By Sun Yan, China

In April 2023, I was reassigned because I hadn’t gotten any results in my text-based duty for several months. The leader said that my caliber was poor and that I wasn’t suited for text-based duty, and so they were going to have me deliver letters to the brothers and sisters. When I heard this, my heart began to churn, and I thought, “By saying this, the leader’s basically labeling me as someone with poor caliber, and I’ll never have the chance to do a duty like text-based duty again!” Then I thought about having to deliver letters to the brothers and sisters, and my heart sank even further. I felt this was just menial labor, and that it wasn’t important at all. I thought to myself, “Only people with education and intellectual depth can do text-based duty, and this duty also involves life entry and requires a good understanding of the truth. It’s a relatively dignified duty. Now that I’ve been reassigned to general affairs duties, what will the brothers and sisters around me think of me? Surely, my importance in their hearts won’t be the same as before. My caliber is poor, so I can’t do the duty of a leader or a worker, and I’m also no good with words, so I’m not suited for gospel work or watering newcomers as well. So from now on, it seems like I’m going to be stuck doing general affairs duties.” These thoughts were like a stab to my heart. I felt as though my status had dropped and that my worth had diminished, like I was going from being someone respected to some random nobody off the street. I couldn’t accept this, and I became really negative and dejected. The leader asked me for my thoughts, and I really wanted to say that I didn’t want to do this duty, but I felt that I’d be unreasonable if I said that. After all, wouldn’t that be rejecting my duty and betraying God? In the end, I didn’t voice my opinion. That night, I simply couldn’t calm my heart, and I kept dwelling on the leader’s words about how I wasn’t suited for text-based duty because of my poor caliber. I realized my state wasn’t good, so I prayed to God, asking Him to enlighten and guide me to reverse my state.

Then I read a passage of God’s words about being reassigned in one’s duty. God says: “In those matters in which people have failed to stay in their proper places, and have failed to accomplish what they ought to—that is to say, when they fail in their duty—it will become a knot within them. This is an exceedingly practical problem, and one that has to be resolved. So how to resolve it? What kind of attitude should people have? Before all else, they must be willing to turn themselves around. And how should this willingness to make a turnaround be put into practice? For example, a person is a leader for a couple years, but because they are of low caliber they do not do their job well, cannot see any situation clearly, do not know how to use the truth to solve problems, and cannot do any real work; therefore, they are dismissed. If, after being dismissed, they are able to submit, continue performing their duty, and are willing to turn around, what should they do? First of all, they should understand this, ‘God was right to do as He did. My caliber is so very poor, and for so long I’ve done no real work and instead only held up the work of the church and the brothers’ and sisters’ life entry. I’m lucky that the house of God did not expel me outright. I’ve really been pretty shameless, hanging onto my position all this time and even believing myself to have done such great work. How unreasonable of me!’ To be able to feel self-hatred and a sense of remorse: is it or is it not an expression of the willingness to make a turnaround? If they are able to say this, it means they are willing. If they say in their hearts, ‘For so long, in my position as leader, I have always striven for the benefits of status; I was always preaching doctrine and equipping myself with doctrine; I did not strive for life entry. Only now that I’ve been replaced do I see just how inadequate and lacking I am. God did the right thing, and I must submit. In the past, I had status, and the brothers and sisters treated me well; they would surround me wherever I went. Now no one takes any notice of me, and I am forsaken; this is my due, it is the retribution I deserve. Moreover, how could a created being have any status before God? No matter how high someone’s status, it is neither the outcome nor the destination; God gives me a commission not so that I can throw my weight around or enjoy my status, but so I can perform my duty, and I should do whatever I can. I should have an attitude of submission toward God’s sovereignty and the arrangements of the house of God. Although submission may be hard, I must submit; God is right to do as He does, and even supposing I had thousands, tens of thousands, of excuses, none of them would be the truth. Submitting to God is the truth!’ these are exact expressions of the willingness to turn around. And if one were to possess all of these, how might God appraise such a person? God would say that this is a person of conscience and reason. Is this assessment high? It is not overly high; having conscience and reason alone falls short of the standards of being made perfect by God—but as far as this kind of person is concerned, it’s already no small accomplishment. Being able to submit is precious. After this, how the person seeks to make God change His view of them depends on which road they choose” (The Word, Vol. 3. The Discourses of Christ of the Last Days. Only by Resolving One’s Notions Can One Embark on the Right Track of Belief in God (3)). After reading God’s words, I realized that I should have a repentant attitude regarding my reassignment in my duty. No matter the reason or the things I couldn’t make sense of, I had to set myself aside, accept and submit first, acknowledge my issues, and feel regret and guilt for not doing my duty well. I hadn’t achieved any results in my text-based duty and I’d delayed the work for a long time, so I should accept this corresponding reassignment. Regardless of what the church arranged for me or how it treated me, I shouldn’t have my own preferences, and I should accept and obey. That is what it means to be reasonable. But I not only didn’t feel regret or indebtedness for failing in my duty and delaying the church’s work, but I was also wallowing in despondent and resistant emotions because I felt I’d lost my reputation and status. I was truly lacking in reason! After recognizing these things, although I was able to adjust my mindset somewhat, sometimes I was still worried about how the brothers and sisters might see me, and whenever I thought about these things, I felt very upset. I still harbored a glimmer of hope in my heart, thinking, “Maybe the leader will give me another chance to do text-based duty again? That way, I’d be able to regain my pride,” but then I thought, “The results of my duty are clear for all to see. If I’m allowed to do text-based duty again, won’t I just continue delaying the church’s work?” Realizing that my state wasn’t truly reversed, I prayed to God, “Oh God, I know that it’s right for me to have been reassigned in my duty, but I still feel really upset. I keep feeling that doing general affairs duties is inferior and I still care a lot about what others think of me. Oh God, I just can’t submit and I’m still focused on my reputation and status. This is my corrupt disposition, but I’m willing to seek the truth to resolve it. Please guide me to reverse my incorrect state.”

After praying, I recalled a passage of God’s words and found it to read. God says: “Antichrists’ cherishment of their reputation and status goes beyond that of normal people, and is something within their disposition essence; it is not a temporary interest, or the transient effect of their surroundings—it is something within their life, their bones, and so it is their essence. This is to say that in everything antichrists do, their first consideration is their own reputation and status, nothing else. For antichrists, reputation and status are their life, and their lifelong goal. In all they do, their first consideration is: ‘What will happen to my status? And to my reputation? Will doing this give me a good reputation? Will it elevate my status in people’s minds?’ That is the first thing they think about, which is ample proof that they have the disposition and essence of antichrists; that is why they consider things this way. It can be said that for antichrists, reputation and status are not some additional requirement, much less things which are external to them that they could do without. They are part of the nature of antichrists, they are in their bones, in their blood, they are innate to them. Antichrists are not indifferent toward whether they possess reputation and status; this is not their attitude. Then, what is their attitude? Reputation and status are intimately connected to their daily lives, to their daily state, to what they pursue on a daily basis. And so for antichrists, status and reputation are their life. No matter how they live, no matter what environment they live in, no matter what work they do, no matter what they pursue, what their goals are, what their life’s direction is, it all revolves around having a good reputation and a high status. And this aim does not change; they can never put aside such things. This is the true face of antichrists, and their essence. You could put them in a primeval forest deep in the mountains, and still they would not put aside their pursuit of reputation and status. You can put them among any group of people, and all they can think about is still reputation and status. Although antichrists also believe in God, they see the pursuit of reputation and status as equivalent to faith in God and give it equal weight. Which is to say, as they walk the path of faith in God, they also pursue their own reputation and status. It can be said that in antichrists’ hearts, they believe that pursuit of the truth in their faith in God is the pursuit of reputation and status; the pursuit of reputation and status is also the pursuit of the truth, and to gain reputation and status is to gain the truth and life” (The Word, Vol. 4. Exposing Antichrists. Item Nine (Part Three)). God exposes that an antichrist always considers their reputation and status first in whatever they do and that reputation and status dominate their heart. Regardless of their circumstances or what they are doing, they won’t change their goal of pursuing reputation and status. This is because it is ingrained in their bones and in their life. It is their nature essence. I was behaving just like an antichrist. When the leader said my caliber was inadequate for text-based duty and arranged for me to do general affairs duties, I couldn’t treat my problems correctly and submit reasonably. Instead, I suddenly felt that my worth diminished. I kept thinking about how others would see me, and I was terrified that my position in the brothers’ and sisters’ hearts would wane, and I was afraid they’d see me as just an insignificant general affairs worker. I had poor caliber and wasn’t good at text-based duty, so the leader reassigned me to a different duty, which was based on consideration for the church’s work, and it was entirely appropriate. A rational person would accept and treat this matter correctly, but I placed too much weight on reputation and status. I constantly worried that doing general affairs duties would make others look down on me, so I just couldn’t submit, even to the point that when I felt that my desire for reputation and status wasn’t being satisfied, I found no meaning in my duties. I even had thoughts of rejecting my duty and betraying God. I lived by satanic philosophies like “A man leaves his name behind wherever he stays, just as a goose utters its cry wherever it flies” and “Men should always strive to be better than their contemporaries.” I believed that in life, a person must surpass others and make others admire them, and only then would life have glory and value. Ever since finding God, I’d always wanted a high position in the church, and to be highly regarded by my brothers and sisters. In my duties, I often revealed the corrupt disposition of pursuing reputation and status, and even though I’d read many of God’s words in this regard, I was still stubbornly pursuing reputation and status. These satanic poisons had become so deeply rooted in me! If I kept pursuing reputation and status without changing, I’d remain in this state of despondency, and in the end, I’d undoubtedly leave God because my desires for reputation and status weren’t being satisfied. I had to rebel against myself and stop pursuing reputation and status.

One day, the leader asked me to deliver some letters to the brothers and sisters. In my heart, I again had the thought, “This duty is just running errands.” I couldn’t help but let out a deep sigh to release my feelings of repression. Recognizing my incorrect state, I quickly prayed to God, willing to rebel against my corrupt disposition and not focus on pride or status. Thinking this way finally gave me a bit of peace. I thought of a passage of God’s words I’d read before: “In the house of God, there is constant mention of accepting God’s commission and performing one’s duty properly. How does duty come into being? To speak broadly, it comes into being as a result of God’s management work of bringing salvation to humanity; to speak specifically, as God’s management work unfolds among mankind, various work appears that requires people to cooperate and complete it. This has given rise to responsibilities and missions for people to fulfill, and these responsibilities and missions are the duties God bestows upon mankind. In God’s house, the various tasks that require people’s cooperation are the duties they should perform. So, are there differences between duties in terms of better and worse, lofty and lowly, or great and small? Such differences do not exist; as long as something has to do with God’s management work, is a requirement of the work of His house, and is required by spreading God’s gospel, then it is a person’s duty. This is the origin and definition of duty” (The Word, Vol. 3. The Discourses of Christ of the Last Days. What Is the Adequate Performance of Duty?). “So, when comparing this duty to your worldly mission, which is more important? (My duty.) Why is that the case? Duty is what God requires you to do, it is what He has entrusted to you—this is part of the reason. The other, primary, reason is that when you take up duty in God’s house and accept God’s commission, you become relevant to God’s management work. In God’s house, whenever something is arranged for you to do, be it a hardship or tiring work, and whether you like it or not, it is your duty. If you can consider it a commission and responsibility that God has given you, you are then relevant to His work of saving man. And if what you do and the duty you perform are relevant to God’s work of saving man, and you can earnestly and sincerely accept the commission God has given you, how will He regard you? He will regard you as a member of His family. Is that a blessing or a curse? (A blessing.) It is a great blessing” (The Word, Vol. 3. The Discourses of Christ of the Last Days. What Is the Adequate Performance of Duty?). From God’s words, I understood that the same work or task has a different nature in the world of nonbelievers and in God’s house. Every duty in God’s house arises from God’s management plan to save mankind and from the needs of the church’s work, and there is no distinction in rank, nor any difference in terms of better or worse, lofty or lowly. No matter how insignificant a task may appear, it is still a duty one ought to do. But I divided duties into ranks and used duties to classify people’s status and positions. I thought that being a leader or a worker, or doing text-based duty were intellectual tasks related to life entry, and that doing these duties was dignified, glorious, high-class, and gave a person importance. Meanwhile, I viewed general affairs duties as peripheral church work, that these duties just involved manual labor and had little importance, and that those doing them were inferior, and on a lower level than those doing other duties. Judging things this way wasn’t in line with the truth. In God’s house, everyone does their duties to contribute their efforts to the spreading of the gospel work. Like the parts of a machine, each component plays its own role and is indispensable to the whole. The general affairs duties I was doing were also needed for the church’s work. Tasks like delivering letters and books of God’s words to brothers and sisters may seem to be just general affairs tasks, but since they are connected to the church’s work, these duties aren’t something done for any one person, but are instead a responsibility fulfilled before God. Furthermore, through the reassignment of my duty, my wrong path of pursuing reputation and status, as well as my fallacious views on duties were revealed. This was God’s salvation for me!

Later, I read a passage of God’s words and learned how to correctly approach the reassignment of duties. God says: “God treats everyone fairly and equally; since you can’t do anything, you are asked to preach the gospel—this is done to enable you to perform your last possible function, under circumstances where you’re not able to take on any other duty. Through this, you are being given an opportunity and a glimmer of hope; you are not being deprived of the right to do your duty. God still has a commission for you and He is not biased against you. Therefore, those who are assigned to gospel teams are not being sent to a forgotten back shelf, nor are they being abandoned, but rather they are doing their duty in a different place. … it doesn’t matter where you are placed, what time or location you are in, what people you come into contact with and what duty you do. God will always see you and scrutinize your innermost heart. Don’t think that because you are a member of a gospel team that God pays no attention to you or that God can’t see you, and so you can do whatever you want. And don’t think that if you are assigned to a gospel team, you no longer have any hope of being saved, and then approach it negatively. These ways of thinking are both wrong. No matter where you are placed or what duty you are arranged to do, it is what you should do, and you should do it diligently and responsibly. God’s requirements of you do not change, and so your submission to God’s arrangements should not change, either. The status of gospel workers is the same as that of those who do other duties; a person’s worth is not measured by the duty they do, but rather by whether they pursue the truth and possess the truth reality” (The Word, Vol. 5. The Responsibilities of Leaders and Workers. The Responsibilities of Leaders and Workers (9)). After reading this passage of God’s words, my fallacious views on the reassignment of duties were corrected. Initially, I’d always felt that my doing general affairs duties meant I was going from being a respected person to some random nobody off the street. I even felt as though I’d been placed in a corner to be forgotten, eternally unnoticed. But in light of God’s words, I realized that this understanding was fallacious. Because of my poor caliber, I was unsuitable for text-based duty. The church had arranged for me to do general affairs duties in accordance with my caliber. In this, I was given an opportunity to do a duty to the best of my ability, and to play my role. Realizing this, I felt really guilty. I didn’t have any special skills and couldn’t do other duties, yet God’s house had still arranged a duty for me to the greatest extent, giving me a chance at salvation. But how had I viewed this? I’d seen this reassignment of duties as my being belittled and sidelined. My understanding was so absurd, and I didn’t know what was good for me! The more I thought about it, the more I felt indebted to God. I thought that I had to do my duty properly according to the requirements and principles of general affairs work, and treat this as a commission from God, and that I had to do this duty well so as not to let down God’s painstaking intentions. I thought of God’s words: “The functions are not the same. There is one body. Each does his duty, each in his place and doing his very best—for each spark there is one flash of light—and seeking maturity in life. Thus will I be satisfied” (The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Utterances of Christ in the Beginning, Chapter 21). I had to do what I could and make use of what I had to the fullest. I had to stand in my position and do my utmost without considering my reputation or status. While doing my duty, I had to pursue the truth and life entry and strive to meet God’s intentions and requirements to the best of my ability.

Later, I read another passage of God’s words, and my heart was enlightened even further. God says: “If God causes someone to suffer pain and poverty, does that mean they have no hope of being saved? If they are of low worth and low social position, will God not save them? If they have a low status in society, are they then of low status in the eyes of God? Not necessarily. What does this depend on? It depends on the path this person walks, on what they pursue, and on their attitude toward the truth and God. If someone’s social status is very low, their family is very poor, and they have a low level of education, yet they believe in God in a down-to-earth manner, and they love the truth and positive things, then in God’s eyes is their worth high or low, is it noble or lowly? They are valuable. Looking at it from this perspective, what does someone’s worth—whether high or low, noble or lowly—depend on? It depends on how God sees you. If God sees you as someone who pursues the truth, then you have worth and are valuable—you are a valuable vessel. If God sees that you do not pursue the truth and you do not sincerely expend yourself for Him, then you are worthless and are not valuable—you are a lowly vessel. No matter how highly educated you are or how high your status in society is, if you don’t pursue or understand the truth, then your worth can never be high; even if many people support you, praise you, and adore you, you are still a contemptible wretch. … Looking at it now, what is the basis for defining someone’s worth as either noble or lowly? (It is their attitude toward God, truth, and positive things.) That’s right. First of all, one must understand what God’s attitude is. To first understand God’s attitude and understand the principles and standards by which God defines people, and then to measure people based on the principles and standards God has for people—only this is most accurate, appropriate, and fair” (The Word, Vol. 4. Exposing Antichrists. Item Seven: They Are Wicked, Insidious, and Deceitful (Part One)). From God’s words, I came to understand that God doesn’t measure a person’s worth by their apparent social status, nor by the duty they do, but by their attitude toward the truth and toward God. Those who love and pursue the truth, regardless of the duty they do or whether they are admired by others, are valuable in God’s eyes. But as for those who don’t pursue the truth, even if their duties make them appear glorious and prominent, and cause them to be admired by many, they will still be lowly and worthless in God’s eyes. God not only disregards such people but also detests and abhors them. Realizing these things, my heart felt bright and at ease. I had just one thought, “No matter the duty I do, I will just focus on pursuing the truth.” In this moment, I was able to truly accept general affairs work as my duty, and I began to actively think about how to do this duty well. When the leader assigned me to deliver letters and books of God’s words to the brothers and sisters again, I no longer felt resistant. Instead, I saw it as my duty and as something I ought to do, and I resolved to do my duty well. After my state was reversed, my heart was able to settle down, and I was able to do my duty with peace of mind. I am truly grateful for the enlightenment and guidance of God’s words for allowing me to gain this understanding and transformation!