B. Enduring Humiliation and Bearing a Heavy Burden

The second manifestation of sleeping on brushwood and licking gall is enduring humiliation and bearing a heavy burden. Enduring humiliation and bearing a heavy burden is also a form of thinking, a mentality, and an attitude toward things that worldly people advocate. In society and the world, it is a way of thinking which is relatively positive, and which humankind thinks is relatively optimistic, forward-driven, and positive. So what is it we want to dissect? What is bad about enduring humiliation and bearing a heavy burden? Why is it not the truth? It has fundamentally nothing to do with the truth. What do I mean when I say it has nothing to do with the truth? I mean that if you want to practice the truth, you must do it completely according to the principles of God’s words, and according to the standards and particulars God requires. You should not mix in the attitudes and views toward doing things, and the methods and means of man’s so-called ideologies, mentalities, and integrity. God’s words are the truth, and have nothing to do with these things. Then why is enduring humiliation and bearing a heavy burden bad? Why do I say it is not the truth? Is this not worth dissecting? (Yes, it is.) Let’s start by explaining the literal meaning of the phrase; then it will be easier to understand. Enduring humiliation and bearing a heavy burden means being able to endure all shame, pain, and indignity for the sake of your responsibilities, burdens, or the mission you undertake and accept. This is the basic meaning of this phrase. Then, in what environments and situations does one usually use this phrase? If one says that a person is enduring humiliation and bearing a heavy burden, then is that person currently in a circumstance where their mission is complete, and they have accomplished the goal they wanted to accomplish? (No.) So, usually when one talks about enduring humiliation and bearing a heavy burden, they are referring to an unimportant person who is in a situation where they have absolutely no status and no halo, let alone any power. They are in a situation like this, yet they still need to bear their responsibilities, bear the mission they need to complete, not be discouraged, not compromise, and not give up. Isn’t this also a type of mentality? What is the emphasis of this mentality? It is on “enduring” and “bearing.” “Enduring” means to be patient and to withstand something. At the same time as enduring something, they must take on and shoulder a heavy burden and responsibility, not fail to live up to everyone’s expectations, and not let the person who entrusted them with this commission down. What sort of mentality is this? (Perseverance.) There is this element of meaning to it, but this is the most basic and shallow level of meaning. What else is there? Let’s analyze it this way. What does “humiliation” mean in “enduring humiliation”? (Indignity and shame.) It is when everyone around this person shames them and makes them feel they have suffered an indignity. Which behaviors in particular shame people and make them feel they have suffered an indignity? (Mocking them, defaming them, and making caustic remarks about them.) That’s right, mocking and defaming them, also making fun of them, playing with them, and making caustic remarks about them. So, what does “heavy burden” mean in “bearing a heavy burden”? (Responsibility and a commission.) What do responsibility and a commission include? They include a kind of mission and weighty load—this weighty load can be one that other people have entrusted someone with, or it can be a goal someone is fighting toward, or a mission they think of themselves. What kinds of missions do people think they are undertaking? (Bringing honor to their ancestors, and standing out above the rest.) (Being the cream of the crop.) These are all examples. These are basically people’s own aspirations. In order to achieve and materialize these goals, in their current circumstances, they are able to endure indignities, mockery, defamation, caustic remarks, and even jeering from people around them. What drives them to endure all of this? For example, there is a person who aspires to become a senior army general. Before he gains power, there is a day when a group of thugs humiliates him, saying, “You? An army general? At this point you don’t even have a horse—how can you be a general? If you want to be a general, crawl through my legs, first!” All the people beside them erupt into laughter. He ponders to himself for a moment, “There’s nothing wrong with wanting to be an army general. Why do they jeer and make fun of me? But I can’t be reckless and display my abilities now. Judging from how things are going today, if I don’t do as they say I will be beaten up, and if things don’t go well I could lose my life. Then how can I be a general? For the sake of my ideals, crawling through a thug’s legs is nothing. I’m still me, am I not?” At this point, he plops down onto his knees, puts both hands on the ground, and crawls through the legs of that thug like a dog. As he crawls, it’s hard for his heart to take and his heart is pained, as though it has been stabbed with a knife—there is hatred in his heart! He thinks, “One day when I actually become a general, I will chop you up into a million pieces!” This is what he thinks in his heart, but on the outside he must endure it—he cannot let others see what he’s thinking. After he crawls through the thug’s legs, the group of thugs are satisfied and spare him, giving him one swift kick out of the way. He gets up, pats the dirt off himself, and even says, “Good kick. I will call you ‘boss’ from now on.” What he thinks on the inside and what he shows on the outside are completely different. How is he capable of doing this? He only has one goal: “I need to continue living. I’m enduring all this so there is a day when I become a general, and become the cream of the crop. It is worth suffering this hardship and humiliation today. Tomorrow I must work even harder, and make efforts to strive to achieve my goal. No matter what difficulties I encounter, and no matter how much suffering and indignity I endure, I must become a general! After I become a general, the first thing I have to do is kill this jerk and make up for how I was humiliated by crawling through his legs!” Regardless of whether he becomes a general in the future, “endurance” is his highest principle at that moment. Are there any strategies or secret schemes inherent in this? (Yes.) There are secret schemes. He endures because there is nothing else he can do; what is it for? It is so that one day he can make up for all this indignity. His endurance is based on sayings such as, “Where there is life there is hope” and “It is never too late for a gentleman to take his revenge”—all of these are schemes. It was these schemes which propelled him to endure the humiliation of crawling through the thug’s legs. From this point on, the desire in his heart to become a general is even greater and more intense; he will absolutely not give up. So, what was the indignity and humiliation he endured for? Was it to maintain a just cause or to maintain true dignity? He did it for the sake of his own ambition. Then is this positive or negative? (Negative.) Judging from this level of meaning, this “endurance” was absolutely propelled by personal interest, desire, and ambition. Is there truth within this endurance? (No.) If there is no truth, then is there normal humanity? (No.) This is not just, nor is it upright, let alone flawless; rather, it is brimming with desire, secret schemes, and calculations—it is not positive.

The sort of thinking and mentality of enduring humiliation and bearing a heavy burden that is advocated within this wicked human race is basically just like the story I told just now, where if a person wants to accomplish big things, they must necessarily be able to endure what the average person can’t. What does this endurance mainly refer to? (Enduring shame.) No. Are the things which this endurance makes people live out true or false? (False.) This is the important point. The things people live out, the words they say, and the behavior they exhibit for the sake of their ambitions and ideals are all fake, they’re all involuntary; these things are all driven by the precondition of all these desires, self-interest, and people’s so-called aspirations and goals. These things that people live out are all temporary measures; not one bit is honest or true; not one bit is laid bare, open, or frank; they are all temporary measures. Aren’t these all deceitful plots? Temporary measures are when people temporarily endure something this way; temporarily say pleasant-sounding words, coax, and trick; and cover up their true identity, psyche, thoughts, views, and even hate for the time being, and do not let the other person see it. Rather, they want the other person to see that side of them which is weak and incapable, feeble and timid. They cover up their true face entirely—what do they do this for? They do it so that one day they can build a big cause, become the cream of the crop, control others, and dominate others. What is displayed when people practice and manifest the phrase “enduring humiliation and bearing a heavy burden”? Do people who do this have an honest attitude? Do they have a true understanding of, and remorse for, themselves? (No.) For example, others say, “Someone like you wants to be a general?” They ponder it, then say, “I can’t do it. I won’t be a general. I was just kidding.” Are the words they say true or false? (False.) What are they thinking in their heart? “It is only someone like me who can become a general!” This is what they think in their heart, but is it okay for them to say this out loud? (No.) Why not? In order to avoid being beaten up, and in order to hide their real capabilities, they say, “I was just kidding. I’m not so bold as to actually want to be a general. You are more like a senior general—you’re a future generalissimo. That’s even higher than a general!” Are these words true? (No.) Where are their true words? (In their heart.) That’s right, they keep their true words in their heart and do not say them out loud. Why don’t they say them out loud? They are scared they’ll be beaten up if they do, so they don’t say them, and do not reveal them; they do not let anyone know, forever hiding their real capabilities. What does it mean to hide one’s real capabilities? It is when a person does not let other people see their true abilities; they cover these abilities up and don’t let them slip, in order to prevent other people from putting their guard up and acting contrary to their interests. Isn’t this also the true meaning of sleeping on brushwood and licking gall? (Yes, it is.) Sleeping on brushwood and licking gall; enduring humiliation and bearing a heavy burden; never forgetting one’s goals, desires, and hatred; and never letting people see one’s true face and real capabilities. Some capable people do not say much when they are in a group of people; they are quiet and reticent, and even if they say something, they only reveal half of what they’re thinking. Other people are always at a loss to comprehend or understand what they actually want to say, and think, “Why do they talk in such an inscrutable way? Why is it so hard to say something from the heart? What’s going on here?” Actually, they have thoughts in their heart that they are not expressing, and within this lies a corrupt disposition. There are others who do not speak this way, but when they do things they always hide the true extent of their capabilities. What is the goal of them hiding the true extent of their capabilities? They are afraid that if capable people or formidable personages see it, they will get jealous, have it in for them, and harm them. In groups, aren’t people who always compliment others, always speak well of others, and always say that everyone else is better than themselves the most sinister sort of people? (Yes.) You never know what they are truly like on the inside. From the outside, you see they don’t talk about it, so you think they do not have ambitions, but actually you are wrong. Some people like this are people who endure humiliation and bear a heavy burden. It is like in the movies where there are often scenes like this—some people frequently do good things when they’re out of the house, the clothes they wear are old and worn, and they are always picked on when they are in groups; this is who they are in front of others. However, once they get home, they go into a secret room. The secret room has a map on the wall, and they have already planted informants to monitor things in eighty percent of the locations on the map. Yet, people who frequently interact with them still pick on them and have no idea they have these ambitions. One day when all of the locations on the map are under their control and their goal is fully realized, the people who picked on them will be completely flabbergasted, and say, “It turns out this person is a devil—their ambitions are far too excessive! They pretended for so many years. No one saw them for who they really were.” They say, “What I did was endure humiliation and bear a heavy burden. If I didn’t endure the way I did and keep you off my scent, if I told you everything, would I have been able to achieve such a big undertaking?” What characteristics do those who are evil and those with extreme ambitions have in common? One aspect is that their stamina and perseverance exceed those of regular people. Also, their secret schemes exceed those of regular people and if the average person interacts with them they will be played. What does it mean to be played? It means that nobody sees them clearly. All they can see are the things they say and do on the surface. Don’t think you will be able to find any clues about what they are thinking deep down inside from what they do and say. Isn’t this being played by them? Stamina and perseverance are positive words in and of themselves, but their secret schemes made it so their stamina and perseverance were negative. Also, they have ambitions and desires which are more excessive than regular people. The average person has ambitions and desires, but when they feel they cannot obtain something they give up and are not willing to go through that suffering. Besides, they are always forthcoming about who they want to fight with; they do not have secret schemes. However, evil people of this sort have extreme ambitions, and always carry out secret schemes and deceitful plots. At no point in time will they abandon their ambitions and desires; they will fight right to the end—to the death.

Textbooks tell the story of how Goujian, king of the Kingdom of Yue, slept on brushwood and licked gall. Parents also teach their kids about it. Some kids who hear the story think, “It’s great to be an average person. Why is it absolutely necessary for people to have such excessive ambitions? Who could suffer themselves to sleep on brushwood and lick gall? That is not suffering that regular people can withstand.” Only people with ambitions have the resolve to suffer like that; there is a secret scheme inherent in it. However, humankind advocates a mentality of this sort. For example, there is a phrase which goes, “No matter how much hardship and indignity they suffer, no matter how dire their circumstances, people must never lose sight of their aspirations.” This society advocates ideas like sleeping on brushwood and licking gall, and enduring humiliation and bearing a heavy burden to spur people on and motivate them to fight for their happiness and goals, so why do we criticize it as being wrong? All humankind is corrupted by Satan. Is there any member of the human race whose goals are aimed toward the truth, and toward the correct direction? (No.) Therefore, the more humankind sleeps on brushwood and licks gall, and the more they endure humiliation and bear a heavy burden, the wilder Satan’s forces will become, the more numerous humankind’s battles and slaughters will become, the more wicked humankind will become, and the darker society will become. On the contrary, if you are able to obey the arrangements of Heaven and align yourself with the natural order of everything, if you are able to take things as they come, respect this order, and wait for the arrangements of Heaven, then you don’t need to endure humiliation and bear a heavy burden. You need to wake up and come to your senses. Being able to obey God’s orchestrations and arrangements is correct. Besides this, in everything they do, people should at least be able to do it according to their conscience, and as a step higher, be able to do it according to the laws God set forth for humankind. Then, do people still need to wear a mask and bear a heavy burden? (No.) No, they don’t. Through this fellowship, do you understand what kind of behavior enduring humiliation and bearing a heavy burden is, exactly? Is the goal of enduring humiliation and bearing a heavy burden positive or negative? (Negative.) If one were to say that a person endures humiliation and bears a heavy burden in order to become a leader, or say that a person endures humiliation and bears a heavy burden in order to complete the commission God gave them and be rewarded, or say that a person endures humiliation and bears a heavy burden in order to pursue being perfected—do these words hold water? (No, they don’t.) Enduring humiliation and bearing a heavy burden are wholly satanic philosophies; there is no truth in this, and as soon as you hear these words it is clear they are distorted. If one says that a person endures humiliation and bears a heavy burden to wait for God’s arrangements and submit to God’s sovereignty, is this a correct thing to say? (No.) How is it not correct? The two do not correspond to each other—God does not need you to endure humiliation, nor does He need you to suffer indignity. What essential difference is there between enduring humiliation and bearing a heavy burden as talked about here, and people believing in God and submitting to Him? (Enduring humiliation and bearing a heavy burden is an attempt to cast off God’s orchestrations and arrangements.) Enduring humiliation and bearing a heavy burden means people have their own plans, aspirations, wishes, and goals they pursue. Are these in line with the standards God requires of people, and the goals to pursue that God gives to people? (No.) No, they are not. What is it that people aim to gain for themselves by enduring humiliation and bearing a heavy burden? What they aim to gain is self-interest, and that has no connection to the fate God orchestrates and rules sovereign over for man.

Anyone who practices enduring humiliation and bearing a heavy burden has an intent and a goal. For example, when an undergraduate first arrives at a company to do an internship, the senior staff members say, “Undergrad students who come here have to get coffee for three years.” Inside they think, “Though I’m an undergrad, I won’t yield to you!” They think this inside, but do not dare to express it out loud. On the outside, they still must fake a smile; every day they must follow the rules, be pliant, and bow and scrape, and must endure it when others find fault with them. What is their goal in enduring this? It is so that there is a day when they can give a triumphant snort, become a secretary for the manager or boss, and walk over those who picked on them. Isn’t this what they think? Some people say, “That is how they’re supposed to think and what they’re supposed to do. Otherwise, they’ll be taking crap from people for the rest of their life. Who wants to suffer like that? Plus, how can people manage if they don’t have aspirations? Man struggles upward; water flows downward—this is the way of life. A soldier who doesn’t want to be a general is not a good soldier.” These words become their motto, but it is all satanic logic. They must endure this way in order to accomplish their goal—day after day, year after year, being courteous and respectful to everyone. One day, their boss says to them, “Your performance has been good these three years. Beginning next week, you will become a salesperson.” When they hear this, their heart is unhappy: “I toiled for three years just to become a salesperson! I thought I would become an executive director of sales!” But they must say thank you for the promotion. They have not yet reached their goal, so they must continue to endure. They continue to endure humiliation and bear a heavy burden, painstakingly following their boss around drinking and faking smiles, and when they have endured this for ten years they finally have accomplished their goal. One day, their boss tells them, “You have done your job well. I will promote you to an assistant.” When they hear this, they are especially happy inside—they have finally made it! What result is this? In their eyes, they are now a cut above everyone else. Didn’t they do all of this willingly? (No.) Who did they do all this for? (For themselves.) For themselves. There is nothing about it that is positive or should be adopted, let alone anything which is worthy of praise and extolment. But this sort of mentality is what is advocated in society today—enduring humiliation and bearing a heavy burden, slinking around with their tail between their legs. Therefore, what kind of phrase is this that people advocate: “enduring humiliation and bearing a heavy burden”? (A bad one.) How is it bad? People endure humiliation and bear a heavy burden purely because of their own intents and motivations, and to satisfy their own ambitions and desires. It is not for the sake of correct goals. That’s why I say none of it is worth adopting, and none of it is worth adulating or praising, and certainly not worth memorializing. Let’s take another look at what happened in the palace in ancient times. There was an emperor who died. The empress saw that her son was still small and would be completely unable to control the court if he were to ascend the throne, so, in order to make sure her son would actually rule as emperor, she endured humiliation and bore a heavy burden and married the former emperor’s younger brother, and the two of them raised her son together. What was her goal in enduring humiliation and bearing a heavy burden? It was for her son’s position as emperor. When her son’s position as emperor was secure, her status would be that of dowager empress. This is called enduring humiliation and bearing a heavy burden. What humiliation was she enduring? She did not remain chaste; as soon as the emperor died, she married his younger brother right away, which gave her a bad reputation. People criticized and judged her behind her back, and even history books do not give her a favorable assessment. Did she care? Actually, before she married her former brother-in-law she thought about the repercussions, so why did she still go through with it? It was to ensure her son’s position as emperor and protect her position as dowager empress. That’s the only reason why she would put up with such ill repute and willingly suffer this hardship. This is called enduring humiliation and bearing a heavy burden. What did she gain from enduring all this indignity? What she gained was an even bigger benefit. This was her goal in enduring humiliation and bearing a heavy burden. Once she obtained this big benefit, all that ill repute meant nothing. In exchange for this ill repute she obtained power and status for her and her son. So was her enduring humiliation and bearing a heavy burden positive or negative? (Negative.) If one looks only at her behavior, she was able to forsake herself, and, from the perspective of her son, there was a selfless side to the indignities and suffering she withstood, so people should commend her and say, “What a great mother!” But when looking at her desires and ambitions, and her true goal, people should criticize her; her actions deserve to be judged.

Do people who believe in God need to endure humiliation and bear a heavy burden? (No.) If people accept God’s words and accept His judgment, chastisement, pruning, trials and refinement, and even accept His curses and condemnation toward people, do they need to endure humiliation and bear a heavy burden? (No.) This is for certain. Using the phrase “enduring humiliation and bearing a heavy burden” in the context of believers absolutely does not hold water and is condemned. Why is it wrong to use this phrase in this context? How does one prove that this behavior is not right in this context? Just acknowledging verbally and in terms of doctrine that this phrase is wrong is not acceptable; you must know what truths it touches on. Before, you still thought that in order to accept being perfected by God and saved by God, people needed to learn to endure humiliation and bear a heavy burden, to sleep on brushwood and lick gall, to adopt the mentality of Goujian, king of the Kingdom of Yue, and never say die—you were simply a blockhead and did not have the ability to comprehend the truth. Now, after My fellowship, you think, “This phrase is not good. Before, I always used to use this phrase—how could I be so stupid?” You can see you do not understand the truth and your comprehension ability is poor. You must understand what about this phrase is wrong. Once you are truly able to understand what is wrong with it, you will have a thorough understanding of the phrase. If you only see part of the phrase clearly, where you see the negative side of it clearly, but do not see the side that people think is positive and proactive clearly, then it means you do not yet understand the truth. After listening to what I’ve just fellowshipped, will you be able to dissect and analyze these things according to these methods of Mine? Why is the practice of enduring humiliation and bearing a heavy burden not necessary in the house of God? Why do I say that this method and mentality is condemned by the house of God and does not accord with the truth? (God, my understanding is that in God’s house, accepting the judgment and chastisement of God’s words, and even being replaced or condemned does not constitute enduring humiliation. Rather, it is the way God works to save people, and its purpose is to lead us onto the path of pursuing the truth. This has absolutely nothing to do with enduring humiliation and bearing a heavy burden. If people can comprehend correctly, they will know this is God’s love and elevation, and that accepting God’s judgment and chastisement is God’s great care and protection, and God’s salvation for people.) Is this statement correct? (Yes.) If you can’t see judgment and chastisement clearly, then opposition and complaints will rise up in your heart, and you will practice the satanic philosophical phrase “enduring humiliation and bearing a heavy burden,” thinking to yourself, “Oh no, I must endure humiliation and bear a heavy burden, and adopt the mentality of Goujian, king of the Kingdom of Yue.” Then, you will etch the words “enduring humiliation and bearing a heavy burden” into the top of your table to spur yourself onward and motivate yourself, and you will make it your motto. Doesn’t that spell trouble? Granted, after today’s fellowship you certainly will not do this, but will you make other phrases your mottos, like this phrase that I have not dissected, “Conceal one’s light and gather strength in the dark”? Isn’t the nature of this the same? These things are part of traditional Chinese culture. Are these things Satan’s poisons? They are all Satan’s poisons; they are all Satan’s philosophies for worldly dealings.

In the past, while I was working in the churches in mainland China, which was when I had just started My work, the house of God arranged for some of the brothers and sisters to improve their literacy. What was the situation at that time? There were some people who were advanced in age and some people who lived in more remote areas. Their level of education was relatively low and they could not read well. For example, God’s words talk about “low caliber,” “God’s disposition,” “God’s intention,” and other fixed terms, but they did not understand or know what they meant. Later on, the house of God told the brothers and sisters they could work on their literacy in their spare time, and that they should at least know what some fixed phrases, terminology, and nouns mean. Otherwise, when they read God’s words, they would not even understand the meaning of the words and phrases themselves, so how could they understand God’s words? And if they could not understand God’s words, how could they practice the truth? After this, the brothers and sisters started to put effort into learning these things. This is a good thing, but some people with a distorted comprehension exploited the situation. During gatherings, some leaders talked exclusively about the significance of improving one’s literacy, how the brothers and sisters should become literate, the benefits of literacy, and what would happen if they were not literate. They talked about a whole bunch of doctrines like these. These things are not the truth, and there is no need to talk too much about them. As soon as someone says these things, people can understand them; there is no need to fellowship on them in gatherings as though they were the truth. Some leaders didn’t just use up a large amount of time during gatherings fellowshipping about these things as though they were the truth, they also came up with a new trick, and specifically tested brothers and sisters on words which are seldom used. If the brothers and sisters couldn’t answer, didn’t that make the leaders appear highly educated? During that period of time there were some false leaders who did not do real work—they did not fellowship on life experiences, the truth, or God’s words, instead, they fellowshipped exclusively on literacy. What is this called? This is called not doing one’s proper job. Isn’t this a problem? (Yes.) Why am I talking about this issue? What use is it to you? Are you capable of doing this sort of thing? Is there anyone who plans on acting like this? If you do act like this, then you are truly muddleheaded people! There are some people who see Me talk about these idioms, and they poise themselves for action and start to ready themselves, saying, “It turns out that fellowshipping on the truth is just this easy. It’s enough to just fellowship on idioms. You can fellowship on idioms, and I will fellowship on two-part witticisms, slang, sayings, and proverbs.” Isn’t this not doing one’s proper job? (Yes.) What kind of people are these? Do they have spiritual understanding? (No.) They do not have spiritual understanding, and they do not understand the truth. What is it they think? “You sit there prattling on when You have nothing to do and fob us off with a couple idioms. If I followed Your methods, I could fellowship too!” People who do not have spiritual understanding only look at the surface of things and blindly imitate Me. These leaders should be replaced for imitating this behavior, and anyone who does as they did should be replaced as well. Why am I talking about this? I am drawing your attention to it before you engage in this behavior, so you do not go down the wrong path. I can talk about these things, but if you talk about them can you do it in a comprehensible manner? You cannot. So, why do I talk about these sayings and idioms? On what condition do I talk about them? When people understand the concept and definition of the truth, and then if on that foundation I go deeper and dissect more things that people think are the truth, people cannot grasp this; they do not know how they should ruminate on it, and don’t know what other things they should connect it with. It is because you don’t understand that I told you some stories about idioms. This was necessary. Some people think that they are at a university level when it comes to the truth, and wonder why they are still retaking these elementary school courses. They cannot understand that this is not an elementary class, that it is already a university class. You have not yet graduated to university; you have remained at elementary school all along, but you think you have graduated to university, and you feel good about yourselves. Unfortunately, this feeling is wrong; it is a mistaken feeling—you are still a long way from graduating to university. Therefore, I remind you again: Do not do the things I just talked about. Fellowship honestly on what you understand, and if you do not understand, do not talk rubbish. Fellowshipping on the truth is not prattling; no one has time to waste listening to you prattle on. Do not blindly imitate Me, and talk about Goujian, king of the Kingdom of Yue, or about modern history or ancient history, because I talked about sleeping on brushwood and licking gall. What use is it to talk about those things? Are people willing to listen to them? Even if people are willing to listen, those things are not the truth.

Just now, I talked about how people who believe in and follow God do not need to endure humiliation and bear a heavy burden, let alone practice enduring humiliation and bearing a heavy burden. Why can’t one practice such a “good” phrase and “noble” mentality? Where is the problem? Why can’t one possess the mentality of enduring humiliation and bearing a heavy burden? Speaking in terms of doctrine, it is because enduring humiliation and bearing a heavy burden is not the truth; this phrase was not spoken by God; it is not God’s requirement for humankind, nor is it a principle of action that He gave to those who follow Him. Why do I say that this phrase isn’t the truth and isn’t a principle of practice? First, let’s look at the word “humiliation” in enduring humiliation and bearing a heavy burden. What does “humiliation” refer to? Indignity and being shamed. So when people believe in God and God is sovereign over their destiny, by submitting to God are they being humiliated? Are they enduring indignity? (No.) Do people need to endure, and say, “In order to achieve submission to God, I must suppress the fire in my heart, suppress the anger in my heart, suppress the complaints in my heart, and suppress the unreconciled feeling in my heart. I should endure it and not make a sound. To me, all these things are humiliation, so I will suppress them”? Are they practicing the truth by doing this? (No.) What are they practicing? Rebelliousness, falseness, and pretense. To achieve the practice of the truth, and to achieve submission to the truth and submission to God’s sovereignty and arrangements, the first thing you must do isn’t to endure any sort of pain, and you do not need to endure any sort of indignity. Are the sovereignty and arrangements God has for you and the requirements He has for you humiliation? (No.) He is not humiliating you. God is not humiliating you by exposing you, judging you, chastising you, trying you, and refining you. Rather, at the same time as He is exposing the revelations of your corrupt dispositions, He is getting you to understand yourself, getting you to cast them off and rebel against them, and then act according to God’s requirements. What effect will this achieve? You will be able to submit to God, understand the truth, become a person who pleases God, and become a person whom God approves of. Therefore, are any of the things you undergo during the process and period of time that you’re achieving these things indignities? Are there any things wherein God is humiliating you? (No.) When God exposes you, for example, when He exposes your arrogance, wickedness, deceitfulness, intransigence, or viciousness, are any of these not facts? (No.) They are all facts. No matter the manner of the words that God exposes you with, that He says to you, they are all facts. Regardless of whether people are able to recognize this, and regardless of how much people are able to understand and accept, these things are all facts. They are not baseless, nor are they exaggerations, and they certainly are not meant to frame you. So are these things meant to humiliate you? (No.) Not only are they not meant to humiliate you, they are meant as a prompt and a warning not to walk the path of evil people, and not to follow Satan, they are meant to make you walk the proper path in life. The result and effect these things have on you is positive. The nature of these actions of God is completely proper. He is doing these things to save you, and they are completely in line with the truth. This is the hardship people should suffer, and the hardship they must suffer in order to cast off their corrupt dispositions, satisfy God’s intentions, and become a true created being. The attitude people should have is to proactively accept this hardship, rather than endure it as an indignity. This hardship is not humiliation, it is not mockery, and it is not a dig at people, let alone is it God teasing people. It arises entirely because people have corrupt dispositions, rebel against God, and do not love the truth. This pain arises in people because of God’s words and God’s requirements for people, so is there any part of this pain that God intentionally gives to people or additionally gives to them, and which people should not have to suffer? There is nothing of that sort. On the contrary, if people suffer too little of this pain, they cannot cast off their corrupt dispositions. No matter how severe people’s rebellious dispositions are, and no matter how much people are able to admit and accept it when God exposes their corrupt dispositions, ultimately, what God gives to people is not humiliation, and what people suffer is not indignity. Rather, it is what people should suffer; it is pain that a person who has been deeply corrupted by Satan should suffer; people should suffer this pain. Why do I say they should suffer it? Because people are so deeply rebellious toward God and have become Satans. If people want to cast off these corrupt dispositions and accept God’s salvation, they must suffer this hardship. This is perfectly right and proper; it is a path that people must go through, and it is a hardship they must suffer. It is not God who is giving them this hardship. It’s like when you get an upset stomach after drinking cold water. Who’s to blame? The cold water? (No.) Who brought this hardship upon you? (We did.) You brought it upon yourselves. This result and this process that people suffer are their own doing; there is no indignity or humiliation to speak of in this. Some people do not comprehend it this way; they do not accept the truth. What is it they think? “God’s house let me be a leader; it put me forward for the position, and I have happily carried out my job as a leader. I never thought God’s house would dismiss me for not doing my job well and making mistakes. What have I become? Do I still have integrity and dignity? Do I still have any human freedom? Do I still have autonomy?” They think that people should not submit to God’s orchestrations and arrangements without having any choice in the matter, and that if people submit absolutely, then they are fools and people without dignity, and that they live in an overly weak and aggrieved fashion. Therefore, this type of person thinks that when people accept judgment, chastisement, and pruning, they must suffer humiliation, as the saying goes, “When a person stands under a low eave, they have no choice but to lower their head.” Look, here’s another satanic philosophy. This well-known phrase makes them lower their head. What are they thinking? Are they submitting willingly, or enduring humiliation and bearing a heavy burden? (The latter.) They think they are enduring humiliation and bearing a heavy burden. They are not submitting willingly. Their submission is not willing, and it is not pure. Rather, they have no choice but to submit. So they see this lack of choice as a type of humiliation. Since this sort of person can think this way, do they treat practicing submitting to God’s words as practicing the truth? No. They do not treat submitting as the truth. Instead, they treat enduring humiliation and bearing a heavy burden as the truth. Isn’t the nature of these things different? (It is.) Although people who submit willingly and those who endure humiliation and bear a heavy burden both submit, and although neither of them cause trouble or resist, and on the outside they both seem to be obedient, well-behaved, and good, these things are still different in nature. People who sincerely submit treat submitting as their responsibility, duty, and obligation; they treat it as their bounden duty, and as the truth. Even if those who do not sincerely submit don’t outwardly resist, in their heart they think they are enduring humiliation and bearing a heavy burden, and in their eyes, enduring humiliation and bearing a heavy burden is the highest truth. They treat enduring humiliation as practicing the truth, and what do they treat submitting as? They treat it as enduring humiliation, not practicing the truth. Isn’t this the wrong way around? What is this called? (They have it backward.) They have it backward. They treat the truth as a philosophy for worldly dealings; they treat doctrine and man’s philosophies for worldly dealings as the truth. Isn’t this a reversal of black and white? (Yes.) It is a reversal of black and white. Then how should this problem be resolved? People must understand that this hardship they suffer is not humiliation, nor is it someone trying to humiliate them. So what causes the hardship that people suffer? (People’s corrupt dispositions.) That’s right. If you did not have corrupt dispositions, and you understood the truth, could submit to God, could submit completely to God’s sovereignty and arrangements, and could fear God and shun evil, then you would not need to suffer this hardship. Therefore, this humiliation does not exist. You understand, right?