By Li Guo, China

I have been responsible for the cleansing work in the church these past few years. Since I have been doing this duty for quite a long time and have grasped some principles, I usually didn’t feel much pressure from my duty and could complete the work with ease. Unconsciously, I started to do duty according to my own whims and work at a leisurely pace. Not long after, the leaders requested a comprehensive investigation to identify individuals who needed to be cleared out. I handed over the name list of the identified individuals to the leaders. Later, they frequently asked me about the specifics of each person on the name list and asked when I could finish sorting out the materials for the clearing out, and so on. Faced with the leaders’ supervision and follow-up, I thought, “Aren’t I already working on it? I’m not sitting here doing nothing. Don’t you trust me? How can supplementing and verifying information be done so quickly? Why are you following up so closely? Can’t you give me some freedom?” But then I realized that if I didn’t hurry up and get it done, the leaders might say I lacked a burden, so I had no choice but to verify and supplement the information as quickly as possible. After that, I filled my schedule to the brim every day. Doing so made me feel restrained and repressed while doing my duty. Later, when I reported my work, I didn’t provide the name list of certain individuals in my investigation. The leaders thought I had almost finished the task and stopped following up and supervising my work as frequently as before. Thus, I lost my sense of urgency. Sometimes, I would delay going to the church to supplement the materials until noon, even though I could obviously have done it in the morning. I didn’t have a clear plan either, doing things based on a whim. Later, the leaders found out that I hadn’t reported the name list of some individuals who needed to be cleared out. They pruned me for being willful in my duty, not accepting supervision, and not considering the church’s work at all. At that time, I felt very resistant, thinking that I just hadn’t reported the complete name list to them, but that didn’t mean I was not working on it. Moreover, I hadn’t delayed my duty.

Later, I read God’s words: “Antichrists prohibit others from intervening, making inquiries, or supervising them in their work. Whatever arrangements God’s house makes to follow up on their work, or learn more about it, or supervise it, they’ll employ every kind of technique to thwart and refuse them. By way of example, 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” (The Word, Vol. 4. Exposing Antichrists. Item Eight: They Would Have Others Submit Only to Them, Not the Truth or God (Part Two)). God exposes that antichrists don’t want to let people supervise their work. When leaders check and inquire into their work, they feel resistant and do things as they want to, not caring about the effectiveness of their work. Reflecting on myself, I had displayed similar behavior. When the leaders asked about my work progress, I felt very resistant, thinking that I hadn’t been idle, and that they had been pushing too hard. Although I had continued working afterward, I did so reluctantly. I had even deceived them by not honestly reporting the specifics of the individuals identified in the investigation, making it impossible for the leaders to supervise my work, so that I could do my duty as I pleased according to my own plans. On the surface, I hadn’t been idle, but my leisurely attitude of doing things according to routine had directly affected the progress of the work. I realized that I lacked a sense of responsibility in my duty and was not trustworthy.

Later, I read these words of God: “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 helped me understand that it is the leaders’ responsibility to supervise and follow up on the work. This also indicates that they are being responsible for their duties and aim to do the church’s work well. People who genuinely have a conscience and reason will frequently self-reflect when faced with the leaders’ supervision, summarizing and correcting deviations and problems in their duties in a timely manner to achieve better results in their duties. I remembered that when I first started to do the cleansing work, I didn’t understand any principles. Only after the brothers and sisters fellowshipped and helped me multiple times could I grasp some principles and have some discernment of the behavior of various people. This was a special favor for me to do this duty, and it was God’s grace. The church had assigned me to this task, so I should have shouldered this duty and done my best with all my heart and strength to ensure smooth progress in the work. This demonstrates having a conscience and reason. However, I had just been leisurely doing my duty, and satisfied with just having tasks to do, without considering the progress of the work. I had even deceived the leaders by not reporting specific details in order to prevent them from checking and supervising my work. How could I say I had a conscience or humanity by doing my duty in such a manner? I had constantly avoided supervision and not wanted to be restrained. That had made my flesh comfortable but delayed the work, and caused me to commit transgressions. I had been incredibly stupid!

Later, I read more of God’s words: “Just what is duty? It is a commission entrusted by God to people, it is part of the work of God’s house, and it is a responsibility and obligation that should be borne by every one of God’s chosen people. Is duty your career? Is it a personal family matter? Is it fair to say that once you have been given a duty, this duty becomes your personal business? That is absolutely not the case. So how should you fulfill your duty? By acting in accordance with God’s requirements, words, and standards, and by basing your behavior on the truth principles rather than on human subjective desires. Some people say, ‘Once a duty has been given to me, is it not my own business? My duty is my charge, and is what I am charged with not my own business? If I handle my duty as my own business, doesn’t that mean I will do it properly? Would I do it well if I didn’t treat it like my own business?’ Are these words right or wrong? They are wrong; they are at odds with the truth. Duty is not your own personal business, it is God’s business, it is part of God’s work, and you must do as God asks; only by performing your duty with a heart of submission to God can you be up to standard. If you always perform your duty according to your own notions and imaginings, and according to your own inclinations, then you will never meet the standard. Only ever performing your duty as you wish is not performing your duty, because what you are doing is not within the scope of God’s management, it is not the work of the house of God; you are, instead, running your own operation, carrying out your own tasks, and so this is not remembered by God” (The Word, Vol. 3. The Discourses of Christ of the Last Days. Only by Seeking the Truth Principles Can One Perform One’s Duty Well). From God’s words, I understood that duties come from God; they are the responsibility and obligation of every follower of God. It is not like handling household affairs, where people can do things as they like. Instead, they should seek the truth and do their duties according to the principles. I was responsible for the cleansing work in the church. God’s requirement on this duty is to cleanse the antichrists, evil people, and disbelievers away from the church as soon as possible, to provide a good church life for the brothers and sisters. However, I had been inconsiderate of God’s intentions. I hadn’t considered how to swiftly accomplish this work according to the principles. Instead, every day, I had thought about how to make my flesh comfortable and avoid hardship and fatigue. I had done my duty willfully, leisurely and unhurriedly. For tasks that could have been completed earlier, I hadn’t pushed them forward, and I had been unwilling to do more even when I could, and I had intentionally concealed the name list of individuals who met the criteria for clearing out. I had kept the leaders from knowing the specific progress of the work, so that they couldn’t supervise me, and so that I wouldn’t be too busy or tired. For the sake of fleshly comfort, I had lied and deceived. I was truly unworthy of this duty!

Later, I reflected on myself. Why was I unwilling to accept supervision and always wanted to do things my way? Later, I read this passage of God’s words: “What are people who attend to their proper work like? They are people who regard their basic needs like food, clothing, shelter, and transportation in a simple way. As long as these things are up to a normal standard, that’s enough for them. They care more about their path in life, their mission as human beings, their life outlook and values. What do unpromising people ponder about all day? They are always pondering about how to slack off, how to play tricks so that they can shirk responsibility, how to eat well and have fun, how to live in physical ease and comfort, without considering proper matters. Therefore, they feel repressed in the setting and environment of doing their duties in God’s house. … These individuals who do not attend to their proper work and who do as they please do not wish to do these proper things. The ultimate goal that they wish to achieve by doing whatever they want is physical comfort, pleasure, and ease, and to not be restricted or wronged in any way. It is to be able to eat enough of whatever they want, and to do as they please. It is because of the quality of their humanity and their inner pursuits that they often feel repressed. No matter how you fellowship about the truth with them, they will not change, and their repression will not be resolved. That’s just the kind of people they are; they are just things that do not attend to their proper work. Although on the surface they do not seem to have committed any great evil or to be bad people, and though they appear to have only failed to uphold the principles and regulations, in reality, their nature essence is that they do not attend to their proper work or follow the right path. People like this lack the conscience and reason of normal humanity, and they cannot achieve the intelligence of normal humanity. They do not think about, ponder, or pursue the goals that people with normal humanity ought to pursue, or the life attitudes and methods of existence that people with normal humanity should adopt. Their minds are filled every day with thoughts of how to find physical ease and pleasure. However, in the living environment of the church, they cannot satisfy their physical preferences and so they feel uncomfortable and repressed. That is how these emotions of theirs come about. Tell Me, do people like this not have exhausting lives? (They do.) Are their lives pitiable? (No, they are not pitiable.) That is right, they are not pitiable. To put it lightly, these are the kind of people who do not attend to their proper work. In society, who are the people who do not attend to their proper work? They are idlers, fools, slackers, hooligans, ruffians, and loafers—people like that. They do not wish to learn any new skills or abilities, and they do not want to pursue serious careers or to find a job so that they can get by. They are the idlers and loafers of society. They infiltrate the church, and then they want to get something for nothing, and to obtain their share of blessings. They are opportunists. These opportunists are never willing to do their duties. If things do not go their way, even slightly, they feel repressed. They always wish to live freely, they do not want to perform any kind of work, and yet they still want to eat good food and wear nice clothing, and eat whatever they wish and sleep whenever they want. They think that when a day like this comes, it will surely be wonderful. They do not want to endure even a little bit of hardship and they wish for a life of indulgence. These people even find living exhausting; they are bound by negative emotions. They often feel tired and confused because they cannot do as they please. They do not want to attend to their proper work or to handle their proper affairs. They do not want to stick to a job and do it constantly from start to finish, treating it as their own profession and duty, as their obligation and responsibility; they do not want to finish it and achieve results, or do it to the best standard possible. They have never thought in that way. They just want to act in a perfunctory manner and to use their duty as a means to make a living. When they face a little pressure or some form of control, or when they are held to a slightly higher standard, or made to shoulder a bit of responsibility, they feel uncomfortable and repressed. These negative emotions arise within them, living feels exhausting to them, and they are miserable. One fundamental reason why living feels exhausting to them is that people like this lack reason. Their reason is impaired, they spend all day indulging in fantasies, living in a dream, in the clouds, always imagining the wildest things. That is why their repression is very difficult to resolve. They are not interested in the truth, they are disbelievers. The only thing we can do is ask them to leave God’s house, to return to the world and find their own place of ease and comfort” (The Word, Vol. 6. On the Pursuit of the Truth I. How to Pursue the Truth (5)). From God’s words, I saw that those who do their duties however they please and who do not attend to proper work never think about proper matters. Every day, they think only about how to make their flesh comfortable. No matter how many years they have been doing their duties, they always maintain an attitude of just getting by, no different from idlers and loafers in the secular world. Such people are averse to the truth and do not love positive things, making them typical disbelievers. If they do not repent, they are doomed to be revealed and eliminated. I used to look down upon idlers and loafers, thinking that those people do not attend to proper work, and instead just mooch about. Comparing myself to God’s words, I now saw that I was just like such people. I didn’t want to be supervised or urged in my duty; I just wanted freedom and no restraints, showing no responsibility toward my primary work. I didn’t attend to proper work and indulged in comfort. Did I have even the slightest sense of integrity and dignity? Although I had appeared to do some work, I had been insincere toward God, being slippery and slacking off in my duty, thinking that I could make the grade by fooling God in order to receive His blessings. I had done some duties only for the sake of my prospects and destination. Was I not an outright opportunist? God scrutinizes everything, and anyone who is insincere in their duties will be revealed and eliminated. I had deluded myself into thinking I could obtain God’s blessing through deceitful means. Wasn’t that incredibly foolish? How were all my manifestations different from those of the disbelievers who had been cleared out? If I continued this way, I would ruin my own outcome and destination. The more I thought about it, the more scared I became. So I prayed to God to repent, and was willing to seek the truth to solve my problems.

Later, I read more of God’s words: “Those who truly believe in God are all individuals who attend to their proper work, they are all willing to perform their duties, capable of shouldering a piece of work and doing it well according to their caliber and the regulations of God’s house. Of course, it may be challenging to adapt to this life at first. You may feel physically and mentally exhausted. However, if you truly have the resolve to cooperate and the willingness to become a normal and good person, and to achieve salvation, then you must pay a bit of a price and allow God to discipline you. When you have the urge to be willful, you must rebel against it and let go of it, gradually reducing your willfulness and selfish desires. You must seek God’s help in crucial matters, at crucial times, and in crucial tasks. If you do have resolve, then you should ask God to chasten and discipline you, and to enlighten you so that you may understand the truth, that way you will get better results. If you genuinely have resolve, and you pray to God in His presence and supplicate to Him, God will act. He will change your state and your thoughts. If the Holy Spirit does a little work, moving you a little, and enlightening you a little, your heart will change, and your state will be transformed. When this transformation occurs, you will feel that living this way is not repressive. Your repressed state and emotions will be transformed and alleviated, and they will be different from before. You will feel that living like this is not tiring. You will find enjoyment performing your duty in the house of God. You will feel that it is good living, comporting yourself, and performing your duty in this way, enduring hardships and paying a price, following the rules, and doing things based on the principles. You will feel that this is the kind of life that normal people should have. When you live by the truth and perform your duty well, you will feel that your heart is steady and at peace, and that your life is meaningful” (The Word, Vol. 6. On the Pursuit of the Truth I. How to Pursue the Truth (5)). From God’s words, I understood that sincere believers in God attend to the proper work, constantly thinking about how to perform their duties well and how to achieve the best results. They are willing to suffer and pay a price, and they can also accept others’ supervision. They frequently reflect on the deviations in their work and promptly correct any issues once discovered. I also understood that by considering the work of God’s house more and keeping proper matters in mind, one wouldn’t feel depressed or restrained because of a little suffering. After a period of time, I collected information about an evil person. When the leaders found out, they asked when I could have it organized. I thought, “This person has just been transferred to our church from another church. For some of their evil deeds, I need to inquire about and verify it with their previous church, so it won’t be easy to compile it. Additionally, I have other materials that need to be supplemented as soon as possible. It seems my flesh will have to endure some suffering again.” At that moment, I realized I was considering my flesh again. Reflecting on how I had previously slowed down the work progress, now I knew I couldn’t delay again. Moreover, this person had been fomenting disharmony and suppressing the brothers and sisters in the church. This person needed to be cleansed away as soon as possible. I immediately arranged for relevant people to help me understand and verify the information. I soon finished collecting all the necessary details. With the consent of 80% of the brothers and sisters in the church, that evil person was expelled from the church. When I focused on my duty without considering my own flesh, I felt very steadfast in my heart. From then on, when doing my duties, I reported my work in a timely manner. When the leaders supervised and followed up on my work, I no longer felt resistant. Instead, I discovered the deviations in my work through their supervision, and then promptly corrected them. For instance, when asked about the slow work progress, I reflected through our summary and realized that it was mainly due to my inability to prioritize more important tasks. So, I quickly made the correction. When I practiced this way, I no longer felt repressed or resistant. Moreover, the effectiveness of my duty improved significantly, with the volume of the materials sorted out in one month being twice as much as before. I know all this is the result of God’s words, and I feel deeply grateful to God!