By Steven, USA

I was in charge of graphic design at the church, and in addition to doing my own graphic design, every day I also had to follow up with the team’s work and resolve the brothers and sisters’ problems. Although I was busy every day, whenever the brothers and sisters had problems and came to ask me, accepting basically all of the advice I gave them, I felt happy, enjoying this feeling of being admired by everyone.

Later, a few new brothers and sisters joined the team. They weren’t very good at graphic design, and they needed my help and guidance. All at once, I felt a lot of pressure. Every day I had to do graphic design myself, and I also had to direct these brothers and sisters and follow up on the work of others. I was already in over my head, but I would’ve been fine if there was somebody to partner with me. I thought of Cheyenne. She was adept at technology, was responsible in the performance of her duty, and could get basically all of the work I entrusted her done seriously, I wanted to recommend Cheyenne to the supervisor and promote her to team leader so that she could partner with me. With the two of us sharing the workload, our work would become more efficient, and when there were problems we could discuss them together. But when I was about to tell the supervisor, I suddenly thought, “If Cheyenne really does become team leader, will there ever come a time when she steals my thunder? If that happens, when the brothers and sisters have difficulties, they won’t consult with me, and my status in their hearts won’t be as high. Being a team leader was the result of my continuous work and striving: I taught everybody the technique of graphic design and resolved their problems and difficulties. Now, if I were to recommend Cheyenne, I would split my status and power in half and share them with her—wouldn’t I end up losing out?” When I thought of this, I swallowed my recommendation of Cheyenne. I thought, “Just wait a little. Put in some more thought, pay a bit more price, perhaps I really can take on the work—in the end, all the credit will go to me.” After some time, the church arranged for me to take on another task, so I didn’t have enough time to follow up on the brothers and sisters’ work and studies of professional skills. I grew worried that if things kept on like this, the work of cultivating people would certainly become delayed. My own time and energy were too limited. So once again I wished to recommend Cheyenne to the supervisor, but when I was actually about to speak I hesitated again, “I am the one who makes the final decision for all of the work in the team, and if there were going to be two team leaders, I would lose this power. I would have to communicate and discuss every matter with the other person, and my own words wouldn’t be worth as much anymore. Why don’t I just bear it by myself for now? If there’s some work that I can’t make time to oversee, I’ll follow up on it little by little. Besides, cultivating people doesn’t happen in one or two days, and it’s not like I’m disrupting or disturbing things on purpose. I’m just not recommending anyone else God probably won’t condemn me.” Later, the cultivation work progressed slowly, and every time I thought about it, I felt guilty. So I prayed to God, saying, “O God, based on the personnel situation and workload right now, it would be beneficial to the work for two team leaders to partner up; I want to recommend Cheyenne, but I can’t speak up. Why is it so difficult for me to recommend others? Please enlighten and guide me to know my own issues.”

After that, I opened up my state to the leader, and the leader sent me some of God’s words. God says: “As a church leader, you do not merely need to learn to use the truth to resolve problems, you also need to learn to discover and cultivate people of talent, whom you absolutely must not envy or suppress. Practicing in this way is beneficial to the work of the church. If you can cultivate a few pursuers of the truth to cooperate with you and do all the work well, and in the end, you all have experiential testimonies, then you are a qualified leader or worker. If you are able to handle everything according to the principles, then you are committing your loyalty. Some people always fear that others are better than they are or above them, that other people will be recognized while they get overlooked, and this leads them to attack and exclude others. Is this not a case of being envious of people with talent? Is that not selfish and despicable? What kind of disposition is this? It is maliciousness! Those who only think about their own interests, who only satisfy their own selfish desires, without thinking about others or considering the interests of God’s house, have a bad disposition, and God has no love for them. If you are truly capable of showing consideration for God’s will, you will be able to treat other people fairly. If you recommend a good person and allow them to undergo training and perform a duty, thereby adding a person of talent to God’s house, will that not make your work easier? Will you not then be showing loyalty in your duty? That is a good deed before God; it is the minimum conscience and reason that those who serve as leaders should possess” (The Word, Vol. 3. The Discourses of Christ of the Last Days. Freedom and Liberation Can Be Gained Only by Casting Off One’s Corrupt Disposition). When I read God’s words, I understood that leaders and workers ought to learn how to discover and cultivate talents, that this is profitable to the work of the church, and that it is the conscience and sense that people should possess. If someone has misgivings about recommending people affecting their status and suppresses those talents, this is envying the able and being selfish and base. So I reflected on myself. Some brothers and sisters had just come to practice graphic design. They needed to be cultivated and their professional technique improved. It was really too much for me to do alone, and I clearly understood that only with a partner could I bear this work, and that Cheyenne would make a suitable team leader and recommending her would be beneficial to the work. However, I worried that if she came to do the work better than me, the brothers and sisters would admire her and ignore me, and I would lose my status. I believed that I would suffer losses, so I didn’t recommend Cheyenne. I also thought that if I could endure a lot of suffering and pay a huge price to shoulder this work, in the end the credit would be mine alone. So I gritted my teeth and did the work myself, and as a result the work of cultivating others progressed slowly. Actually, God was uplifting me and treating me graciously by allowing me to perform the duty of team leader, but I wasn’t considerate of God’s intentions. Not only did I not cultivate talents, I even worried that Cheyenne might do her duty well and surpass me. I watched the work become delayed and still was unwilling to recommend her. In doing my duty, I only safeguarded my own fame, gain, and status, and I didn’t consider the progress or results of the work. This really was too selfish, and showed not the least bit of loyalty toward my duty!

Later, I read more of God’s words: “What do you say, is it hard to cooperate with other people? It isn’t, actually. You could even say it is easy. But why do people still feel this to be difficult? Because they have corrupt dispositions. For those who possess humanity, conscience, and reason, cooperating with others is relatively easy, and they can feel that this is something joyful. This is because it is not easy for anyone to accomplish things on their own, and whatever the field they’re involved in, or what they’re doing, it is always good to have someone there to point things out and offer assistance—much easier than doing it by themselves. Also, there are limits to what people’s caliber is capable of or what they themselves can experience. No one can be a master of all trades: It is impossible for one person to know everything, to be capable of everything, to accomplish everything—that is impossible, and everyone should possess such reason. And so, no matter what you do, whether it be important or not, you will always need someone there to help you, to give you pointers and advice, or to do things in cooperation with you. This is the only way to ensure that you will do things more correctly, make fewer mistakes and be less likely to go astray—it is a good thing. Serving God, in particular, is a big deal, and not resolving your corrupt disposition could put you in danger! When people have satanic dispositions, they can rebel against and oppose God in any time and at any place. People who live by satanic dispositions can deny, oppose, and betray God at any time. The antichrists are very stupid, they don’t realize this, they think, ‘I had enough trouble getting hold of power, why would I share it with anyone else? Giving it to others means I won’t have any for myself, doesn’t it? How can I demonstrate my talents and abilities without power?’ They do not know that what God has entrusted people with is not power or status, but a duty. Antichrists only accept power and status, they put their duties aside, and they don’t do actual work. Instead, they only pursue fame, gain and status, and only want to seize power, control God’s chosen people, and indulge in the benefits of status. Doing things this way is very dangerous—this is opposing God!” (The Word, Vol. 4. Exposing Antichrists. Item Eight: They Would Have Others Submit Only to Them, Not the Truth or God (Part One)). God says that no one is a master of everything, we all need others to partner with and help us, making up for our shortcomings by learning from each other. This way, we can reduce the mistakes and deviations in our work and fulfill our duties together in order to satisfy God. But antichrists lack this sense, and they constantly wish to monopolize power and have the final say, and never want to partner with others or let others participate in their own work. Through reflection, I realized that I was just like that too. I was too busy to perform the duty of team leader by myself, and there were a lot of tasks that I couldn’t promptly arrange and implement, but when I wanted to recommend Cheyenne, I had misgivings about my own power becoming diluted. I believed that recommending Cheyenne as my partner would be equivalent to ceding my power as team leader. I wouldn’t be able to have the final say, make all the decisions, or put myself on display in front of the brothers and sisters anymore. So I didn’t want to recommend Cheyenne. I found out the reason why I was unable to recommend others or be partners with them. It was because I couldn’t let go of the power and status in my hands. I placed too much emphasis on power.

Later, I sought out the answer to why I placed so much emphasis on power and status. I read a passage in God’s words and gained some knowledge of myself. Almighty God says: “For antichrists, status and reputation are their life. No matter how they live, no matter what environment they live in, no matter what work they do, no matter what they strive for, what their goals are, what their life’s direction is, it all revolves around having a good reputation and a high status. And this aim does not change; they can never put aside such things. This is the true face of antichrists, and their essence. You could put them in a primeval forest deep in the mountains, and still they would not put aside their pursuit of reputation and status. You can put them among any group of people, and all they can think about is still reputation and status. Although antichrists also believe in God, they see the pursuit of reputation and status as equivalent to faith in God and give it equal weight. Which is to say, as they walk the path of faith in God, they also pursue their own reputation and status. It can be said that in antichrists’ hearts, they believe that faith in God and the pursuit of the truth is the pursuit of reputation and status; the pursuit of reputation and status is also the pursuit of the truth, and to gain reputation and status is to gain the truth and life. If they feel that they have no reputation or status, that no one admires them, or venerates them, or follows them, then they are very frustrated, they believe there is no point in believing in God, no value to it, and they say to themselves, ‘Is such faith in God a failure? Is it hopeless?’ They often deliberate such things in their hearts, they deliberate how they can carve a place out for themselves in the house of God, how they can have a lofty reputation in the church, so that people listen when they talk, and support them when they act, and follow them wherever they go; so that they have a voice in the church, and prestige, profit, and status—they really focus on such things in their hearts. These are what such people pursue. Why are they always thinking about such things? After reading the words of God, after hearing sermons, do they really not understand all this, are they really not able to discern all this? Are the words of God and the truth really not able to change their notions, ideas, and opinions? That is not the case at all. The problem starts with them, it is wholly because they do not love the truth, because, in their hearts, they are averse to the truth, and as a result, they are utterly unreceptive to the truth—which is determined by their nature essence” (The Word, Vol. 4. Exposing Antichrists. Item Nine (Part Three)). God exposes that no matter where antichrists live or what work they do, they will never let go of their pursuit of status. They believe that as long as they can gain status and power, they can win people’s praise and admiration, and possess prestige, the right to speak, and the right to decide. They believe that this kind of life has value and meaning, and if they didn’t have status it would rob them of life. This was exactly how I was. I had been heavily influenced by satanic poisons such as “Stand out above the rest, and bring honor to your ancestors” and “There can only be one alpha male.” So, from a young age, I looked forward to making a name for myself when I grew up, for everyone to look up to me, and revolve around me wherever I went. I remember when I first started college, I shared the responsibilities of class monitor with another student. After a time, I felt that with two class monitors, I wouldn’t get to shine, so I suggested that one class monitor be chosen from between us. I looked forward to being selected, so that from then on I could be at the center of everybody, the highest in the entire class—but I ended up losing. Since I didn’t become class monitor, I turned down other positions of the class cadre at one go and didn’t do them. When I came to the church, I still took gaining status as the goal of my pursuit, I believed that as the only team leader I could have the final say and everyone would look up to me. When it came to recommending Cheyenne, I believed that by doing so she would share in my status and power, and when one day she did the work better than me, I would then lose my say and never again enjoy the feeling of superiority associated with everyone setting me on a pedestal and listening to what I said. Because of this, I preferred to delay the work rather than recommend her. I became a slave to status. I thought of how back then, because I was greedy for the benefits of status and didn’t do real work, I committed a transgression and was dismissed. It was then that I saw that living according to Satan’s philosophy and laws could only make me walk a wrong path and resist God in spite of myself.

Later, I read another passage in God’s words: “Anyone who pursues fame, gain and status rather than properly doing their duty is playing with fire and playing with their life. Those who play with fire and their lives can doom themselves at any moment. Today, as a leader or a worker, you are serving God, which is no ordinary thing. You are not doing things for some person, much less working to pay bills and put food on the table; instead, you are performing your duty in the church. And given, in particular, that this duty came from God’s commission, what does performing it imply? That you are accountable to God for your duty, whether you do it well or not; ultimately, an account must be given to God, there must be an outcome. What you have accepted is God’s commission, a hallowed responsibility, so no matter how important or minor this responsibility is, it is a serious business. How serious is it? On a small scale it involves whether you can gain the truth in this lifetime and it involves how God views you. On a larger scale, it directly relates to your prospects and destiny, to your outcome; if you commit evil and oppose God, you will be condemned and punished. Everything you do when you perform your duty is recorded by God, and God has His own principles and standards for how it is scored and evaluated; God determines your outcome based on all that is manifested by you as you perform your duty. Is this a serious matter? It is, indeed! So, if you’re assigned a task, is it your own matter to handle? (No.) That work is not a thing you can complete on your own, but it does require that you take on responsibility for it. The responsibility is yours; you must complete that commission. What does this touch on? It touches on cooperation, on how to cooperate in service, on how to cooperate to perform your duty, on how to cooperate to complete your commission, on how to cooperate such that you follow God’s will. It touches on these things” (The Word, Vol. 4. Exposing Antichrists. Item Eight: They Would Have Others Submit Only to Them, Not the Truth or God (Part One)). I felt a little afraid when I finished reading God’s words, especially when I read these words of God: “Anyone who pursues fame, gain and status rather than properly doing their duty is playing with fire and playing with their life. Those who play with fire and their lives can doom themselves at any moment.” I saw that pursuing fame, gain, and status is equivalent to playing with fire and with one’s life, not considering one’s life to be important. One’s duty is a commission from God, a very serious matter. But I took my duty as a tool to gain power and status; even though I knew that I couldn’t take on this work alone, I didn’t go out and recommend Cheyenne to be my partner, not considering in the slightest whether the work of the church would be affected. This was something that resisted and sinned against God; wasn’t I playing with fire? As team leader, not only did I fail to fulfill my own duty, the work was delayed under my care. This couldn’t be accounted for to God! I only pursued fame, gain, status, and making people look up to me, and the path which I took was the path of antichrists. If I hadn’t repented, I wouldn’t have had a good outcome and destination. When I recognized this, that’s when I saw that the viewpoint which I believed before, “Even though I’m not recommending others, as long as I don’t disrupt and disturb in plain sight, God won’t condemn me,” was not in line with the truth. Although on the outside I appeared busy in the performance of my duty, suffering and paying the price, not doing anything clearly evil, yet in order to safeguard my own power and status, I would rather delay the work than to recommend Cheyenne. All I thought about was how to protect my own fame, gain, and status—everything I thought was evil and condemned by God. God scrutinizes people’s hearts and minds. If I didn’t leave the evil path and still pursued reputation and status, in the end I could only be condemned and punished by God.

Later, I read another two passages of God’s words and found the path of practice. Almighty God says: “For all who perform a duty, no matter how profound or shallow their understanding of the truth is, the simplest way to practice entering into the truth reality is to think of the interests of God’s house in everything, and to let go of one’s selfish desires, personal intents, motives, pride, and status. Put the interests of God’s house first—this is the least one should do. If a person who performs a duty cannot even do this much, then how can they be said to be performing their duty? That is not performing one’s duty. You should first think of the interests of God’s house, be considerate of God’s will, and consider the work of the church. Put these things first and foremost; only after that can you think about the stability of your status or how others regard you. Do you not feel that this becomes a little easier when you divide it into two steps and make some compromises? If you practice like this for a while, you will come to feel that satisfying God is not such a difficult thing. Furthermore, you should be able to fulfill your responsibilities, perform your obligations and duty, and set aside your selfish desires, intents, and motives; you should have consideration for God’s will, and put the interests of God’s house, the work of the church, and the duty that you are supposed to perform first. After experiencing this for a while, you will feel that this is a good way to comport yourself. It is living straightforwardly and honestly, and not being a base, vile person; it is living justly and honorably rather than being despicable, base, and a good-for-nothing. You will feel that this is how a person should act and the image that they should live out. Gradually, your desire to satisfy your own interests will lessen” (The Word, Vol. 3. The Discourses of Christ of the Last Days. Freedom and Liberation Can Be Gained Only by Casting Off One’s Corrupt Disposition). “As a leader or a worker, if you always think yourself above others, and revel in your duty like it’s a government post, always indulging in the benefits of your status, always making your own plans, always considering and enjoying your own fame, gain and status, always running your own operation, and always seeking to gain higher status, to manage and control more people, and to expand the scope of your power, this is trouble. It is very dangerous to treat an important duty as a chance to enjoy your position as if you are a government official. If you always act like this, not wishing to cooperate with others, not wanting to dilute your power and share it with anyone else, not wanting anyone else to upstage you, to steal the limelight, if you only want to enjoy the power on your own, then you are an antichrist. But if you often seek the truth, practice rebelling against your flesh, your motivations and ideas, and are able to take it upon yourself to cooperate with others, open up your heart to consult and seek with others, attentively listen to others’ ideas and suggestions, and accept advice which is correct and aligns with the truth, no matter who it comes from, then you are practicing in a wise and correct manner, and you are able to avoid taking the wrong path, which is protection for you” (The Word, Vol. 4. Exposing Antichrists. Item Eight: They Would Have Others Submit Only to Them, Not the Truth or God (Part One)). As a believer in God, having eaten and drunk so many of God’s words, I was unable to safeguard the church’s interests in the performance of my duty, but I spoke and acted everywhere for the sake of my own selfish desires, reputation, and status—I truly lacked conscience and reason, and was unworthy of doing my duty in the church. In God’s house, the truth rules, righteousness rules; whoever possesses caliber and ability, and feels burdened by the work of the church, that person should be recommended, and they should be asked to take on the appropriate work in the church. By recommending other people, there is one more person to do the work of the church, which is beneficial to the progress of the work and to that of the brothers and sisters. If one always craves the benefits of status and wishes to monopolize power themselves, wanting to be above the rest and have the last say, unwilling to partner with others, that person will have gone down the path of an antichrist. But if they have a partner, and in the work they can discuss, learn from each other, and keep checks on one another, then they can avoid one person monopolizing power, and they can avoid going down the path of antichrists—this becomes a kind of invisible shield over themselves. When I pondered this, I realized that not only would recommending talents benefit the work of the church, it would also help me. After that, I messaged the leader and recommended Cheyenne, and the leader agreed for Cheyenne and me to become partners. My heart then found great release and grew very light. From that moment, I discussed the work with Cheyenne, then we shared responsibilities, and little by little, the results for cultivating people improved as well. Through this experience, I began to slowly understand what is said in God’s words: “If you recommend a good person and allow them to undergo training and perform a duty, thereby adding a person of talent to God’s house, will that not make your work easier? Will you not then be showing loyalty in your duty? That is a good deed before God; it is the minimum conscience and reason that those who serve as leaders should possess” (The Word, Vol. 3. The Discourses of Christ of the Last Days. Freedom and Liberation Can Be Gained Only by Casting Off One’s Corrupt Disposition). From God’s words, I saw that recommending others won’t cause my interests to suffer, and that it is practicing the truth and preparing good deeds. It’s beneficial, both to me and to the work of the church. Practicing in this way makes me feel at ease. Thank God!