Words of Almighty God of the Last Days

I take pleasure in those who are not suspicious of others, and I like those who readily accept the truth; toward these two kinds of people I show great care, for in My eyes they are honest people. If you are deceitful, then you will be guarded and suspicious toward all people and matters, and thus your faith in Me will be built upon a foundation of suspicion. I could never acknowledge such faith. Lacking true faith, you are even more devoid of true love. And if you are liable to doubt God and speculate about Him at will, then you are, without question, the most deceitful of all people. You speculate whether God can be like man: unpardonably sinful, of petty character, devoid of fairness and reason, lacking a sense of justice, given to vicious tactics, treacherous and cunning, pleased by evil and darkness, and so on. Is not the reason that people have such thoughts because they lack the slightest knowledge of God? Such faith is nothing short of sin! There are even some who believe that the ones who please Me are precisely those who flatter and bootlick, and that those lacking in such skills will be unwelcome in the house of God and will lose their place there. Is this the only knowledge you have acquired after all these years? Is this what you have gained? And your knowledge of Me does not stop at these misunderstandings; even worse is your blasphemy against God’s Spirit and vilification of Heaven. This is why I say that such faith as yours will only cause you to stray further from Me and be in greater opposition against Me. Throughout many years of work, you have seen many truths, but do you know what My ears have heard? How many among you are willing to accept the truth? You all believe you are willing to pay the price for the truth, but how many of you have truly suffered for the truth? There is nothing but unrighteousness in your hearts, which makes you think that everyone, no matter who they are, is equally deceitful and crooked—to the point that you even believe that God incarnate could, like a normal person, be without a kind heart or benevolent love. More than that, you believe that a noble character and a merciful, benevolent nature exist only within the God in heaven. You believe that such a saint does not exist, that only darkness and evil reign on earth, while God is something with which people entrust their longing for the good and beautiful, a legendary figure fabricated by them. In your minds, the God in heaven is very upstanding, righteous, and great, worthy of worship and admiration; this God on earth, meanwhile, is but a substitute, and an instrument, of the God in heaven. You believe this God could not be the equal of the God in heaven, much less be mentioned in the same breath as Him. When it comes to the greatness and honor of God, they belong to the glory of the God in heaven, but when it comes to the nature and the corruption of man, they are attributes in which the God on earth has a part. The God in heaven is eternally lofty, while the God on earth is forever insignificant, weak, and incompetent. The God in heaven is not given to fleshly feelings, only righteousness, while the God on earth only has selfish motives and is without any fairness or reason. The God in heaven has not the slightest crookedness and is forever faithful, while the God on earth always has a dishonest side. The God in heaven loves man dearly, while the God on earth shows man inadequate care, even neglecting him entirely. This fallacious knowledge has long been kept within your hearts and may also be perpetuated in the future. You regard all deeds of Christ from the standpoint of the unrighteous and evaluate all His work, as well as His identity and essence, from the perspective of the evil. You have made a grave mistake and done that which has never been done by those coming before you. That is, you serve only the lofty God in heaven with a crown upon His head, and never attend to the God whom you regard as so insignificant that He is invisible to you. Is this not your sin? Is this not a classic example of your offense against the disposition of God?

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. How to Know the God on Earth

Many people would rather be condemned to hell than speak and act honestly. Little wonder that I have other treatment in store for those who are dishonest. Of course, I know full well how difficult it is for you to be honest. Because you are all so clever, so good at measuring people with your own petty yardstick, this makes My work much simpler. And since you each hug your secrets to your bosom, well then, I shall send you, one by one, into disaster to be “schooled” by fire, so that thereafter you may become dead set on your belief in My words. Ultimately, I shall wrest from your mouth the words “God is a faithful God,” whereupon you shall beat upon your breast and lament, “Deceitful is the heart of man!” What will be your state of mind at this time? I imagine you will not be as triumphant as you are now. And much less will you be as “profound and abstruse” as you are now. In the presence of God, some people are all prim and proper, they take pains to be “well-behaved,” yet they bare their fangs and brandish their claws in the presence of the Spirit. Would you number such people among the ranks of the honest? If you are a hypocrite, someone who is skilled in “interpersonal relations,” then I say that you are definitely someone who tries to trifle with God. If your words are riddled with excuses and valueless justifications, then I say that you are someone who is loath to put the truth into practice. If you have many confidences that you are reluctant to share, if you are highly averse to laying bare your secrets—your difficulties—before others to seek the way of the light, then I say that you are someone who will not attain salvation easily, and who will not easily emerge from the darkness. If seeking the way of the truth pleases you well, then you are someone who dwells always in the light. If you are very glad to be a service-doer in the house of God, working diligently and conscientiously in obscurity, always giving and never taking, then I say that you are a loyal saint, because you seek no reward and are simply being an honest person. If you are willing to be candid, if you are willing to expend your all, if you are able to sacrifice your life for God and stand firm in your testimony, if you are honest to the point where you know only to satisfy God and not to consider yourself or take for yourself, then I say that such people are those who are nourished in the light and who shall live forever in the kingdom. You should know whether there is true faith and true loyalty within you, whether you have a record of suffering for God, and whether you have wholly submitted to God. If you lack these, then there remains within you rebelliousness, deceitfulness, greed, and complaint. As your heart is far from honest, you have never received positive recognition from God and never lived in the light. How one’s fate will work out in the end hinges upon whether they have an honest and blood-red heart, and whether they have a pure soul. If you are someone who is very dishonest, someone with a heart of malice, someone with an unclean soul, then you are sure to end up in the place where man is punished, as is written in the record of your fate. If you claim to be very honest, and yet never manage to act in accordance with the truth or to speak a word of truth, then are you still waiting for God to reward you? Do you still hope for God to regard you as the apple of His eye? Is such thinking not preposterous? You deceive God in all things; how could the house of God accommodate one such as you, whose hands are unclean?

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Three Admonitions

Having been corrupted by Satan, all mankind lives in a satanic disposition. Like Satan, people disguise and package themselves in every aspect, and they resort to deceit and game-playing in all matters. There is nothing in which they do not resort to deceit and game-playing. Some people even play deceitful games in activities so common as shopping. For instance, they may have bought a most fashionable outfit, but—though they really love it—they do not dare wear it in church, for fear that their brothers and sisters will talk about them and call them shallow. So, they just wear it behind the others’ backs. What sort of behavior is this? It is the revelation of a deceitful and cheating disposition. Why would someone buy a fashionable outfit, but not dare to wear it in front of their brothers and sisters? In their heart, they like fashionable things, and they follow the trends of the world as nonbelievers do. They are afraid of the brothers and sisters seeing through them, seeing how shallow they are, seeing that they are not a respectable and upstanding person. In their heart, they pursue fashionable things and have trouble letting go of them, so they can only wear them at home and are afraid to let their brothers and sisters see them. If the things they like cannot see the light of day, then why can they not give them up? Is there not a satanic disposition controlling them? They constantly speak the words and doctrines, and they seem to understand the truth, yet they are unable to put the truth into practice. This is a person who lives by a satanic disposition. If someone is always fraudulent in speech and in action, if they do not let others see them for what they are, and if they always affect the image of a pious person in front of others, then what is the difference between them and a Pharisee? They want to lead the life of a whore, but also have a monument built to their chastity. They knew full well that they couldn’t wear their exotic outfit in public, so why did they buy it? Was it not a waste of money? It’s just because they like that sort of thing and had their heart set on that outfit, so they felt that they had to buy it. But once they have bought it, they cannot wear it out. After a few years have passed, they regret buying it, and have a sudden realization: “How could I have been so foolish, so disgusting as to do that?” Even they are disgusted by what they did. But they cannot control their actions, because they’re unable to let go of the things they like and pursue. So they adopt two-faced tactics and trickery to satisfy themselves. If they reveal a deceitful disposition in such a trifling matter, will they be able to practice the truth when it comes to something bigger? It would be impossible. Evidently, it is their nature to be deceitful, and deceitfulness is their Achilles’ heel.

—The Word, Vol. 3. The Discourses of Christ of the Last Days. The Most Fundamental Practice of Being an Honest Person

You always think of your own flesh and your own prospects, you always want to lessen the suffering of your flesh, to expend yourself less, to sacrifice less, to pay less of a price. You are always holding something back. This is a deceitful attitude. Some people are calculating even when it comes to expending themselves for God. They say: “I have to live comfortably in the future. What if God’s work never comes to an end? I can’t offer up one hundred percent of myself to Him; I don’t even know when the day of God will come. I need to be calculating, to make arrangements for my family life and my future before I expend myself for God.” Are there many people who think this way? What disposition is it when one is calculating and makes contingency plans for themselves? Are these people loyal to God? Are they honest people? Being calculating and making contingency plans is not of one heart with God. It is a deceitful disposition, and the people who do this are acting in deceit. The attitude with which they treat God is certainly not an honest one. Some people are afraid that, while interacting or associating with them, their brothers and sisters will see through to their problems and say they are of small stature, or look down on them. So when they speak, they always try to give the impression that they are very zealous, that they long for God, and that they are keen to practice the truth. But inside, they are actually terribly weak and negative. They pretend to be strong so that no one can see through them. This is also deceit. In short, in anything you do, whether in life or in the performance of a duty, if you engage in falsehood and pretense or use false appearances to mislead or deceive others and make them esteem and worship you, or not look down on you, this is all deceit. Some women adore their husbands, when in fact, their husbands are demons and disbelievers. Afraid that her brothers and sisters will say her affections are too strong, such a woman will be the first to say: “My husband is a demon.” But, in her heart, she says: “My husband is a good man.” The former is what she says with her mouth—but that is just for the others to hear, so they think she has discernment toward her husband. What she really means is: “Don’t bring this matter to light. I’ll express this view first so there’s no need for you to mention it. I’ve already exposed my husband as a demon, so that means I’ve let go of my affections and you won’t have anything to say about it.” Isn’t that being deceitful? Isn’t that a facade? If you do this then you are deceiving people and misleading them by putting up a front. You are playing games, playing tricks at every turn, so that what others see is your false image, not your true face. This is sinister; this is man’s deceitfulness.

—The Word, Vol. 3. The Discourses of Christ of the Last Days. The Most Fundamental Practice of Being an Honest Person

Some people never tell anyone the truth. They deliberate on and polish everything in their minds before they speak to people. You can’t tell which of the things they say are true, and which are false. They say one thing today and another tomorrow, they say one thing to one person, and something else to another. Everything they say contradicts itself. How can such people be believed? It’s very difficult to get an accurate grasp of the facts, and you can’t get a straight word out of them. What disposition is this? It is deceitfulness. Is a deceitful disposition easy to change? It’s the most difficult to change. Anything that involves dispositions relates to a person’s nature, and nothing is harder to change than things to do with one’s nature. The saying, “A leopard can’t change its spots,” is absolutely true! No matter what they’re talking about or doing, deceitful people always harbor their own aims and intents. If they do not have any, they will say nothing. If you try to understand what their aims and intents are, they will clam up. If they do accidentally let something true slip, they’ll go to any length to think of a way to twist it around, to confound you and stop you from knowing the truth. No matter what deceitful people are doing, they will not let anyone know the whole truth about it. No matter how much time people spend with them, no one knows what’s really going on in their minds. Such is the nature of deceitful people. No matter how much a deceitful person speaks, other people will never know what their intents are, what they’re really thinking, or exactly what they are trying to achieve. Even their parents have a hard time knowing this. Trying to understand deceitful people is extremely difficult, nobody can figure out what is on their minds. This is how deceitful people speak and act: They never speak their minds or convey what is really going on. This is a type of disposition, is it not? When you have a deceitful disposition, it does not matter what you say or do—this disposition is always within you, controlling you, making you play games and engage in trickery, toy with people, cover up the truth, and put up a front. This is deceitfulness. What other specific behaviors do deceitful people engage in? I will give an example. Two people are talking, and one of them is speaking about their self-knowledge; this person keeps talking about how they have improved, and tries to make the other person believe this, but they do not tell them the real facts of the matter. In this, something is being concealed, and this indicates a certain disposition—that of deceitfulness. Let us see if you can discern it. This person says, “I’ve experienced some things recently, and I feel that over these years my belief in God has been in vain. I haven’t gained anything. I am so poor and pathetic! My behavior hasn’t been too good recently, but I’m ready to repent.” Yet a while after they say this, an expression of repentance is nowhere to be seen in them. What is the problem here? It is that they lie and trick others. When other people hear them say those things, they think, “This person did not pursue the truth before, but the fact that they can say such things now shows that they have truly repented. There’s no doubt about it. We mustn’t look at them as we used to, but in a new, better light.” That is how people ponder and think after hearing those words. But is that person’s current state the same as they say it is? The reality is that it is not. They have not truly repented, but their words give the illusion that they have done so, and that they have changed for the better, and that they are different from before. This is what they want to achieve with their words. By speaking in this way to trick people, what disposition are they revealing? It is deceitfulness—and it is very insidious! The fact is that they are not at all aware that they have failed in their belief in God, that they are poor and pitiful. They are borrowing spiritual words and language to trick people, to achieve their aim of making others think well of them and hold a good opinion of them. Is this not deceitfulness? It is, and when someone is too deceitful, it is not easy for them to change.

—The Word, Vol. 3. The Discourses of Christ of the Last Days. Only Knowledge of the Six Kinds of Corrupt Dispositions Is True Self-Knowledge

There is another sort of person that is never simple or open in how they speak. They are always hiding and concealing things, gleaning information from people at every turn and sounding them out. They always wish to know the whole truth about other people, yet they do not say what is in their own hearts. Nobody who interacts with them can ever hope to find out the whole truth about them. Such people do not want others to know their plans, and they share them with no one. What disposition is this? It is a deceitful disposition. Such people are extremely shrewd, they are unfathomable to everyone. If one possesses a deceitful disposition, they are without a doubt a deceitful person, and they are deceitful in nature essence. Does this sort of person pursue the truth in their belief in God? If they do not tell the truth in front of other people, are they capable of speaking the truth before God? Certainly not. A deceitful person never tells the truth. They may believe in God, but is theirs true belief? What sort of attitude do they have toward God? They will certainly have many doubts in their heart: “Where is God? I can’t see Him. What proof is there that He is real?” “God is sovereign over everything? Really? Satan’s regime is frantically oppressing and arresting those who believe in God. Why doesn’t God destroy it?” “How exactly does God save people? Is His salvation real? It’s not so clear.” “Can a believer in God enter the kingdom of heaven or not? Without any confirmation, it’s hard to say.” With so many doubts about God in their heart, can they sincerely expend themselves for Him? It is impossible. They see all these people who have forsaken all they have to follow God, who are expending themselves for God and performing their duties, and they think, “I need to hold something back. I can’t be as foolish as they are. If I offer everything to God, how will I live in the future? Who will look after me? I need to have a contingency plan.” You can see how “astute” deceitful people are, how far ahead they think. There are some who, when they see others in gatherings opening up about their knowledge of their corruption, offering up the things hidden within their hearts in fellowship, and truthfully saying how many times they have committed fornication, think, “You fool! Those are private things; why would you tell them to others? You couldn’t beat those things out of me!” This is how deceitful people are—they would rather die than be honest, and they tell no one the whole truth. Some people say, “I’ve transgressed and done some bad things, and I feel a little ashamed to tell people about them face-to-face. They are private things, after all, and they are shameful. But I can’t hide or conceal them from God. I should tell these things to God, nakedly and openly. I wouldn’t dare tell other people my thoughts or private matters, but I have to tell God. No matter who else I keep secrets from, I can’t keep secrets from God.” This is the attitude an honest person takes toward God. Yet deceitful people are guarded toward everyone, they do not trust anyone, and they do not speak honestly with anyone. They tell the whole truth to no one, and no one can figure them out. These are the most deceitful people of all. Everyone has a deceitful disposition; the only difference is in how severe it is. Though you may open your heart and fellowship your problems in gatherings, does that mean that you do not have a deceitful disposition? It does not, you have one as well. Why do I say this? Here is an example: You may be able to open yourself up in fellowship about things that do not touch on your pride or vanity, things that are not shameful, and things that you will not be pruned for—but if you had done something that violates the truth principles, something that everyone would loathe and be revolted by, would you be able to fellowship openly about it in gatherings? And if you had done something unspeakable, it would be even harder for you to open up and reveal the truth about it. Were someone to look into it or try to assign blame for it, you would use all means at your disposal to hide it, and you would be terrified that this matter might be exposed. You would always be trying to cover it up and get away with it. Is this not a deceitful disposition? You may believe that if you do not say it out loud, no one will know of it, and that even God would have no way to do anything to you. That is mistaken! God scrutinizes people’s innermost hearts. If you cannot perceive this, you do not know God at all. Deceitful people do not merely trick others—they even dare to try to trick God and use deceitful means to resist Him. Can such people attain God’s salvation? God’s disposition is righteous and holy, and deceitful people are what He loathes most. So, deceitful people are those for whom it is hardest to attain salvation. People with a deceitful nature are those who lie the most. They will even lie to God and try to trick Him, and they are obstinately unrepentant. This means that they cannot attain God’s salvation. If someone only reveals a corrupt disposition every now and then, if they lie and trick people but are simple and open with God and repent to Him, then this kind of person still has hope of attaining salvation. If you are truly a person with reason, you should open yourself up to God, speak to Him from the heart, and reflect on and know yourself. You should not lie to God anymore, you should not try to trick Him at any time, and even less still should you try to hide anything from Him. The fact is that there are some things people do not need to know about. So long as you are open with God about them, that is fine. When you do things, be sure not to keep secrets from God. You can say to God all those things that are not fit to say to other people. A person who does so is smart. Though there may be some things they feel no need to open up to others about, this should not be called deceitfulness. Deceitful people are different: They believe that they should hide everything, that they cannot tell anything to other people, especially when it comes to private matters. If it will not benefit them to say something, they will not say it, even to God. Is this not a deceitful disposition? Such a person is deceitful, indeed! If someone is so deceitful that they do not tell God the truth, and keep everything secret from God, are they even someone who believes in God? Do they have true faith in God? They are a person who doubts God, and in their heart, they do not believe Him. So, is their faith not false? They are a disbeliever, a false believer.

—The Word, Vol. 3. The Discourses of Christ of the Last Days. Only Knowledge of the Six Kinds of Corrupt Dispositions Is True Self-Knowledge

There are many so-called “good people” in the world who speak high-minded words—although on the surface, they do not seem to have committed any great evil, they are actually especially deceitful and slippery. They are very good at steering wherever the wind blows, speaking smoothly and slickly. They are false good people and hypocrites—they are merely pretending to be good. Those who walk the middle path are the most insidious people of all. They offend no one, they are smooth and slick, they are good at playing along in all situations, and no one can see their faults. They are like living Satans! Are there people like this among you? (Yes.) Do you not think that living this way is tiring? (Yes, it is tiring.) Then have you thought of a way to change? How do you change? Where should the breakthrough begin? (By practicing the truth.) Do not say “by practicing the truth,” or “by understanding the truth,” or “by entering into the truth reality.” This is big talk, and it is beyond the reach of man, so these words seem empty. We must start with the details, instead. (By being an honest person.) That is a concrete practice. Be an honest person, or to go into a bit more detail: Be a simple and open person, who does not cover anything up, who does not lie, who does not mince words, and be a direct person who has a sense of justice, who can speak truthfully. People must achieve this first. Say that there is an evil person who does something that disturbs the work of the church, and a leader comes to you to better understand the situation. You know who did it, but because you have a good relationship with that person, and you do not want to offend them, you lie and say that you do not know. The leader asks for more details, and you beat around the bush, making up an excuse to cover for the evil person. Is that not deceitful? You did not tell the leader the truth about the situation, and hid it instead. Why would you do this? Because you did not want to offend anyone. You put protecting interpersonal relationships and not offending anyone first, and you put speaking truthfully and practicing the truth last. What are you being controlled by? You are being controlled by your satanic disposition, it has sealed your mouth and prevented you from speaking truthfully—you are only able to live by your satanic disposition. What is a corrupt disposition? A corrupt disposition is a satanic disposition, and a person who lives by their corrupt disposition is a living Satan. Their speech always carries tests within it, it is always roundabout, and never direct; even if they were being beaten to death, they would not speak truthfully. This is what happens when a person’s corrupt disposition becomes too severe; they completely lose their humanity and become a devil. Many of you would prefer to offend and cheat God in order to protect your relationships with others, and the status and reputation that you hold among other people. Does a person who acts in this way love the truth? Are they someone who pursues the truth? They are someone who cheats God with their eyes wide open, who has not even the slightest bit of a God-fearing heart. They dare to cheat God; their ambition and rebelliousness must be truly great! Such people usually still think that they love and fear God, and often say: “Every time I think of God, I think of how immense, how great, and how unfathomable He is! God loves mankind, His love is so real!” You may speak nice-sounding words, but you would not expose an evil person if you saw them disturbing the work of the church. You are people pleasers, you only protect your own fame, gain, and status, instead of protecting the interests of God’s house. When you know the true state of affairs, you do not speak truthfully, you beat around the bush, protecting evil people. If you were asked to speak truthfully, it would be very difficult for you. You speak so much nonsense, just to avoid telling the truth! When you speak, you go in so many circles, you expend so much thought, and live in such a tiring way, all to protect your own reputation and pride! Is God pleased by people who act this way? God detests deceitful people above all. If you want to be free of Satan’s influence and achieve salvation, then you must accept the truth. You must first start by becoming an honest person. Be frank, tell the truth, do not be constrained by your feelings, cast off your pretense and trickery, and speak and handle matters with principles—this is an easy and happy way to live, and you will be able to live before God. If you always live according to satanic philosophies, and always rely on lies and trickery to get through your days, then you will be living under the power of Satan, and you will be living in darkness. If you live in Satan’s world, you will only become more and more deceitful. You have believed in God for so many years, you have listened to so many sermons, but your corrupt disposition has not yet been cleansed, and now you are still living by your satanic disposition—do you not feel disgusted by this? Do you not feel ashamed? No matter how long you have believed in God, if you are still like a nonbeliever, then what is the point of you believing in God? Can you really attain salvation by believing in God like this? Your life goals have not changed, nor have your principles and methods; the only thing you have that a nonbeliever does not is the title of “believer.” Although you follow God outwardly, your life disposition has not changed at all, and in the end you will not achieve salvation. Are you not getting your hopes up for nothing? Can this kind of belief in God help you to obtain the truth and life? Absolutely not.

—The Word, Vol. 3. The Discourses of Christ of the Last Days. Only by Practicing the Truth Can One Cast Off the Shackles of a Corrupt Disposition

To gain a foothold and survive in this society, people must learn one thing, which is to be a fence-straddler. In colloquial terms, you must be slippery and cunning. You can’t just say what’s on your mind. If you go ahead and say what’s on your mind, that’s called being stupid, it’s not called being smart. Some people are loose cannons who say whatever they want. Imagine a guy who does that and ends up offending his boss. The boss then makes life difficult for him, cancels his bonus, and is always looking to pick a quarrel with him. In the end, he can’t bear to stay in the job any longer. If he quits his job, he has no other means to earn a living. But if he doesn’t quit, all he can do is put up with a job that he can’t bear to do any longer. What’s that called, when you are between a rock and a hard place? “Stuck,” in a fix. His family then tells him off, saying: “You deserve to be mistreated, you should have remembered that ‘Harmony is a treasure; forbearance is brilliance’! It serves you right for being a loose cannon and shooting your mouth off! We told you to be tactful and think carefully about what you say, but you didn’t want to, you had to go and be direct. Did you think your boss was that easy to mess with? Did you think it was that easy to survive in society? You always reckon you are just being straightforward. Well, now you must reap the painful consequences. Let this be a lesson to you! In future, you’ll do well to remember the saying ‘Harmony is a treasure; forbearance is brilliance’!” Once he has been taught this lesson, he remembers it, thinking, “My parents really were right to educate me. This is an insightful bit of life experience, a real nugget of wisdom, I can’t keep on ignoring it. I ignore my elders at my peril, so I’ll remember it in future.” After he comes to believe in God and joins God’s house, he still remembers this saying, “Harmony is a treasure; forbearance is brilliance,” and so he greets his brothers and sisters whenever he sees them, and does his best to speak nice words to them. The leader says: “I’ve been a leader for a while, but I don’t have enough work experience.” So he interjects with a compliment: “You’re doing a great job. If you weren’t leading us, we’d feel like we had nowhere to turn.” Someone else says: “I’ve gained an understanding of myself, and I think that I am quite deceitful.” So he replies, “You aren’t deceitful, you are really honest, I’m the one who’s deceitful.” Someone else makes a nasty remark to him, and he thinks to himself, “No need to fear nasty remarks like that, I can put up with much worse. No matter how nasty your remarks get, I’ll just pretend that I didn’t hear them, and I’ll keep on complimenting you, and trying my best to curry favor with you, because it never hurts to compliment you.” Whenever anyone asks him to give his opinion or open up during fellowship, he doesn’t talk frankly, and maintains this cheerful and jolly facade in front of everyone. Someone asks him: “How come you are always so cheerful and jolly? Are you really a smiling tiger?” And he thinks to himself: “I’ve been a smiling tiger for years, and in all that time I’ve never been taken advantage of, so it has become my overriding principle for dealing with the world.” Is he not like a slippery stone? (Yes.) Some people have drifted along in society like this for many years, and continue to do so after they come into God’s house. They never say one honest word, they never speak from the heart, and they don’t talk about their own understanding of themselves. Even when a brother or sister lays their own heart bare to them, they don’t speak frankly, and no one can work out what’s really going on in their minds. They never reveal what they think or what their views are, they maintain really good relations with everyone, and you don’t know what kind of people or what type of personality they actually like, or what they really think about others. If anyone asks them what kind of person so-and-so is, they answer, “He has been a believer for over ten years, and he’s just fine.” Whoever you ask them about, they will reply that the person is just fine or pretty good. If someone asks them, “Have you discovered any shortcomings or flaws in him?” They will reply, “I haven’t found any so far, I’ll keep a closer eye out in future,” but deep down they are thinking: “You’re asking me to offend that person, which I most certainly won’t do! If I tell you the truth and he finds out about it, won’t he just become my enemy? My family has long been telling me not to make enemies, I haven’t forgotten their words. Do you think I’m stupid? Do you think I’d forget the education and conditioning I’ve received from my family just because you’ve fellowshipped two sentences of truth? It won’t happen! These sayings, ‘Harmony is a treasure; forbearance is brilliance’ and ‘Compromise will make a conflict much easier to resolve,’ have never let me down yet and they are my talismans. I don’t talk about anyone’s flaws, and if anyone provokes me, I show them forbearance. Haven’t you seen that character imprinted on my forehead? It’s the Chinese character for ‘forbearance,’ which consists of the character of a knife above that of a heart. Whoever says nasty remarks, I show them forbearance. Whoever prunes me, I show them forbearance. My aim is to stay on good terms with everyone, to keep relations at this level. Don’t stick to principles, don’t be so stupid, don’t be inflexible, you must learn to yield according to the circumstances! Why do you think tortoises live for so long? It’s because they hide inside their shell whenever the going gets tough, is it not? That way they can protect themselves and live for thousands of years. That’s how to live a long life, and also how to deal with the world.” You don’t hear such people utter anything truthful or genuine, and their true viewpoints and the bottom line for their comportment are never revealed. They only think about these things and contemplate them in their heart, but no one else knows about them. This kind of person is outwardly kind to everyone, appears good-natured, and doesn’t hurt or harm anyone. But in fact, what they really are is a fence-straddler and a slippery stone. This kind of person is always liked by some people in the church, because they never make big mistakes, they never give themselves away, and the evaluation from church leaders and brothers and sisters is that they get on just fine with everyone. They are lukewarm about their duty, they do just what is asked of them. They are especially obedient and well-behaved, they never hurt others in conversation or when dealing with matters, and they never take unfair advantage of anyone. They never speak ill of others, and they never judge people behind their backs. However, no one knows whether they are sincere in performing their duty, and no one knows what they think of others or what opinion they hold about them. After careful thought, you even feel that this kind of person really is a bit weird and difficult to fathom, and that keeping them on might lead to trouble. What should you do? It’s a tough call, isn’t it? When they are performing their duty, you can see them going about their business, but they never care about the principles that God’s house has communicated to them. They do things however they like, going through the motions and leaving it at that, trying only to avoid making any big mistakes. Consequently, you can’t find any fault with them, or identify any defects. They do things flawlessly, but what are they thinking inside? Do they want to perform their duty? If there were no church administrative decrees, or supervision from the church leader or their brothers and sisters, might this person associate with evil people? Might they do bad things and commit evil together with evil people? It is highly possible, and they are capable of doing it, but they haven’t done it yet. This kind of person is the most troublesome kind, and they are the archetypal slippery stone or sly old fox.

—The Word, Vol. 6. On the Pursuit of the Truth I. How to Pursue the Truth (12)

There are some people pleasers in every church. These people pleasers have no discernment about evil people manipulating and disturbing elections. Even if some of them do have a little discernment, they ignore it. Their attitude toward any issues that arise in church elections is “Let things drift if they do not affect me personally.” They think that it doesn’t matter who becomes the leader and that it has nothing to do with them. As long as they can happily go about their daily life, they’re fine. What do you think of this kind of person? Are they people who love the truth? (No.) What kind of people are they? These are people pleasers, and they can also be called disbelievers. These people do not pursue the truth; they only seek to live an easy life, indulging in fleshly comfort. They are too selfish and too slick. Are there many such people in society? No matter which political party is in power, no matter who is in office, they can get along with and hobnob with all of them, and they live comfortably; no matter what political movement arises, they don’t get caught up in it. What kind of people are these? These are the most deceitful, the slickest people, known as “smooth operators” and “old foxes.” They live by Satan’s philosophies, without a shred of principle. Whoever has authority, they cater to them, flatter them, sing their praises. They do nothing but support their superiors, and never offend them. However much evil their superiors do, they neither oppose nor support it, but keep their thoughts hidden deep inside. They can get on well with whoever has authority. Satan and the devil kings like this sort of person. Why do the devil kings like this sort of person? Because they do not spoil the devil kings’ affairs and do not pose any threat to them. This sort of person is unprincipled in their comportment, has no baseline for their conduct, and lacks integrity and dignity; they just follow the trends of society and bow down before the devil kings, adapting to their tastes. Are there not also such people in the church? Can such people be overcomers? Are they good soldiers of Christ? Are they witnesses to God? When evil people and antichrists rear their heads and disturb the work of the church, can such people stand up and wage war against them, exposing, discerning, and renouncing them, putting an end to their evil deeds and bearing witness for God? They most certainly cannot. These smooth operators are not those whom God will perfect or those whom He will save. They never bear witness for God or uphold the interests of His house. As God sees them, these people are not those who follow or submit to Him, but people who blindly follow the crowd, members of Satan’s gang—it is they whom He will eliminate when His work is through. God does not treasure such dime-a-dozen trash. They have neither the truth nor life; they are beasts and devils; they are unworthy of God’s salvation and of enjoying His love. So, God handily discards and eliminates such people, and the church should clear them out promptly as disbelievers. They do not have a true heart for God, so will God provide them with real sustenance? Will He enlighten and help them? He will not. When disruptions and disturbances occur during church elections, and the election results are controlled and influenced by evil people, these people absolutely will not stand on God’s side to protect the interests of God’s house. They absolutely will not adhere to the truth principles to fight against evil people and antichrists, and to fight against Satan’s forces to the end. They absolutely will not do this, they lack the courage. Therefore, those who can testify for God should discern these people and should not fellowship the truths they understand or their discernment of Satan with these people. Even if you do fellowship these things with them, it will be useless; they will not stand on the side of the truth. When selecting co-workers and partners, you should exclude such people and not choose them. Why should you not choose them? Because they are smooth operators; they will not stand on God’s side, will not stand on the side of the truth, and will not unite with you in heart and mind to fight against Satan. If you confide your heartfelt words to them, you are foolish and will become a laughingstock for Satan. Do not fellowship the truth or offer exhortations to such people, and do not place any hope in them, because God does not save these people at all. They are not people who are of one heart and mind with God; they are spectators watching the battle rage from a distance, they are smooth operators. These types of people infiltrate God’s house just to watch the excitement and blindly follow the crowd. They have no sense of justice and no sense of responsibility; they don’t even have sympathy for good people harmed by evil people. Calling such people devils or Satans is most appropriate. If someone with a sense of justice exposes evil people, they won’t even cheer them on or provide moral support. So, never trust these people. These people are smooth operators, chameleons, old foxes. They are not people who sincerely believe in God but are servants of Satan. These people can never be saved, and God does not want them; this is God’s clear desire.

—The Word, Vol. 5. The Responsibilities of Leaders and Workers. The Responsibilities of Leaders and Workers (19)

As leaders and workers, you’re capable of ignoring problems that occur in the performance of duties, and you even look for various pretexts and excuses to avoid responsibility. There are some problems that you are capable of solving, but don’t, and the problems you are incapable of solving you do not report to your superiors, as if they have nothing to do with you. Is this not a dereliction of your duty? Is treating the work of the church thus a clever thing to do, or a foolish thing to do? (Foolish.) Are such leaders and workers not slippery? Are they not devoid of any sense of responsibility? When they ignore problems in front of them, does this not show they are heartless and treacherous? Treacherous people are the most foolish people of all. You must be an honest person, you must have a sense of responsibility when you face problems, and you must try every means possible to seek the truth to resolve problems. You absolutely must not be a treacherous person. If you only concern yourself with shirking responsibility and washing your hands of it when problems arise, you would even be condemned for this behavior among nonbelievers, not to mention in God’s house! This is condemned and cursed by God and God’s chosen people despise and reject such behavior. God loves honest people, but hates deceitful and slippery people. If you are a treacherous person and attempt to play tricks, will God not loathe you? Will God’s house simply let you off the hook? Sooner or later, you will be held accountable. God likes honest people and dislikes treacherous people. Everyone should understand this clearly, and stop being confused and doing foolish things. Momentary ignorance is excusable, but refusing to accept the truth at all is just obstinacy. Honest people can take responsibility. They do not consider their own gains and losses, they just safeguard the work and interests of God’s house. They have kind and honest hearts that are like bowls of clear water that one can see the bottom of at a glance. There is also transparency in their actions. A deceitful person always plays tricks, always disguises things, covers up, and wraps themselves up so tightly that no one can see through them. People can’t see through to their inner thoughts, but God can scrutinize the deepest things in their heart. If God sees that they are not an honest person, and that they are slippery—never accepting the truth, always engaging in deceit against God, and never handing their heart over to Him—then God will not like them, He will loathe and abandon them. Those who prosper among the nonbelievers, who are silver-tongued and quick-witted, what kind of people are they? Is this clear to you? What is their essence? It can be said that they are all extraordinarily shrewd, they are all extremely deceitful and treacherous, they are the genuine devils and Satans. Could God save someone such as this? God loathes nothing more than devils—people who are deceitful and treacherous. God definitely will not save such people, so you absolutely must not be this kind of person. Those who are quick-witted and consider all the angles when they speak, who are smooth and slick and look to see which way the wind blows when they deal with matters—I tell you, God loathes these people the most, people like this are beyond saving. When people are deceitful and treacherous, no matter how nice their words may sound, they are still devilish words that deceive people. The nicer their words sound, the more they are devils and Satans. These are exactly the kind of people that God despises most. What do you say: Can people who are deceitful and smooth-tongued, and often lie, receive the work of the Holy Spirit? Can they receive the illumination and enlightenment of the Holy Spirit? Absolutely not. What is God’s attitude toward people who are deceitful and treacherous? He spurns them, He sets them aside and pays them no heed, He regards them as of the same class as animals. In God’s eyes, such people are merely wearing human skin; in their essence, they are of the same kind as the devils and Satan, they are walking corpses, and God will never save them.

—The Word, Vol. 5. The Responsibilities of Leaders and Workers. The Responsibilities of Leaders and Workers (8)

When people engage in deceit, what intentions does this come from? What aim are they trying to achieve? Without exception, it is to achieve fame, gain, and status; in a nutshell, it is for the sake of their own interests. And what lies at the root of the pursuit of self-interest? It is that people see their own interests as being more important than everything else. They engage in deceit in order to benefit themselves, and their deceitful disposition is thereby revealed. How should this problem be resolved? First you must discern and know what interests are, what they bring to people exactly, and what the consequences of pursuing them are. If you can’t figure this out, then forsaking them will be easier said than done. If people don’t understand the truth, then nothing is harder for them to give up than their own interests. That’s because their life philosophies are “Every man for himself and the devil take the hindmost” and “Man dies for wealth as birds do for food.” Clearly, they live for their own interests. People think that without their own interests—that if they were to lose their interests—they wouldn’t be able to survive. It’s as if their survival is inseparable from their own interests, so most people are blind to all but their own interests. They see their own interests as higher than anything else, they live for their own interests, and getting them to give up their own interests is like asking them to give up their own lives. So, what should be done in such circumstances? People must accept the truth. Only when they understand the truth can they see through to the essence of their own interests; only then can they begin to relinquish and rebel against them, and be able to endure the pain of letting go of that which they love so much. And when you can do this and forsake your own interests, you will feel more at ease and more at peace in your heart, and in so doing you will have overcome the flesh. If you cling to your interests and refuse to give them up, and if you are not in the least bit accepting of the truth, in your heart, you may say, “What’s wrong with trying to benefit myself and refusing to suffer any losses? God hasn’t punished me, and what can people do to me?” No one can do anything to you, but with this faith in God, you will ultimately fail to gain the truth and life. This will be a huge loss for you—you will not be able to attain salvation. Is there any greater regret? This is what ultimately comes from pursuing your own interests. If people only pursue fame, gain, and status—if they only pursue their own interests—then they will never gain the truth and life, and ultimately, they will be the ones who suffer a loss. God saves those who pursue the truth. If you do not accept the truth, and if you are incapable of reflecting upon and knowing your own corrupt disposition, then you will not truly repent, and you will have no life entry. Accepting the truth and knowing yourself is the path to growth in life and to attaining salvation, it is the chance for you to come before God to accept His scrutiny, judgment, and chastisement, and to gain the truth and life. If you give up on pursuing the truth for the sake of pursuing fame, gain, and status and your own interests, this is tantamount to giving up on the opportunity to accept God’s judgment and chastisement, and to attain salvation. You are choosing fame, gain, and status and your own interests, but what you are giving up is the truth, and what you are losing is the life, and the chance to be saved. Which means more? If you choose your own interests and give up on the truth, is this not foolish? To put it in vernacular terms, this is suffering a great loss for the sake of a small advantage. Fame, gain, status, money, and interests are all temporary, they are all ephemeral, whereas the truth and life are eternal and immutable. If people resolve the corrupt dispositions that cause them to pursue fame, gain, and status, then they have hope of attaining salvation. Moreover, the truths that people gain are eternal; Satan cannot take these truths away from people, nor can anyone else. You relinquish your interests but what you gain are the truth and salvation; these results are yours, and you gain them for yourself. If people choose to practice the truth, then even though they have lost their interests, they are gaining God’s salvation and eternal life. Those people are the smartest ones. If people give up the truth for the sake of their interests, then they lose the life and God’s salvation; those people are the most foolish ones. What a person chooses—their interests or the truth—is incredibly revealing. Those who love the truth will choose the truth; they will choose to submit to God and to follow Him. They would rather abandon their own interests to pursue the truth. No matter how much they have to suffer, they are determined to stand firm in their testimony to satisfy God. This is the fundamental path for practicing the truth and entering the truth reality.

—The Word, Vol. 3. The Discourses of Christ of the Last Days. Knowing One’s Disposition Is the Foundation of Changing It

What do you say—isn’t life exhausting for deceitful people? They spend all their time telling lies, then telling more lies to cover them up, and engaging in trickery. They bring this exhaustion upon themselves. They know that living like this is exhausting—so why would they still want to be deceitful, and not wish to be honest? Have you ever thought about this question? This is a consequence of people being fooled by their satanic natures; it stops them from ridding themselves of this kind of life, this kind of disposition. People are willing to accept being fooled like this and to live in this; they do not want to practice the truth and walk the path of light. You think that living like this is exhausting and that acting this way is unnecessary—but deceitful people think it absolutely necessary. They think that to not do so would cause them humiliation, that it would harm their image, their reputation, and their interests, too, and that they would lose too much. They treasure these things, they treasure their own image, their own reputation and status. This is the true face of people who do not love the truth. In short, when people are unwilling to be honest or practice the truth, it is because they do not love the truth. In their hearts, they treasure things like reputation and status, they like to follow worldly trends, and live under the power of Satan. This is a problem of their nature. There are people, now, who have believed in God for years, who have heard many sermons, and know what believing in God is all about. But they still do not practice the truth, and have not changed one bit—why is this? It’s because they do not love the truth. Even if they do understand a little of the truth, they are still not able to practice it. For such people, no matter how many years they believe in God, it will be for naught. Can people who do not love the truth be saved? It is absolutely impossible. Not loving the truth is a problem with one’s heart, with one’s nature. It cannot be resolved. Whether or not one can be saved in their faith mainly depends on whether or not they love the truth. Only those who love the truth can accept the truth; only they can undergo hardship and pay a price for the sake of the truth, and only they can pray to God and rely on Him. Only they can seek the truth and reflect and know themselves through their experiences, have the courage to rebel against the flesh, and achieve the practice of the truth and submission to God. Only those who love the truth can pursue it in this way, walk the path of salvation, and gain God’s approval. There is no path other than this one. It is very hard for those who do not love the truth to accept it. This is because, by their natures, they are averse to the truth and hate it. If they wanted to stop resisting God or to not do evil, it would be very difficult for them to do so, because they are of Satan and they have already become devils and enemies of God. God saves mankind, He does not save devils or Satan. Some people ask questions like: “I really do understand the truth. I just can’t put it into practice. What should I do?” This is someone who does not love the truth. If someone does not love the truth, then they cannot put it into practice even if they understand it, because at heart, they are unwilling to do so and they do not like the truth. Such a person is beyond salvation. Some people say: “It seems to me that you lose out on a lot by being an honest person, so I don’t want to be one. Deceitful people never lose out—they even profit from taking advantage of others. So, I would rather be a deceitful person. I’m not willing to let others know my private business, to let them grasp me or understand me. My fate should be in my own hands.” By all means, then—try that and see. See what sort of outcome you wind up with; see who goes to hell and who gets punished in the end.

—The Word, Vol. 3. The Discourses of Christ of the Last Days. The Most Fundamental Practice of Being an Honest Person

That God asks for people to be honest proves that He truly loathes and dislikes deceitful people. God’s dislike of deceitful people is a dislike of their way of doing things, their dispositions, their intents and their methods of trickery; God dislikes all of these things. If deceitful people are able to accept the truth, admit to their deceitful dispositions, and are willing to accept God’s salvation, then they too have a hope of being saved—for God treats all people equally, as does the truth. And so, if we wish to become people who please God, the first thing we must do is change our principles of comportment. No longer can we live according to satanic philosophies, no longer can we get by on lies and trickery. We must cast off all our lies and become honest people. Then God’s view of us will change. Previously, people always relied on lies, pretense, and trickery while living among others, and used satanic philosophies as the basis of their existence, their lives, and the foundation for their comportment. This was something that God loathed. Among nonbelievers, if you speak frankly, tell the truth, and are an honest person, then you will be slandered, judged, and forsaken. So you follow worldly trends and live by satanic philosophies; you become more and more skilled at lying, and more and more deceitful. You also learn to use insidious means to achieve your goals and protect yourself. You become more and more prosperous in Satan’s world, and as a result, you fall deeper and deeper into sin until you cannot extricate yourself. In God’s house, things are precisely the opposite. The more you lie and play deceitful games, the more God’s chosen people will become sick of you and forsake you. If you refuse to repent and still cling to satanic philosophies and logic, if you use ploys and elaborate schemes to disguise and package yourself, then you are very likely to be revealed and eliminated. This is because God loathes deceitful people. Only honest people can prosper in God’s house, and deceitful people will eventually be forsaken and eliminated. All of this is preordained by God. Only honest people can have a share in the kingdom of heaven. If you do not try to be an honest person, and if you don’t experience and practice in the direction of pursuing the truth, if you don’t expose your own ugliness, and if you don’t lay yourself bare, then you will never be able to receive the Holy Spirit’s work and gain God’s approval.

—The Word, Vol. 3. The Discourses of Christ of the Last Days. The Most Fundamental Practice of Being an Honest Person

Nothing has greater significance than God’s request that people be honest—He is asking that people live before Him, that they accept His scrutiny, and that they live in the light. Only honest people are true members of the human race. People who are not honest are beasts, they are animals walking around in human clothing, they are not human beings. To pursue being an honest person, you must behave in accordance with God’s requirements; you must undergo judgment, chastisement, and pruning. When your corrupt disposition is cleansed and you are able to practice the truth and live by God’s words, only then will you be an honest person. People who are ignorant, foolish, and guileless are absolutely not honest people. By demanding that people be honest, God is asking them to possess normal humanity, to cast off their deceitfulness and disguises, to not lie to or trick others, to perform their duty with loyalty, and be able to truly love and submit to Him. Only these individuals are the people of God’s kingdom. God demands that people be the good soldiers of Christ. What are the good soldiers of Christ? They must be equipped with the truth reality and be of one heart and mind with Christ. At any time and any place, they must be able to exalt and testify to God, and able to use the truth to wage war with Satan. In all things, they must stand on God’s side, bear testimony, and live out the truth reality. They must be able to humiliate Satan and win marvelous victories for God. That is what it means to be a good soldier of Christ. The good soldiers of Christ are overcomers, they are those who overcome Satan. In requiring that people be honest and not deceitful, God is not asking them to be fools, but to cast off their deceitful dispositions, achieve submission to Him and bring glory to Him. This is what can be achieved by practicing the truth. This is not a change in one’s behavior, it is not a matter of speaking more or speaking less, nor is it about how one acts. Rather, it is about the intent behind one’s speech and actions, one’s thoughts and ideas, one’s ambitions and desires. Everything that belongs to revelations of corrupt dispositions and to error must be changed at its root, so that it aligns with the truth. If one is to achieve a change in disposition, they must be able to see through to the essence of Satan’s disposition. If you can see through to the essence of a deceitful disposition, that it is Satan’s disposition and the face of the devil, if you can hate Satan and forsake the devil, then it will be easy for you to cast off your corrupt disposition. If you do not know that there is a deceitful state within you, if you do not recognize the revelations of a deceitful disposition, then you will not know how to seek the truth to resolve this, and it will be hard for you to change your deceitful disposition. You must first recognize what things are revealed in you, and which aspect of a corrupt disposition they are. If the things that you reveal are of a deceitful disposition, will you hate it in your heart? And if you do, how should you change? You have to prune your intents and correct your views. You must first seek the truth on this matter to resolve your problems, strive to achieve what God asks and satisfy Him, and become someone who does not try to trick God or other people, even those who are a little foolish or ignorant. Trying to trick someone who is foolish or ignorant is very immoral—it makes you a devil. To be an honest person, you must not trick or lie to anyone. To devils and Satan, however, you must choose your words wisely; if you do not, you are liable to be made a fool of by them and bring shame upon God. Only by choosing your words wisely and practicing the truth, will you be able to overcome and shame Satan. People who are ignorant, foolish, and stubborn will never be able to understand the truth; they can only be misled, toyed with, and trampled by Satan, and ultimately, devoured.

—The Word, Vol. 3. The Discourses of Christ of the Last Days. Only Knowledge of the Six Kinds of Corrupt Dispositions Is True Self-Knowledge

People have deceitful dispositions, they are always lying and cheating. If you realize that, then the simplest and most direct principle of practice to resolve your deceitfulness is to be an honest person, to tell the truth and do honest things. The Lord Jesus said, “Let your communication be, Yes, yes; No, no.” To be an honest person, one should follow the principles of God’s words. This simple practice is the most effective, it is easy to understand and to put into practice. However, because people are so deeply corrupted, because they all have satanic natures and are living by satanic dispositions, it is quite difficult for them to practice the truth. They would like to be honest, but they cannot. They cannot help but tell lies and engage in trickery, and though they may feel remorse after recognizing this, they will still be unable to cast off the constraints of their corrupt disposition, and they will go on lying and cheating as they did before. How should this problem be resolved? Part of it is knowing that the essence of one’s corrupt disposition is ugly and despicable, and being able to hate it from one’s heart; another part is training oneself to practice according to the truth principle, “Let your communication be, Yes, yes; No, no.” When you are practicing this principle, you are in the process of resolving your deceitful disposition. Naturally, if you are able to practice according to the truth principles while resolving your deceitful disposition, that is a manifestation of you turning yourself around and the beginning of your true repentance, and God approves of it. This means that when you turn yourself around, God will change His mind about you. In fact, God doing this is a sort of pardon for man’s corrupt dispositions and rebelliousness. He forgives people and does not remember their sins or their transgressions.

—The Word, Vol. 6. On the Pursuit of the Truth I. What It Means to Pursue the Truth (1)

If one wants to resolve their deceitful disposition, they must start by practicing being an honest person. Ultimately, the simplest way to practice being an honest person is to simply tell things like they are, speak honest words, and speak according to the facts. As the Lord Jesus said, “Let your communication be, Yes, yes; No, no” (Matthew 5:37). Being an honest person requires practicing according to this principle—after training at this for a few years, you will certainly see results. How do you practice being an honest person now? (I do not adulterate what I say, and I do not trick others.) What does “not adulterate” mean? It means that the words you speak do not contain lies or any personal intents or motives. If you harbor trickery or personal intents and motives within your heart, then lies will naturally pour forth from you. If you have no trickery, or personal intents, or motives within your heart, then what you say will be unadulterated and will not contain lies—in this way, your communication will be: “Yes, yes; No, no.” The most crucial thing is to first purify one’s heart. Once one’s heart is purified, one’s arrogance and deceitfulness will be resolved. To be an honest person, one must resolve these adulterations. After having done so, it will be easy to be an honest person. Is being an honest person complicated? No, it is not. No matter what your internal state is or what corrupt dispositions you may have, you should practice the truth of being an honest person. You must first resolve the problem of telling lies—this is most important. Firstly, in speaking, you should practice speaking what is on your mind, speaking true words, telling it like it is, and refrain from lying completely; you should not even speak words that are adulterated, and you should ensure that everything you say throughout the day is truthful and honest. In doing so, you are practicing the truth and practicing being an honest person. If you find that lies or adulterated words pour forth from you, promptly reflect on yourself, and dissect and gain awareness of the reasons why you lie and what is commanding you to lie. Then, based on God’s words, dissect this underlying and essential problem. Once you gain clarity on the root cause of your lies, you will be able to rebel against this satanic disposition in your speech and actions. You will no longer resort to lies when faced with similar situations, and you will be able to speak according to the facts and no longer engage in deceptive speech. In this way, your spirit will be freed and liberated and you will be able to live before God. If you are able to live according to God’s words, you are living in the light.

—The Word, Vol. 3. The Discourses of Christ of the Last Days. The Path of Resolving a Corrupt Disposition

To be an honest person, you must first lay your heart bare so that everyone can look into it, see all that you are thinking, and look upon your true face. You must not try to disguise yourself, or cover yourself up. Only then will others trust you and consider you to be an honest person. This is the most fundamental practice, and a prerequisite to being an honest person. If you are always pretending, always feigning holiness, nobility, greatness, and high character; if you do not let people see your corruption and your flaws; if you present a false image to people so that they believe you have integrity, that you’re great, self-denying, just, and selfless—is this not deceitfulness and falsity? Will people not be able to see through you, given time? So, do not put on a disguise or cover yourself up. Instead, lay yourself and your heart bare for others to see. If you can lay your heart bare for others to see, if you can lay bare all your thoughts and plans—both positive and negative—isn’t that honesty? If you can lay yourself bare for others to see, then God, too, will see you. He will say: “If you have laid yourself bare for others to see, then you are surely honest before Me.” But if you only lay yourself bare to God when out of view of other people, and always pretend to be great and noble or selfless when in their company, then what will God think of you? What will He say? He will say: “You are a thoroughly deceitful person. You are thoroughly hypocritical and vile, and you are not an honest person.” God will thus condemn you. If you wish to be an honest person, then regardless of whether you are before God or other people, you should be able to provide a pure and open account of your inner state and the words in your heart. Is this easy to achieve? It requires a period of training, as well as frequent prayer and reliance on God. You must train yourself to speak the words in your heart simply and openly on all matters. With this kind of training, you can make progress. If you encounter a major difficulty, you must pray to God and seek the truth; you need to fight in your heart and overcome the flesh, until you can practice the truth. In training yourself this way, little by little, your heart will gradually open up. You will become more and more pure, and the effects of your words and actions will be different than before. Your lies and tricks will become fewer and fewer, and you will be able to live before God. You will then, essentially, have become an honest person.

—The Word, Vol. 3. The Discourses of Christ of the Last Days. The Most Fundamental Practice of Being an Honest Person

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