By Veronica, USA

In 2018, I was working on graphics in the church, but due to my poor caliber, I couldn’t do this duty well, so I was reassigned. Later, I participated in writing scripts, and at the end of 2021, I was reassigned again due to my poor caliber and shallow life experience. While waiting for a new duty to be arranged for me, I saw two sisters around me successively taking on duties. One was elected as a church leader, and the other was assigned to water newcomers, and I was the only one not given a role. Seeing the sisters busy with their duties, I felt somewhat anxious. I had thought that working on graphics and writing scripts were duties that I enjoyed and was good at, but now that I was reassigned due to my poor caliber, what duty could I do now? Watering newcomers? I didn’t understand the truth. Preaching the gospel? I was awkward with my speech and not good at communicating with people. The leaders might have seen my poor caliber and didn’t know what duty to arrange for me. With God’s work coming to an end, I couldn’t do any duty or prepare any good deeds, so how could I be saved? The more I thought about it, the more unsettled I felt.

Later, after about a month, the leaders finally arranged a duty for me, assigning me to do cleansing work in the church. I was very happy, thinking that this time I would definitely work hard to do my duty well. But in practice, I found that I could never grasp the principles. I reviewed a cleansing document several times but still wouldn’t know how to evaluate and classify it. Once, the leaders handed us a cleansing document to analyze, and after everyone read it, they shared their opinions one after another, but I couldn’t even remember all the information in the document, let alone offer an opinion. I felt helpless and negative, thinking, “Why is my caliber so poor? It seems that I won’t be able to do this duty for long either.” Without realizing it, I became a bit despondent. Later, through continuous training, I finally made some progress. At that time, several sisters who had been doing their duties in our team for a long time were reassigned to other duties, and the brothers and sisters who had just started training were still unfamiliar with the work, so I was temporarily elected as the team leader. I felt a lot of pressure, and I was afraid that if I didn’t do the job well, it would affect the work results and I’d be reassigned again, and that I’d become publicly acknowledged as having poor caliber, and might be eliminated at any time. To do the job well, I worked from dawn to dusk organizing cleansing documents and responding to brothers’ and sisters’ questions. Although I cooperated diligently, I still couldn’t manage to handle everything at once. Moreover, I only focused on doing work without summarizing the issues, nor did I lead everyone to learn the principles, resulting in several documents being misclassified, which delayed the cleansing work. Not long after, I was dismissed. Although I was still doing cleansing work in the church, I felt very sad, thinking, “My caliber is so poor that I can’t do anything well. I’m really beyond saving! I might be eliminated at any moment.” I lived in a state of defining myself, doing my duties in a routine manner every day. When I saw my partnered sisters encountering difficulties in their work, I didn’t want to help, thinking, “What problems can I see through with my poor caliber? If I say something wrong, won’t it just further prove that my caliber is poor?” I even complained about why God had given others such good caliber, while mine was so poor. During that time, the brothers and sisters reminded me to focus on life entry, and to write experiential testimony articles when I had time, but I thought, “Life entry is something only people with good caliber can achieve. With my poor caliber, what else can I do besides putting in some effort? Forget it. Since God has ordained that my caliber is poor, I’ll just submit and exert a bit of effort in the church.” I gave up on myself somewhat. Later, I realized that my state was wrong, so I prayed to God, “God, I don’t want to reach the point of being eliminated. I also want to focus on life entry and pursue the truth, but with my poor caliber, I don’t even know how to seek the truth. God, please enlighten and guide me to amend this state.”

One day, while I was thinking over my issues, I suddenly thought of a line from a song, “Though my caliber is low, I have an honest heart.” I remembered that God had fellowshipped in detail about this line, so I quickly found and read this passage of God’s words. Almighty God says: “The next line of the song says, ‘Though my caliber is low, I have an honest heart.’ These words sound very real, and speak of a requirement God makes of people. What requirement? That if people are lacking in caliber, it is not the end of the world, but they must possess an honest heart, and if they do, they will be able to receive God’s approval. No matter your situation or background, you must be an honest person, speak honestly, act honestly, be able to perform your duty with all your heart and mind, be loyal to your duty, not look to cut corners, not be a slippery or deceitful person, not lie or deceive, and not talk in circles. You must act according to the truth and be someone who pursues the truth. Many people think they are of poor caliber, and that they never fulfill their duty well or up to standard. They give their very best in what they do, but they can never grasp the principles, and still cannot produce very good results. Ultimately, all they can do is complain that they are too poor in caliber, and they become negative. So, is there no way forward when a person is of poor caliber? Being of poor caliber is not a fatal disease, and God never said He does not save people who are of poor caliber. As God said before, He is grieved by those who are honest but ignorant. What does it mean to be ignorant? Ignorance in many cases comes from being of poor caliber. When people are of poor caliber they have a shallow understanding of the truth. It is not specific or practical enough, and is often limited to a surface-level or literal understanding—it is limited to doctrine and regulations. That is why they cannot make sense of many problems, and can never grasp the principles while performing their duty, or do their duty well. Does God not want people of poor caliber then? (He does.) What path and direction does God point people toward? (That of being an honest person.)” (The Word, Vol. 3. The Discourses of Christ of the Last Days. Part Three). After reading God’s words, I understood that poor caliber isn’t a fatal disease, and that the key is to have an honest heart that loves the truth. Such people may not achieve very good results in their duty due to issues with their caliber, but their hearts face toward God, and they spare no effort to do their best in their duty. In this way, God will be satisfied. I thought about how even though my caliber was poor, the church hadn’t deprived me of the opportunity to do my duty, but had instead reassigned the appropriate duty to me based on my caliber. I had to submit to God’s orchestrations and arrangements, approach this duty from God with an honest heart, and do my best in what I was capable of. But I didn’t enter from a positive perspective, as when I saw that the leaders didn’t promptly arrange a duty for me, I thought it was because my caliber was so poor that the leaders didn’t know what duty to arrange for me. As a result, I spent my days wallowing in negativity and misunderstanding, worrying about my future and destiny. My lack of work capability prevented me from doing the duty of a team leader, and the leaders’ reassignment of me was entirely for the benefit of the church’s work, but I thought that God was using this to reveal me, so I just gave up on myself. When I saw that my partnered sisters encountered problems they didn’t understand, I was unwilling to get involved. When the brothers and sisters asked me to train in writing experiential testimony articles, I was also unwilling to cooperate. I felt that with my caliber, no matter how much effort I put in, I would still be a target for elimination in the future, so I was unwilling to pursue the truth and was content with just contributing a bit of physical effort in the church. My behavior was far from the likeness of an honest person. Realizing this, I regretted how I had misunderstood and complained about God and I wanted to come out of this wrong state.

One day, I watched an experiential testimony video titled How to Resolve Frequent Negativity Caused by Poor Caliber and a passage of God’s words quoted in it was very helpful to me. Almighty God says: “No matter whether I say you are backward or of poor caliber, this is all fact. My saying this does not prove that I intend to forsake you, that I have lost hope in you, much less that I am unwilling to save you. Today I have come to do the work of your salvation, which is to say that the work I do is a continuation of the work of salvation. Every person has the chance to be made perfect: Provided that you are willing, provided that you pursue, in the end you will be able to achieve this result, and not one of you will be forsaken. If you are of poor caliber, My requirements of you will be in accordance with your poor caliber; if you are of high caliber, My requirements of you will be in accordance with your high caliber; if you are ignorant and illiterate, My requirements of you will be in accordance with your illiteracy; if you are literate, My requirements of you will be in accordance with the fact that you are literate; if you are elderly, My requirements of you will be in accordance with your age; if you are capable of providing hospitality, My requirements of you will be in accordance with this capability; if you say you cannot offer hospitality, and can only perform a certain function, whether it be spreading the gospel, or taking care of the church, or attending to other general affairs, My perfection of you will be in accordance with the function that you perform. Being loyal, submitting to the very end, and seeking to have supreme love for God—this is what you must accomplish, and there are no better practices than these three things. Ultimately, man is required to achieve these three things, and if he can achieve them, then he will be made perfect. But, above all, you must truly pursue, you must actively press onward and upward, and not be passive in that regard. I have said that every person has the chance to be made perfect and is capable of being made perfect, and this holds true, but you do not try to be better in your pursuit. If you do not achieve these three criteria, then in the end you must be eliminated. I want everyone to catch up, I want everyone to have the work and the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit, and be able to submit to the very end, because this is the duty that each of you should perform. When you have all performed your duty, you will all have been made perfect, you will also have resounding testimony. All those who have testimony are those who have been victorious over Satan and gained God’s promise, and they are the ones who will remain to live in the wonderful destination” (The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Restoring the Normal Life of Man and Taking Him to a Wonderful Destination). God’s words were very clear. Everyone has the opportunity to be saved, and as long as a person pursues with sincerity, God won’t abandon or eliminate them just because of their poor caliber. God makes demands of each person according to their caliber and stature. Those with good caliber and work capabilities can become leaders or supervisors, and consequently, God’s requirements for them are higher, while demands for those with poor caliber are made according to their capabilities. But I held on to my notions and imaginings, thinking that God doesn’t save people with poor caliber. When I saw myself being reassigned over and over again, I thought that God was revealing me and trying to deprive me of my right to do my duty, and using this as a chance to eliminate me. This was a misunderstanding of God, and it was also my notions and imaginings. In reality, God’s house didn’t prevent me from doing my duty just because of my poor caliber, but used reassignments to allow me to do duties within the range of my caliber. In fact, as long as I sincerely pursue, am willing to strive upward, do my duty with loyalty in my current role, and do my best in what I am capable of, I can satisfy God’s intentions. However, I didn’t attend to the jobs I should have been seeing to, and didn’t consider God’s heart at all. I spent my days thinking about my future and destination, and I wasn’t being useful in my duty. Even if my caliber had been better, I still wouldn’t have met with God’s approval, and would have ultimately been eliminated. Understanding God’s intention brought clarity to my heart, and I thought, “I can no longer misunderstand and complain about God. I need to view my caliber correctly and be loyal in my duty. Even if one day I am reassigned again due to my poor caliber, I should face it correctly and not misunderstand or be guarded against God.”

Later, during one of my devotionals, I came across two passages of God’s words, which gave me some understanding of the root cause of my constant negativity due to poor caliber. Almighty God says: “People believe in God in order to be blessed, to be rewarded, to be crowned. Doesn’t this exist in everyone’s heart? It is a fact that it does. Although people don’t often talk about it, and even cover up their motive and desire to obtain blessings, this desire and motive deep in people’s hearts has always been unshakable. No matter how much spiritual theory people understand, what experiential knowledge they have, what duty they can perform, how much suffering they endure, or how much of a price they pay, they never let go of the motivation for blessings hidden deep in their hearts, and always silently toil in its service. Isn’t this the thing buried deepest inside people’s hearts? Without this motivation to receive blessings, how would you feel? With what attitude would you perform your duty and follow God? What would become of people if this motivation to receive blessings that is hidden in their hearts was gotten rid of? It is possible that many people would become negative, while some would become demotivated in their duties. They would lose interest in their belief in God, as if their soul had vanished. They would appear as if their heart had been snatched away. This is why I say the motivation for blessings is something hidden deep in people’s hearts” (The Word, Vol. 3. The Discourses of Christ of the Last Days. Six Indicators of Life Growth). “There’s a saying among nonbelievers: ‘There’s no such thing as a free lunch.’ Antichrists also harbor this logic, thinking, ‘If I work for you, what will you give me in return? What benefits can I obtain?’ How should this nature be summed up? It’s being driven by profits, putting profit before all else, and being selfish and despicable. This is the nature essence of antichrists. They believe in God solely for the purpose of obtaining profit and blessings. Even if they endure some suffering or pay some prices, it’s all in order to make a deal with God. Their intention and desire to obtain blessings and rewards is immense, and they cling to it tightly. They don’t accept any of the many truths that God has expressed, in their hearts they always think that believing in God is all about obtaining blessings and securing a good destination, that this is the highest principle, and that nothing can surpass it. They think that people should not believe in God unless for the sake of gaining blessings, and that if it wasn’t for the sake of blessings, belief in God would have no meaning or value, that it would lose its meaning and value. Were these ideas instilled in antichrists by someone else? Do they derive from someone else’s education or influence? No, they are determined by the inherent nature essence of antichrists, which is something no one can change. Despite God incarnate speaking so many words today, antichrists don’t accept any of them, but instead resist and condemn them. The nature of their being averse to the truth and hating the truth can never change. If they can’t change, what does this indicate? It indicates that their nature is wicked” (The Word, Vol. 4. Exposing Antichrists. Item Seven: They Are Wicked, Insidious, and Deceitful (Part Two)). God exposes that antichrists are motivated solely by profit. Everything they do is based on self-interest. Even if they appear to make some sacrifices and expend themselves, it is only in exchange for God’s blessings and rewards, and if they don’t receive blessings, they become negative and resistant, and even argue with and rail against God. Everything antichrists do is to gain blessings and benefits. Wasn’t I behaving just like an antichrist? I believed in God only to receive blessings and benefits. When I’d just come to believe in God, I was very enthusiastic to do things to gain blessings, closing my store and leaving my family behind, and I never refused any duty the church arranged for me. This is because I felt that the more duties I did, the more good deeds I prepared, and the higher my chances of being saved in the future were. But later on, because of my poor caliber, I was repeatedly reassigned, and I began to worry, thinking that I couldn’t do any duty well or prepare good deeds, and that I might not receive blessings in the future, so I became negative, slacked off, and gave up on myself. I saw that my belief in God was merely an attempt to make a transaction with Him. I was truly selfish and despicable! I’d just been reassigned in my duties, and hadn’t been deprived of the opportunity to do my duties, but I worried that I might not receive blessings, so I became negative and started to complain. If one day God really had said that He wouldn’t bless me, I would have certainly railed against Him. I thought of Paul. His work and expenditure were only to gain blessings and a crown. He disregarded God’s intention and didn’t pursue change in disposition, and ultimately, he openly railed against God and demanded rewards and a crown, which offended God’s disposition and resulted in punishment. I was following the same path as Paul, and if I didn’t focus on pursuing the truth and resolve my impure intentions of seeking blessings, it wouldn’t be as simple a matter as being dismissed or reassigned, but rather, I’d end up resisting God like Paul, and I’d be eliminated. I didn’t want to continue down this wrong path, so I prayed to God, willing to repent.

Later, I read a passage of God’s words: “I decide the destination of each person not on the basis of age, seniority, amount of suffering, and least of all, the degree to which they invite pity, but according to whether they possess the truth. There is no other choice but this. You must realize that all those who do not follow the will of God shall also be punished. This is something that no person can change” (The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Prepare Sufficient Good Deeds for Your Destination). After reading God’s words, I realized that God measures whether a person can be saved not by their caliber, but by whether they focus on pursuing the truth in the process of following Him, resolve their various fallacious thoughts and viewpoints and corrupt dispositions, and become compatible with God. No matter how good a person’s caliber, if they don’t pursue the truth or change their disposition, they will ultimately be eliminated. Although some people have poor caliber, as long as they have an honest heart and are willing to practice according to the truth principles in all things, God will approve of them. Whether one has good or poor caliber, all people need to pursue the truth and focus on changing their disposition. External conditions, efforts and expenditures can’t determine a person’s outcome and destination. The key is whether one can follow God’s way and live out the reality of His words. I didn’t understand God’s righteous disposition. When I saw myself reassigned in my duties several times due to my poor caliber, I thought that no matter how hard I tried, with my poor caliber, it would all be in vain, and I would ultimately be eliminated. So, I became negative and guarded, and even took out my frustration on my duties. I didn’t pursue the truth and only sought blessings, and my corrupt disposition didn’t change at all. I couldn’t even submit to a simple reassignment of my duties, so how could I talk about being saved? If things continued like this, it wouldn’t be that God wanted to eliminate me, but rather my notions and imaginings, along with my ambition and desire for blessings, would lead to my ruin and elimination. I saw that not viewing matters according to God’s words in one’s belief truly ruins them.

One day, I read a passage of God’s words, which made things even clearer in my heart. Almighty God says: “Why does God predestine people with all sorts of calibers? Why does God not give people perfect caliber? How many aspects have we fellowshipped about concerning what God’s intentions in this regard are and how people should correctly approach it? Let us summarize them. The first aspect is to accept it from God. This is the most basic thought and viewpoint that people should possess. The second aspect is to recognize and evaluate what your caliber is, and act and do your duty based on your caliber and ability. Do not try to do things that exceed your caliber and ability. What you can do, do it conscientiously and in a down-to-earth manner, and do it well. What you cannot do, do not force yourself. What is the third aspect? (We mustn’t always wish to change our caliber. Even if our caliber is average, poor, or nonexistent, we must approach it correctly. We mustn’t always try to prove ourselves or prove ourselves to God. This is inappropriate.) That’s right. Approach your caliber correctly. Do not complain. However much God has given you, that is what He will ask of you. What God has not given you, God does not demand of you. For example, if God has given you average caliber or poor caliber, He does not require you to be a church leader, team leader, or supervisor. However, if God has given you eloquence, the ability to express yourself, or a certain gift, and requires you to do work related to this gift, then you should do it well. Do not fail to live up to the conditions God has given you. You must live up to God’s bestowal, giving it full play and applying it well, applying it to positive things and producing valuable work results that benefit humankind. That would be excellent, wouldn’t it? (Yes.) Additionally, you must know that God has good intentions in giving people various calibers. Precisely because God wants to save you, He has not given you excessively good caliber. This reflects God’s painstaking thoughtfulness. God giving you average or poor caliber is a protection for you. If people had overly good or extraordinary caliber, it would be easy for them to follow the world and Satan, and they would not easily come to believe in God. Look at the standouts in various industries and fields in the world—what kind of people are they? They are all crafty people, devils incarnate. If you ask them to believe in God, they think, ‘Believing in God leads nowhere—only incapable people believe in God!’ People with excessively good caliber, great capabilities, and advanced tactics are taken captive by Satan. They live entirely by their corrupt dispositions and completely for the world. Such people are all devils incarnate. Tell Me, does God save such people? (No.) So, are you willing to be a devil incarnate, or are you willing to be an ordinary person, a person with poor caliber but who can receive God’s salvation? (We are willing to be ordinary people.) … If you choose to be a plain, ordinary person with average caliber, preferring not to enjoy a good material life in this life, not wanting to rise to prominence, having no sense of presence in this world, and being looked down upon by everyone, preferring to be this kind of person and cherish or gain the opportunity for salvation that God gives to people—if this is your choice, if you choose to be saved and choose not to follow this world, and in your heart you wish not to belong to this world but to belong to God, then you should not disdain the caliber God has given you. Even if your caliber is very poor or God has not given you any caliber, you should still gladly accept this fact and, with the innate conditions of the various abilities God has given you, fulfill the duty of a created being. Another aspect is that even if the caliber God gives to people is not very good—just the caliber of ordinary people—and the abilities He gives them in all aspects are average or even poor, the most basic truths people should practice which God teaches people can still be achieved and attained to if they are willing to put their hearts into practicing them. Even if your caliber is very poor, and your comprehension ability, ability to accept things, judgment, and ability to distinguish things are very weak or even nonexistent, as long as you possess the most basic humanity and reason, the tasks and jobs that God entrusts to you can be completed and done well. Moreover, the most basic way of fearing God and shunning evil, which God requires of people, is something you can follow; it is something you can attain to and achieve. Therefore, God has never intended to give you very good caliber. If God gave you good caliber and some special abilities, enabling you to become a devil incarnate in the world, then God would not save you. Have you understood God’s heart in regard to this matter? (Yes.) If you can understand God’s heart, that’s good; you will understand this truth and correctly approach your own caliber; there will be no more difficulties in this regard. From here, people should simply do what they ought to do. Even if it is just one job, put your heart and effort into doing it well and do not fail to live up to God’s expectations of you” (The Word, Vol. 7. On the Pursuit of the Truth. How to Pursue the Truth (7)). From God’s words, I saw that the caliber of each person is ordained by God. Regardless of whether one’s caliber is good or poor, it all has God’s goodwill. Even having poor caliber is God’s protection of a person. This is true indeed. I had an arrogant disposition, and when I got some results in my duties, I would become smug, feeling that I was better than others, and I would even look down on others, wanting others to think highly of me. As dictated by my nature, if I had had a good caliber, I might have ended up following the path of an antichrist. Although my caliber and work capabilities weren’t as good as my partnered sisters’, I could still handle organizing cleansing materials, so I should do my best according to God’s requirements, organize the cleansing materials according to the principles, and utilize what God had given me to satisfy Him.

Later, I received a letter from the leaders, saying that a duty in a church in another region urgently needed to be filled by someone, and they wanted to arrange for me to go. Upon reading the letter, I was both happy and worried. I was happy because doing this duty would allow me to train more and it would benefit my life entry, but I worried, “With my caliber, can I manage it? What if I can’t handle it and end up being reassigned again?” I realized that I was worrying about my future and destination again, so I prayed to God, willing to rebel against myself and view things according to His words. I read a passage of God’s words: “When people can rationally approach their own caliber and then accurately identify their own position, acting as created beings that God wants in a down-to-earth way, doing what they should do properly based on their inherent caliber, and dedicating their loyalty and all their effort, they achieve God’s satisfaction” (The Word, Vol. 7. On the Pursuit of the Truth. How to Pursue the Truth (7)). After reading God’s words, I felt a sense of liberation in my heart. I couldn’t keep worrying about and planning for my future anymore. From then on, I should only focus on doing my duties with loyalty, and for the things I didn’t understand or didn’t know how to do, I should pray more to God and seek from brothers and sisters. If one day I was truly unable to meet the requirements because of my poor caliber and was reassigned, I was willing to submit. With this in mind, I accepted this duty.

Although there are still many shortcomings and deficiencies in my duties, and many aspects that I fail to consider, I am no longer constrained by my poor caliber, and I feel completely at ease while doing my duties. I truly experienced that only by viewing people and things, and comporting oneself and acting according to God’s words and the truth can one achieve liberation and freedom. I now only have a small amount of this experience, and I still need to practice and experience God’s words more.