By Lin Yuqian, China

In June 2022, I was elected as the team leader responsible for video work. After some time, I got the hang of the work and was able to keep track of and grasp the team members’ states and the work progress. Although I was still lacking in my skills, I felt that I could handle the work.

One day, the leader came to understand the team’s work situation. I happened to have recently understood the reasons for the slow progress of the work, such as the lack of close cooperation among team members, disagreements that needed communication and on which no consensus was reached, which later led to rework and delays in progress, and some cumbersome processes that also delayed progress. After understanding these situations, I’d fellowshipped and corrected them, and I reported these situations to the leader. I thought that since I had done some actual work, the leader would say I had done a good job. But to my surprise, as soon as I finished speaking, the leader asked me, “Why can’t the team members cooperate harmoniously? What are their main problems?” Faced with this question, I didn’t know how to answer because I really didn’t understand the reasons. I wasn’t sure where they were stuck; I could only see from the surface that they couldn’t cooperate closely. Next, the leader asked some more questions, and I still couldn’t answer. The leader then said to me, “Are you just listening to whatever the brothers and sisters tell you without discovering the root problems from what they report? Can you actually solve problems like this?” Hearing the leader say this, I felt embarrassed. I couldn’t help thinking, “Aren’t you implying that I don’t know how to solve problems? It sounds like I don’t know how to manage the work.” Then, the leader pointed out that I was only scratching the surface of problems and couldn’t solve them at the root, and incorporated principles into fellowshipping with me, helping me understand that in doing work, one must learn to grasp the main and key issues. I felt somewhat unconvinced: I had tried my best to discover problems and communicate with the team members, and it was not like I didn’t know how to manage the work. I stared at the computer with a sullen face, not wanting to engage with the leader. When typing, I deliberately hit the keyboard hard to vent my dissatisfaction, thinking, “The leader said this in front of my two coworkers, how will others see me? Why did she only point out my problems? Are the other coworkers doing their job perfectly?” I felt the leader’s words seemed to negate all my efforts. The more I thought about it, the angrier I became. I felt the leader was being too harsh with me.

After the meeting, recalling the leader’s criticisms made me feel very humiliated. I guessed my coworkers would definitely think I was not good at my work, so I was somewhat peeved and thought, “From now on, I won’t work so hard on my duty since no one can see it anyway! Next time the leader asks questions, I won’t be so eager to answer.” I was feeling very low, filled with anger and grievance, wanting to cry. In the evening, I read a sentence in a letter written by a coworker, “If brothers and sisters genuinely want to do their duty well, they should be willing to accept it when their leaders follow up to supervise the work and point out their problems and deviations promptly.” Reading this sentence, I felt very ashamed. Faced with the leader’s supervision and pointers, I was not sad for not doing my duty well but was angry because the leader spoke without considering my pride. In what way was I a person who was sincerely doing my duty? I came before God and prayed, “God, today the leader pointed out my problems, and I felt resistant. I know this attitude is not in line with Your intention, but what lessons should I learn, and how should I reflect on and know myself? May You enlighten and guide me.”

The next morning, I read these words of God: “It is a wonderful thing if you can accept God’s house supervising, observing, and trying to understand you. It is of help to you in fulfilling your duty, in being able to do your duty in a way that is up to standard and to satisfy God’s intentions. It benefits and helps you, without any downside at all. Once you have understood this principle, should you not then no longer have any feelings of resistance or guardedness against the supervision of leaders, workers, and God’s chosen people? Even though sometimes someone tries to understand you, observes you, and supervises your work, this is not something to take personally. Why do I say this? Because the tasks that are now yours, the duty you perform, and any work that you do are not the private affairs or personal job of any one person; they touch on the work of God’s house and relate to one part of God’s work. Therefore, when anyone spends a little time supervising or observing you, or gets to understand you on a deep level, trying to have a heart-to-heart with you and find out what your state has been like during this time, and even sometimes when their attitude is a little harsher, and they prune, discipline, and reproach you a bit, this is all because they have a conscientious and responsible attitude toward the work of the house of God. You should not have any negative thoughts or emotions toward this. What does it mean if you can accept it when others supervise, observe, and try to understand you? That, in your heart, you accept the scrutiny of God. If you do not accept people’s supervision, observation, and attempts to understand you—if you push back against all this—are you able to accept the scrutiny of God? The scrutiny of God is more detailed, in-depth, and accurate than when people try to understand you; God’s requirements are more specific, exacting, and in-depth. If you cannot accept being supervised by God’s chosen people, are your claims that you can accept God’s scrutiny not empty words? For you to be able to accept God’s scrutiny and examination, you must first accept being supervised by the house of God, the leaders and workers, or the brothers and sisters. … A leader supervising your work is a good thing. Why? Because it means they are taking responsibility for the church’s work; this is their duty, their responsibility. Being able to fulfill this responsibility proves they are a competent leader, a good leader. If you were given complete freedom and human rights, and you could do whatever you wanted, follow your desires, and enjoy full freedom and democracy, and regardless of what you did or how you did it, the leader did not care or supervise, never questioned you, did not check your work, did not speak up when issues were found, and only either cajoled or negotiated with you, would they be a good leader? Clearly not. Such a leader is harming you. They indulge your evildoing, allowing you to go against principles and do as you wish—they are shoving you toward a pit of fire. This is not a responsible, up-to-standard leader. On the other hand, if a leader is able to regularly supervise you, identify issues in your work and promptly remind or reprove and expose you, and correct and help with your incorrect pursuits and deviations in doing your duty in a timely manner, and, under their supervision, reproof, provision, and help, your wrong attitude toward your duty changes, you are able to discard some absurd views, your own ideas and things arising from impetuousness gradually reduce, and you are able to calmly accept statements and views that are correct and in accordance with the truth principles, isn’t this beneficial for you? The benefits are indeed immense!” (The Word, Vol. 5. The Responsibilities of Leaders and Workers. The Responsibilities of Leaders and Workers (7)). God’s words calmed my heart. I realized that God does not like to see me harboring so much resentment. Instead, He hopes I can quiet myself, first reflect on the deviations and problems in my work, and accept the leader’s supervision and guidance. I read that God said that responsible leaders and workers will follow up and understand each person’s work, identify problems and deviations, and provide timely guidance and correction. Sometimes, their attitude may be somewhat strict, and even accompanied by criticism and pruning. Actually, it’s that they are being responsible for the work, and it’s to ensure that it is done well. This is what an up-to-standard leader should do. When facing the leader’s supervision and guidance, a reasonable person should actively accept them. However, my initial response to them had been to resist them, and I had tried to justify myself in my heart to save face. In what way did I have any real attitude of acceptance? Reflecting on how I had just been elected as a team leader and had many shortcomings, I understood that the leader’s supervision, inquiries, and guidance meant that they were being responsible for the work. Just like when the leader had pointed out that I had only scratched the surface of the issues and did not understand the root causes of having no harmonious cooperation among team members, resulting in incomplete problem-solving. On careful reflection, I realized that it was indeed so. I had been managing the work superficially and not solving the problems at their root, which had naturally led to poor results. I should have reasonably accepted the leader’s guidance and not resisted or justified myself. Thinking about this, I no longer felt any more resistance to the leader. Later, I recalled that God said we should reflect on and know ourselves in every situation we encounter, and that only in this way can we make progress and change. So, I consciously sought out relevant words of God to ponder and reflect on myself, while also praying silently to God, asking Him to enlighten and guide me in knowing myself.

One morning during my devotionals, I read a passage of God’s words: “When some people are assigned a project by the Above, a while goes by without any progress at all. They don’t tell the Above whether they’re working on it, or how it’s going, or whether there have been any intervening difficulties or problems. They give no feedback. Some of the work is urgent and can’t be delayed, yet they drag their feet, drawing it out for a long time without finishing the work. The Above must then make inquiries. When the Above does this, those people find the inquiries unbearably embarrassing, and they resist them at heart: ‘It’s only been ten-odd days since I was assigned this job. I haven’t even gotten my bearings yet, and already, the Above’s making inquiries. Their requirements of people are just too high!’ There they are, looking for faults with the inquiries. What is the problem here? Tell Me, isn’t it quite normal for the Above to make inquiries? Part of it is a wish to know more about the state of the work’s progress, as well as what difficulties remain to be resolved; in addition to that, it’s a wish to know more about what sort of caliber the people they assigned this work to have, and whether they’ll actually be able to resolve problems and do the job well. The Above wants to know the facts as they are, and most times, they make inquiries in such circumstances. Is that not something they should do? The Above is worried that you don’t know how to resolve problems and can’t handle the job. That’s why they make inquiries. Some people are quite resistant to and repulsed by such inquiries. They’re unwilling to let people make inquiries, and so long as people do, they’re resistant and have misgivings, always ruminating, ‘Why are they always making inquiries and looking to know more? Is it that they don’t trust me and look down on me? If they don’t trust me, then they shouldn’t use me!’ They never understand the Above’s inquiries and supervision, but resist them. Do people like this have reason? Why don’t they permit the Above to make inquiries and supervise them? Why are they resistant and defiant, besides? What’s the problem here? They don’t care whether their performance of their duty is effective or whether it will hamper the progress of the work. They don’t seek the truth principles when doing their duty, but do whatever they want to. They give no thought to the results or efficiency of the work, and no thought at all to the interests of God’s house, much less to what God intends and requires. Their thinking is, ‘I have my own ways and routines for doing my duty. Don’t require too much of me or require things in too much detail. It’s well enough that I can do my duty. I can’t get too fatigued or suffer too much.’ They don’t understand the Above’s inquiries and attempts to know more about their work. What’s missing from this lack of understanding of theirs? Isn’t it missing submission? Isn’t it missing a sense of responsibility? Loyalty? If they were truly responsible and loyal in doing their duty, would they reject the Above’s inquiries into their work? (No.) They’d be able to understand it. If they truly can’t understand it, there’s only one possibility: They see their duty as their vocation and their livelihood, and they capitalize on it, regarding the duty they do as a condition and bargaining chip with which to obtain a reward all the while. They’ll just do a bit of prestige work to get by with the Above, without any attempt to take God’s commission as their duty and their obligation. So, when the Above makes inquiries about their work or supervises it, they go into a repulsed, resistant frame of mind. Is that not so? (It is.) Where does this problem stem from? What is its essence? It’s that their attitude toward the work project is mistaken. They think only of fleshly ease and comfort, of their own status and pride, instead of thinking about the effectiveness of the work and the interests of God’s house. They don’t seek to act according to the truth principles at all. If they truly had a bit of conscience and reason, they’d be able to understand the Above’s inquiries and supervision. They’d be able to say, from the heart, ‘It’s a good thing the Above is making inquiries. Otherwise, I’d always be going off of my own will, which would impede the effectiveness of the work, or even botch it. The Above fellowships and checks things out, and it has actually solved actual problems—what a great thing that is!’ This would show them to be a responsible person. They’re afraid that if they took on the work by themselves, if there happened to be an error or mishap, and it caused a loss to the work of God’s house that there would be no way to remedy, that would be a responsibility they couldn’t bear. Is that not a sense of responsibility? (It is.) It’s a sense of responsibility, and it’s a sign that they’re fulfilling their loyalty” (The Word, Vol. 4. Exposing Antichrists. Item Eight: They Would Have Others Submit Only to Them, Not the Truth or God (Part Two)). From God’s words, I saw that those who are truly responsible and loyal in their duty are happy to accept supervision and guidance from others to make up for their shortcomings and put their best effort into doing their duty well. However, those who are not loyal to their duty consider their own face and status in every situation. When others supervise or inquire about their work, they feel that others do not think highly of them or show consideration for them, and they become resistant and antagonistic, showing no attitude of accepting the truth whatsoever. Reflecting on how I had responded to the leader’s supervision, wasn’t it an indication of my lack of loyalty? When I’d reported my work situation to the leader, I thought that I had done some actual work, and that the leader would think well of me. But unexpectedly, the leader had found many problems in the work I’d followed up on, and had pointed out that I’d only seen the superficial issues and had not grasped the root problems to fellowship and resolve. I’d felt that the leader was negating my work, and had become resistant and dissatisfied. Especially when I thought about how the leader had questioned closely my work in front of my coworkers and had pointed out my problems and I had felt humiliated, I got very angry. I had kept justifying and defending myself in my heart, trying to save face, and had even sulked resentfully. In fact, the leader’s supervision and guidance were meant to help me do my duty well, which was beneficial to the church’s work. But I had no attitude of acceptance whatsoever and even felt that the leader was intentionally belittling and looking down on me. I had only cared about my face and status, without considering the work of God’s house at all. I had not been a person who was loyal in doing their duty. Furthermore, I had been particularly arrogant and self-righteous, always thinking that the work I was responsible for was fairly good, and not as bad as the leader said. So I had been very resistant and opposed to the leader’s well-intentioned guidance and help, without any attitude of seeking or accepting. I really had been too self-righteous and intransigent, revealing a satanic disposition of being averse to the truth. How could I accept the truth and gain it if I couldn’t even accept others’ normal guidance while doing my duty? After realizing these things, I analyzed the issues pointed out by the leader, and when discussing work with my team members, I consciously pondered over the nature and root of the problems that surfaced. I then pointed out solutions to these real issues. They said this kind of fellowship was effective and could solve some problems. Seeing this result made me happy. Sometimes there were still areas in my work that I had not considered thoroughly, and the leader would point them out to me. I consciously accepted, made amends, and had some entry, and gradually I began to feel that I was gaining something.

Later, I was put in charge of the work of several more teams. A few months later, the leader asked me one day about the work situation. There were some details that I couldn’t explain clearly. The leader then said to me sternly, “You have been responsible for these teams for a while, but you don’t even know these details. Isn’t this being irresponsible and not doing actual work?” Hearing the leader’s words, I felt my face burning with embarrassment. Although I knew the leader was speaking the truth, I still found it hard to accept, worrying that the leader took a dim view of me and what my coworkers would think of me. But then I thought of God’s words that I had read some time before: “If they truly had a bit of conscience and reason, they’d be able to understand the Above’s inquiries and supervision. They’d be able to say, from the heart, ‘It’s a good thing the Above is making inquiries. Otherwise, I’d always be going off of my own will, which would impede the effectiveness of the work, or even botch it. The Above fellowships and checks things out, and it has actually solved actual problems—what a great thing that is!’ This would show them to be a responsible person” (The Word, Vol. 4. Exposing Antichrists. Item Eight: They Would Have Others Submit Only to Them, Not the Truth or God (Part Two)). As I pondered God’s words, my heart gradually calmed down. The leader’s inquiries into my work had been out of responsibility for the work; it was I who had not done actual work. What reason did I have to resist others’ criticism and pruning? I had kept worrying about my own face, wasn’t that still trying to defend myself? Wasn’t that still putting my own face first, before the work of God’s house? Thinking about it, since I was responsible for the work of these teams, I should have had the responsibility to shoulder the work. But now once the leader was questioning the work in detail, it had become clear that I didn’t grasp the specifics of these tasks and had not done any actual work. Yet, I still wanted to save face and didn’t want others to expose or criticize me. Wasn’t this still not accepting the truth? Realizing this, I felt some self-reproach and was willing to accept the leader’s guidance to correct my problems. Afterward, I started to take the initiative to get involved in the team’s work and to actually understand the specific circumstances of each aspect of it. I communicated the problems I identified with the team members, and they also expressed a willingness to resolve these issues promptly. Through actually participating in the work, I gained a lot. I carefully pondered the problems that existed in the work and later came up with some ideas. Practicing this way made me feel more at ease.

Through this experience, I realized that accepting supervision and guidance in doing one’s duty is an attitude of being responsible for the church’s work. There are still many deviations and flaws in my duty that require the leader’s supervision and guidance. Relying solely on myself, I can’t do many tasks well and might even delay the church’s work. The leader’s supervision and guidance of my work are not meant to make things difficult for me. On the contrary, they are beneficial for me to do my duty well and to reflect on and know my shortcomings and deficiencies. Now, I can correctly handle the supervision and guidance from brothers and sisters and am willing to accept them, reflect on myself, and rectify my deviations.