray, rely on God, and seek the principles. We need to do all that we can and should do, using all our strength to accomplish the tasks effectively. We shouldn’t be perfunctory, slippery or slacking off. Having this attitude toward our duties will satisfy God. Reflecting on myself, I realized that when I encountered difficulties or problems in my duty, instead of relying on God and seeking the truth principles, I’d often relied on Lin Mu, enjoying the fruits of her labor. I’d even failed to do what I should at least do, let alone put in all my heart and strength. It was equivalent to just being a freeloader in God’s house. So I prayed to God and repented, expressing my willingness to seek the principles more, and put more effort into pondering the difficulties or the things I didn’t understand, and deciding that I would only ask Lin Mu for help if I truly couldn’t solve them. In the work that followed, I frequently examined my attitude toward my duty. When encountering difficult tasks and wanting to escape, I consciously rebelled against myself, quieted my heart, prayed to God, and diligently pondered them. I no longer thought about only pushing them onto others. Once, Lin Mu and I reviewed a document that had many issues. We needed to look up the relevant principles, consider everything thoroughly, and highlight all the issues. I wanted Lin Mu to handle it. But to my surprise, she suggested that I do it. Without thinking, I responded, “You want me to do it?” As soon as I said this, I realized that I was trying to slack off again. I immediately prayed to God to rebel against myself, expressing my willingness to cooperate wholeheartedly and fulfill my responsibility, instead of pushing this task onto others. So, I agreed to do it. While working on the task, I prayed and relied on God, and focused on pondering the principles. Even though it took longer, I found a path forward. I felt at ease when I used all my strength and fulfilled my responsibility in doing my duty.

Through this experience, I realized that there was God’s goodwill in arranging for me to work with Lin Mu. Namely in that she had better caliber than me and understood some principles, and if I came across something that I didn’t understand, I could ask her and learn from her, meaning she could help me better grasp the principles, which complemented my weaknesses. If I always sought fleshly comfort and simply pushed all the problems onto her, I wouldn’t learn anything or make any progress. Now, when I encounter problems, I no longer immediately push them onto Lin Mu. Instead, I approach them with my heart, focusing on seeking the truth principles, and only discuss with her when I truly can’t figure something out. Doing my duty this way brings me much more peace of mind.