4. Venting Negativity When One’s Desire to Gain Blessings Is Destroyed

Venting negativity has another manifestation. Some people say, “I have believed in God for so many years, and what have I gained?” When such people vent negativity, the main thing they say is, “What have I gained?”—meaning they haven’t gained anything. They believe that it is particularly hard to get some benefits or blessings from God’s house or from God while believing in Him, and that people must offer tremendous love and have incredible endurance, and not be eager for quick results. As for God’s words that expose people, prune people, refine people, and cleanse people’s corruption, they believe this is just superficial, high-sounding rhetoric that cannot be trusted absolutely; they think that if they practice according to God’s words, they will really suffer a great loss. They think that obtaining benefits and advantages and realizing their aspirations and wishes is the most crucial thing at all times, and whether they practice the truth or not isn’t crucial at all—they believe that as long as they do not commit evil, that’s enough, and they won’t be eliminated by the church. How do most people feel after hearing these negative words? Do they internally approve of and agree with these words, or do they feel some contempt for these words, and think that these people are selfish, despicable, wicked, and sordid, and can discern, expose, and restrict them, stopping them from continuing to spread negativity and death? Do most people feel repulsed and condemn such negative words, or can they be misled by them and become negative? Some people, after hearing these words and seeing that they are empty-handed, think, “Isn’t that true! I haven’t gained anything either. In God’s house, I just get three meals a day, I’m busy all the time, and I really haven’t gained anything else.” Do you have such thoughts? Do you feel the same way? Those who understand the truth will say, “What do you mean you haven’t gained anything? We have gained so much from God! We’ve come to understand so many truths!” But some people might disagree with them, saying, “It doesn’t seem very realistic to say we’ve gained ‘so much.’ We’ve just received a bit of grace, got some opportunities to do our duties, understood some doctrines about how to be a person, met and got to know many brothers and sisters from different places, and broadened our horizons a lot. This only counts as having gained a bit.” Which of these categories do you fall into? There are people in all these categories, right? (Yes.) We’ll discuss this from two angles. First, let’s talk about what’s going on with those who believe in God always for the sake of gaining grace—do they believe in God in order to pursue gaining the truth so that they may attain salvation? (No, they believe for the sake of gaining blessings.) Then, has God given them little grace, protection, kindness, enlightenment, and illumination? (God has given them a lot of these things.) It can be said that every person who believes in God has received God’s protection. Is God’s protection concrete? Are there some real-life examples of this? What kinds of protection have people received? (A relatively obvious kind is that after believing in God, we are no longer influenced by the wicked trends of the world. We don’t fall into decadence or pursue those wicked things, like going to nightclubs, smoking, drinking, and so on. At the very least, we don’t get involved with these things and I believe we are quite protected in this regard.) This is a very tangible aspect that people can see and personally experience. Not being influenced and misled by the wicked trends of the world, living like a human, and living within normal humanity with the likeness of a human being—this is a practical example and evidence of God’s protection. Are there more? (Not being disturbed by evil spirits and being able to live under God’s protection.) This is also a practical example. Have most people had this experience? Can you apprehend the meaning within this? Some people say, “Nonbelievers aren’t disturbed by evil spirits either. How many nonbelievers are disturbed by evil spirits?” Is this statement correct? Do you feel this statement aligns with the facts? (Quite a few of my classmates have been disturbed by evil spirits. Some experience sleep paralysis, and others hear voices. They do not believe in God and do not know what is happening. They seek treatment everywhere but cannot cure this, they live in fear and dread; it’s agonizing. However, because I have believed in God since childhood, I have never been disturbed or suffered in this way. Most of the time, my heart feels relatively steady and at peace.) True believers in God do not have this concern. We do not worry about being afflicted with conversion disorder or about being disturbed or possessed by evil spirits; we are not afraid because we have God. Additionally, in real life, nonbelievers constantly talk about face-reading, feng shui, and fortune-telling—in the West, there is even astrology. Some people worship famous Buddhist statues, evil spirits, and idols, and some don’t, but whether they do or not, they are all influenced and restricted by these things to some extent. For example, before leaving the house, they must perform a bit of divination to see which direction is auspicious and which is inauspicious. When opening a shop, they determine which position for the counter will bring in money and which will not, what things to place in the shop and which idols to worship to attract wealth, and where to place certain things to avoid disrupting the feng shui. When moving, they must determine the auspicious time to move to ensure the family’s future prosperity and avoid mishaps, and determine which times are inauspicious. Even students are influenced by these beliefs when they take entrance examinations. On the day of the exam, they avoid saying words implying failure, and must say words like “excel” and “success” instead. Every single aspect of life—from children attending school, to parents living their daily lives, making money, moving house, seeking employment, as well as children’s marriages, and so on—is influenced by so-called feng shui and fortune, among other ideas. So, when people are influenced by these things, what are they being restricted by? They are being restricted by evil spirits; all these things are controlled by evil spirits. Then why do people worship those evil spirits? Why are they influenced by these things? For such a simple matter as moving, why must people always ponder over what time is auspicious to move and what time isn’t, what is auspicious to move first, and what is auspicious not to move? Why do they always have to consider these things? They must consider them because if they don’t, the evil spirits will act, tormenting and torturing them. What do you see from these matters? All of humankind lives under the control of the evil ones. Who are the evil ones? The greater evil ones are Satan and devils, and the lesser evil ones are the evil spirits in different places, the ones that control different races of people. Every aspect of human life is restricted and controlled by these evil spirits. Even when constructing a house, during the installation of the main beam, people hang red cloth and set off firecrackers for a bit of good luck, and the construction workers all wear red clothes to bring about financial prosperity, and to avoid accidents. There are some particular requirements and sayings about all these things, as well as taboos, and they must avoid the taboos and follow these sayings. For instance, some people often face hardships and things don’t go smoothly for them—they lose their jobs, their wives leave them, and they have nothing left at home. They can’t even pay back their house mortgages, and nothing seems to go right. They haven’t done anything bad, so why do these things happen to them? With no other options, they resort to worshiping false gods and evil spirits, or urgently seek someone to check their feng shui to change their luck, and after doing so, things gradually start to go well for them. They didn’t believe in these things before, but now when problems arise, they sincerely worship false gods and evil spirits, and before they do anything they must consult divination or fortune-telling. Is living like this exhausting or what? (Yes.) It’s downright tiring! Though they want to, they can’t live freely and at ease, or escape the constraints of these sayings and rules. If they break these rules, the evil spirits act and disturb them, and they are forcibly subdued by those evil spirits, and must worship them daily in order for their lives to go smoothly. However, those who believe in God are not confined by these feudal superstitions or the workings of evil spirits. They can move house or go as they please, without having to avoid any taboos. In mainland China, the Communist Party always oppresses and persecutes religious beliefs. If a believer can no longer live in a place, they must move quickly—do they need to choose an auspicious day or hour for this or worship something? No. They pray to God, and God protects them. Everything is in God’s hands—they are not bound by these things. Whenever they want to eat something or leave the house, do they need to consult the almanac or see whether it violates a taboo? No, they pray to God, and everything is in God’s hands. When people live under God’s dominion and sovereignty, with God’s protection and guidance, evil spirits and filthy demons, both great and small, are kept out of the way; they dare not act upon those who believe in God. Aren’t these people protected? Aren’t they living freely and easily? (Yes.) Is this grace great? (Yes.) No matter whether you have gained the truth yet or not, as long as you are a person who sincerely believes in God, you are someone predestined and selected by God, and when you come before God, He protects you like this, allowing you to enjoy such grace. What immense grace this is! Your personal safety and all your movements are kept safe and secure, God takes responsibility for these things and protects them, so you need not worry. Most of the time, people don’t even pray or consciously think to themselves, “I’ll pray to God, and ask God to protect me. I hope everything is fine and nothing bad happens.” You don’t even need to pray. As long as you have the simple conviction in your heart that, “I believe in God; everything is in God’s hands,” God will act. People enjoy such immense grace from God—is this gaining a little? (It’s gaining quite a lot.) God is the one and only Sovereign in the world. Your life and everything you own are in God’s hands, in the hands of this Sovereign, your heart feels peaceful, steady, and calm, and you need not worry about anything. No matter how much knowledge you have about God or how many truths you understand, you can be absolutely certain of this in your heart. Everything is in God’s hands. If believers in God have a place for Him in their hearts and understand the truth, evil spirits dare not disturb, damage, or come near them. Consequently, believers do not need to engage in those unnecessary processes. This is such an immense grace—how can you still say that you have gained nothing from believing in God? Aren’t you lacking in conscience? Without looking at anything else, just claiming to have gained nothing alone proves one’s utter lack of conscience, and it proves that one’s conscience is thoroughly bad; nothing more needs to be said about the rest.

God freely gives people the truth and life, providing His words to people without asking for anything in return. Although people may feel that their stature is still immature, that they haven’t understood much of the truth, and that they cannot express clearly the little they do understand, just these things God has given them, this affection and love—what immense grace this is! God has given people the most precious things; people have received the most valuable things in the world from God. Whether you have felt it or not, God has already given these to man. What do people still have to complain about? Are they worthy of receiving these things? Those selected by God are the happiest people in the world. You have been selected and chosen by God; you are one of the happiest and luckiest people in the world. How can you say that you have gained nothing? You have become one of the happiest and luckiest people because God has selected and chosen you, and thus, evil spirits and filthy demons dare not come near you. Some people ask, “Does that mean my status and identity have become honorable?” Can this be said? It cannot, because this is all due to God’s love and God’s actions. People have gained so much! Just in this life alone, people have gained so much; how are people at all qualified to receive all this? Some who believe in God do not pursue the truth at all and still keep saying, “What have I gained from many years of believing in God?” Can’t you calculate it yourself? You know in your heart whether you understand the truth, how much less evil you have committed, and even more so, you know in your heart how much grace you have enjoyed. If in your heart you are clear on these points, you would not say things that are so lacking in conscience. Some also say, “God’s house provides my food, clothing, and shelter too.” Isn’t this very minor compared to God’s grace and protection? Isn’t this not even worth mentioning? However, those with conscience feel that although it’s not worth mentioning, it is still part of God’s grace. God’s grace is immeasurable; God has given so much to people! As for those material things, from God’s perspective, He doesn’t even count them.

One aspect of God’s actions is to protect people, and another is to lead them onto the path of salvation so that they can be saved. People have enjoyed this affection of God and His love for them, and God has bestowed upon them abundant grace! Additionally, there is something that is the most important: the truth that God has bestowed upon people, namely, words that no one in human history, in any age, ever heard or received. Regardless of how many times God has created humanity, He has never done this work or spoken these words. All the mysteries related to humanity, what people can bear, grasp, and understand—God has told you all of it. Can these mysteries, these truths, be measured by any amount? They cannot be measured; people cannot exhaust their enjoyment over many lifetimes. Why do I say this? It’s because these words from God are the foundation for people’s existence, and they can exist for eternity. If you really are fortunate enough to survive and live for eternity, then these words and truths from God can provide for you eternally. What is the meaning of eternity? It means not being limited by time, it means being boundless. If we interpret it literally, it means not having an end—living on eternally, just like God Himself. These words and truths from God can exist until that time. “That time” is a concept and definition of time expressed in human language, but it really means indefinitely. Tell Me, is the value of these words from God great or not? It’s incredibly great! If you don’t pursue them, then it’s your loss; it’s you being foolish. But if you pursue them, these words hold a value for you that goes far beyond just this lifetime; it extends into eternity. They will always be effective and useful for you, and they will have value and meaning forever, providing for you eternally. If you understand these words, obtain them, and live by them, you will be able to live eternally. To put it in simpler terms, you will live forever without tasting death. Isn’t this something that people dream of? Countless ages will have passed, countless people will have died, but you will still remain alive. By what means will you remain alive? It is through God’s words, through the truth, that you will have the qualifications to live on like this. What are you going to do with this continuous life? You have God’s commission, God’s leadership, and you also have a mission. What is your mission? By means of you living out His words, God wants you to glorify Him and be His testimony. This is the value of God’s words. The value and significance of the truth and words that people hear, come into contact with, and experience in this age will exist for eternity. Why will they exist for eternity? These words of God are not a theology, theory, slogan, or a kind of knowledge, but the words of life. As long as you obtain these words, live by them, and survive by them, God will permit you to keep on living and not let you die. That is, He will not destroy you or take away your life—He will let you go on living. Isn’t this a great blessing? (Yes, it is great.) Through these words God wants you to have a foretaste of this blessing in this life and obtain it in the world to come. This is God’s promise. Considering the immense promise God has given to humanity, have people received a lot? (Yes.) God has made such a great promise to humanity, making it known to all. He has told you about it, allowing you to come and take it freely. You do not need to sacrifice your life or hand over all of your possessions; you only need to listen to God’s words, and act according to God’s requirements and His desires, and you can receive this promise from God. Hasn’t God given a lot to humanity? You are currently on the path to obtaining this promise: Though you haven’t fully received it yet, have you received little? Looking at the promise God has bestowed on humanity, people have received quite a lot. They have gained a significant advantage; they haven’t lost out or suffered any losses at all. They’ve only invested a bit of time, and their flesh might have endured some toil. They may have sacrificed some family happiness, personal fleshly likes and desires, given up some of their own aspirations, interests, and wishes, etc. However, compared to understanding the truth, attaining salvation, and receiving God’s promise, all those personal prospects, goals, and aspirations are not worth mentioning, because they can only lead you to hell, and God won’t grant you His promise for those things. Conversely, when people invest a limited amount of time, a price they are willing and capable of paying, ultimately they come to understand the truth, grasp some mysteries and principles for being a person not understood by humanity since God’s creation, understand certain essences and origins of all events and things, etc. Even more importantly, they gain some knowledge about God and are able to fear Him. Having obtained all of this, isn’t it worth it to pay such a price? What grievances do people have? Why do they say they gain nothing from believing in God? Hasn’t their conscience become utterly rotten? They’ve gained so much, and they’re still not content. What more do they want? Would they be satisfied if they were made a president or a billionaire? If God were to give them those things, then they wouldn’t belong to Him. God doesn’t want to gain people like this.

People always say they’ve gained nothing from believing in God, which shows they lack conscience, lack any ability to comprehend the truth, do not pursue the truth, and are of exceptionally low character. Such people have no pure comprehension of what God does, what God requires of people, and what God has bestowed on people, among other things. Eventually, when things happen to make them slightly displeased, the abundant anger they’ve pent up instantly explodes: “What have I gained from believing in God? My flesh has suffered so much. I have done whatever duties the church assigned to me. No matter how hard or tiring, I have never complained; no matter how great the difficulties, I never said anything. I have never made any demands of God’s house. With my great love and great loyalty, what have I gained? If even I gain nothing, others have even less hope of gaining anything!” The implication is: “You have not offered as much as I have, you have not paid the price I have; if even I have gained nothing, what can you gain? You all need to be careful; don’t be foolish!” Don’t such people lack a conscience? A conscienceless person always speaks foolish and pigheaded words. They cannot comprehend a single one of all the many truths spoken by God, or of all the many pure and positive things and statements, instead they stubbornly cling to their own viewpoints: “I endure hardships and pay a price for God, so God must bless me, and must allow me to gain more than others. If not, I will vent, I will explode, I will hurl curses! Whatever I want, God must grant to me, and if I don’t get it, then God is not righteous, and I will say I have gained nothing—this is speaking the plain truth!” Don’t they lack humanity? The words of someone lacking humanity certainly cannot stand firm, let alone conform to the truth; the latter is a bit too much to ask of them. The words one speaks must be legitimate requests, legitimate statements, not twisted arguments; they must stand firm, no matter who listens to or who appraises them. However, the words and actions of people with poor humanity cannot stand firm. When they throw tantrums and vent their grievances, some people think, “Why do they say they have gained nothing? Could it be that God’s house has wronged them somehow? Is it that some of the actions of God’s house do not accord with principles and cannot be brought to light? That person seems quite capable of enduring hardships and paying a price usually, but today they have erupted so fiercely, saying they have gained nothing; it seems they really have gained nothing. Isn’t this provoking a well-behaved person to anger? I’d better be careful then; I shouldn’t endure such hardship or pay such a price as I previously have when doing my duties!” This is how some muddled people who lack discernment become influenced.

For people who often vent negativity, if they really have viewpoints or ideas to express, let them speak first and expose their views. After they have, everyone will understand: “They feel that the price they paid doesn’t square with what they gained. They feel that they haven’t gained any benefits and that they’ve suffered losses, so they’ve grown unwilling. They are complaining about God, hoping to bargain with God, demanding grace and benefits!” Can the average person discern such a person once they’ve heard them speak? Once everyone is able to discern them, say to the person, “Have you finished speaking? If you have nothing more to say, then shut up, or you’ll make a fool of yourself. If your wicked nature is exposed in front of everyone and not promptly reined in, it will incite public outrage. When everyone exposes and rejects you, it will be too late for regrets.” Warn them in this way, and by doing so, you’ll have restricted them. Or, you could also say: “If you feel you’ve lost out, you don’t have to believe in God. You feel you haven’t gained anything, so what is it you want to gain, exactly? If it’s to make a fortune and become wealthy, or to hold high office, then I’m sorry, but these aren’t things one can obtain just because they want to; these are matters ordained by God. God’s appearance and His work of man’s salvation aren’t about giving people these things. Go wherever you can get them; God’s house is not the world, it can’t satisfy devils and Satans. You’d better not demand such things from God’s house, nor from the brothers and sisters; if you dare ask God for these things, then you will offend His disposition and provoke His anger. This is because God has granted plenty of grace to people, and He has bestowed even more truths on people to be their lives. That you don’t view gaining the truth as precious is your being foolish and ignorant.” Everyone reproaches and prunes them like this. What do you think of this practice? Or, you can say: “God’s house doesn’t owe you anything. Your expenditure for God and performance of your duties were all voluntary. Do you know how much grace you have enjoyed from God since you began believing in Him and doing duties? If you have any conscience at all, you shouldn’t tell God that you have gained nothing; you should come before God and recognize your own problems. If you truly believe that God is the truth, that everything God does is the truth and His words are the truth, then you shouldn’t be saying that; you shouldn’t be complaining. Your current attitude is not one that someone who believes in God should have, nor is it the attitude that someone seeking the truth should have. You’re trying to revolt, to rehash your old problems with God! You’re trying to part ways with God, to settle the final account! But God owes you nothing, and neither does God’s house. If you are going to settle accounts with God’s house, then hurry up and leave His house. Do not pester God’s house, or else you’ll provoke His wrath and He’ll strike you down. That wouldn’t be a great consequence. If you have any conscience or reason, you should calm down to pray and seek, to see whether there is anything wrong with your perspective on pursuit in your belief in God, and whether the path you’re on is the one that God requires you to walk. You have so many unreasonable demands toward God, such great resentment; this indicates that something’s gone wrong with your pursuit. You didn’t build up such deep resentment in just a day or two; it’s been building for a long time. Or maybe you’ve been coming before God with a wrong viewpoint in mind since you started believing in Him, and whatever He’s said, you’ve been numb, and as a result you feel no remorse or indebtedness whatsoever. Maybe that’s what led to things being as they are today. You’d better hurry to confess and repent; there’s time yet to repent. If you don’t, and continue to do evil and vent negativity, then you will become a devil, an antichrist. When God’s house clears you out, you will no longer have any chance of being saved—what’s condemned by God’s house is also condemned by God. We are giving you this warning in consideration of your ability to endure hardship and pay a price over the many years you have believed in God. We’re giving you a chance. If you insist on your own way and refuse to listen to advice, and God’s house decides to clear you out, you will then be a brother or sister no longer. You will have zero hope of being saved. When that time comes, you really will have gained nothing. Don’t be regretful then. What is most crucial for you now is to turn your thoughts, viewpoints, and the direction of your pursuit around. Don’t always be seeking to gain something anymore. Listen to God’s words; see how much of what God exposes of people’s corrupt dispositions you can reflect on and know in yourself. Have you resolved the problems you can identify in yourself, the ones you can see clearly? Have you recognized your rebellion against God? Have you resolved it? The biggest problem you face now is always wanting to settle accounts with God—what is this problem? Is this not a problem that needs to be resolved? You believe in God always with some intent, with a transaction in mind; you’re always eager to gain blessings, hoping to exchange effort, expenditure, and fleshly suffering for the blessings of the kingdom of heaven—isn’t this the logic of a bandit? Why don’t you take a look at what kind of people God bestows blessings on, what God’s requirements for people are, what God has said to people, and what people need to achieve to receive God’s promises? If you truly believe in God and truly want to be saved, then don’t always try to gain something from God. You need to look at how much of God’s words you have put into practice, at whether you are a person who follows God’s words. To follow God’s words is to practice and live according to God’s requirements and the truth principles, not merely to suffer a bit physically and pay a small price. Your corrupt disposition is unresolved, and there are intentions to all the prices you pay and all the hardships you undergo. God does not approve of this; He does not want such a price. If you insist on settling accounts with God, if you insist on arguing and contending with God, then you are offending His disposition, and He will let you have your way, down to hell to be punished. This is the retribution for doing evil. You have enjoyed many blessings and graces from God, and He’s given you some special material treatment. You have already received what you should have—what more do you want from God?” If you fellowshipped these words, wouldn’t the aggrieved mood of a person with a bit of conscience and reason subside a bit to hear them? Are these words of pure comprehension that accord with the truth? (Yes.) If a person has humanity and reason, they can understand and accept them. Only those without humanity, those who are without conscience and reason, would think that these words are trying to trick them, that they’re high-sounding rhetoric, unworthy of belief, and that they aren’t as tangibly beneficial as visible grace or material blessings. So, before they see those tangible benefits, whatever you say is useless; they will not accept it. They might not oppose it to your face, but behind your back, they’ll still keep resisting in their hearts, venting negativity from time to time, showcasing their own contributions, counting up the hardships they have endured, as well as how God’s house treats them, how they endure God’s house—they always keep these things in their hearts. Whatever happens to them, as long as they don’t receive what they desire, their beastliness bursts forth, they explode in fury, exposing their disgraceful behavior, and they vent negativity. Should you still try to persuade such a person? If, after a simple urging, they still exhibit the same character, their old problems return, and their devilishness flares up again, what should be done? It’s then time to impose restrictions. Don’t leave them a chance to repent. They are like rotten timber; they’re foolish, stubborn wretches. In what sense are they “foolish, stubborn wretches”? In the sense that they do not accept the pure way and do not accept positive things. Instead, they embrace twisted arguments, heresies, and fallacies, clinging to their own viewpoints of gaining tangible benefits, taking advantage, and not suffering losses. No matter how God’s house fellowships the truth, they always say, “Those are all nice-sounding words. Who can’t say a few nice things? If you lost out, you wouldn’t be saying that.” They stubbornly cling to such views, and when something displeasing happens or they take a loss, they feel they haven’t gained anything from believing in God, and they’ll vent negativity again. Should they still be given a chance? No more chances. If they do not do their duties well, disturbing others instead, stop and restrict them right away. Do not allow them to speak freely. If they continue to spread negativity and disturb others, show them no more courtesy. Clear them out with haste. This isn’t being unloving, is it? (No.) The truth has been spoon-fed to them in fellowship, but they cannot take it in, no matter how it’s fellowshipped—what does this indicate? On the surface, this person seems to be a disbeliever, but in essence, they are a devil. They’ve come to God’s house to ask for grace and blessings from God, to gain benefits, and they will not rest until they gain them. If they haven’t gained any benefits after believing for a while, their satanic dispositions will erupt; they will pour out their dissatisfaction with God, commit evil, and cause disturbances. This is a devil. The bit of suffering and expenditure they’ve undertaken are fundamentally not the practice of God’s words. They’re purely about making a deal, about gaining benefits and blessings for themselves. When things befall those who always want to gain something from their belief in God, and they are negative and weak, they always say, “I’ve gained nothing from believing in God.” Then, they give up and begin to act recklessly, seek to retaliate, and often vent negativity to pour out their emotions of dissatisfaction. We’ve already fellowshipped how to treat such people: They should be handled according to principles. If they can accept the truth and guarantee that they won’t cause more disturbances in the future, they can be given another chance to remain in the church. If they’re always out to disturb and damage the work and life of the church, then cleanse them away. This is to protect the work of the church and ensure that God’s chosen people can live church life undisturbed. This decision is made and this method is adopted based on this principle. It’s appropriate.