(7) To find a backer

The seventh purpose people have for believing in God is to find a backer. Have you ever seen such people? This is a rather special situation; although they are not many, they definitely exist. This is because God’s churches have not only appeared in China, but also in Asia, Europe, America, and various countries in Africa, and so these opportunists and disbelievers will appear along with them. No matter how likely it is for these people to appear, in any case, once they do, you must face them and discern them, and do not let these disbelievers gain any status and create disturbances in the church. If you think that these problems do not exist because they have not appeared or you have not encountered them, this is a foolish idea. Once these problems arise, if you do not have discernment and do not know how to resolve them, they will bring great hidden dangers to the church, to God’s house, to the brothers and sisters, and to the church’s work. So, before anything happens, you need to know what issues should be faced and how to resolve them. This is the best way; it serves as an invisible protection for you. The people mentioned in the seventh purpose for believing in God, those who believe in God to find a backer, are not few in number. This society is filled with injustice, discrimination, and oppression everywhere. People living in all levels of society are full of loathing and hatred toward various injustices in society and are also full of anger. However, it is not easy to escape the injustices of the human world unless you vanish from it. As long as one lives in this world, as long as they live among these people, they will—more or less, and to greater and lesser extents—be bullied and humiliated, and may even be hunted and persecuted by some powerful forces. These various injustices and inequalities have caused great stress on people’s psyches, bringing them significant psychological pressure and, of course, many inconveniences to people’s normal lives. As a result, some people can’t help but develop a certain idea: “In order for a person to establish themselves in society, they must have a force behind them to rely on. When they encounter difficulties and need help, or when they’re on their own and helpless, there will then be a group of people to back them up and call the shots, to sort out the troubles and problems they face, or to ensure the essentials for their living.” Therefore, they strive to seek such support. Of course, some of these people eventually find the church. They believe that people in the church are united in heart and working toward the same goal, each having faith, possessing good intentions and acting kindly toward others, staying away from social conflicts, and distancing themselves from the evil trends of society. For those who believe in God, the church is undoubtedly a symbol of great justice in this society and the world; the people in the church also have a positive, good, and kind image in people’s minds. Some choose to believe in God because they are at the bottom of society, with no power in society whatsoever and entirely lacking a good family background. They encounter various difficulties with getting an education, making friends, finding jobs, or doing various things, so they believe that to survive and establish themselves in this society, they must have some people to help them. For example, when looking for a job, if they rely on themselves, combing aimlessly through job opportunity after job opportunity, they might almost exhaust their savings without necessarily finding a suitable job. But if they are aided in their search by some reliable people who can sincerely help them, the trouble they have to go through is much less, and the time spent on job hunting is greatly reduced. Therefore, they believe that if they can find such a backer, when it comes to everything they have to deal with in society—getting an education, job hunting, even their day-to-day life and survival—they will have some people to pull strings and support them, a group of enthusiastic people helping them behind the scenes. Thus, when they find the church, they feel they have found the right place. The church becomes a very good choice for them to establish themselves in society and achieve a peaceful life. For example, whether it’s seeing a doctor, shopping, buying insurance, buying a house, helping their children choose schools, or even handling any matter, they can always find loving people in the church to extend a hand and help them resolve these issues. This way, their lives become much more convenient, they are no longer so alone in society, and the difficulties in handling matters are greatly reduced. Therefore, for them, coming to the church to believe in God truly provides tangible benefits. Even if they go to the doctor, the brothers and sisters will find acquaintances in the hospital to help them out; they can utilize them to get the best deals on purchases, and even buy houses at insider prices. With the help of the brothers and sisters in the church, all these problems are solved. They feel, “Believing in God is so great! Finding a job, handling affairs, and making purchases are all convenient now! Whenever I need something, I just have to make a phone call or send a message to the group, and everyone joins forces to lend a helping hand. There are so many kind people in the church; handling matters is so convenient! It wasn’t easy finding a backer, so I won’t leave the church no matter what. But the gatherings in God’s house always involve reading God’s words and fellowshipping the truth, which makes me awkward and conflicted. I am unwilling to eat and drink God’s words, and I feel averse whenever I hear fellowship on the truth. But if I don’t listen, that won’t work—I can’t leave them. They help me out so much. If I refuse to listen, I’ll feel embarrassed, and it would also be awkward to say I don’t believe anymore, so I just have to go along and say nice things.” In their hearts, they don’t actually want to believe, but they can only shut this feeling away. Some people say, “You only see them always asking the brothers and sisters to handle matters, and them being quite happy when the brothers and sisters help—You can discern that their purpose for believing in God is to find a backer from this alone?” Apart from these manifestations, look at whether they usually read God’s words and fellowship the truth, whether they can fulfill their duty and have any real changes; this will let you know if they sincerely believe in God. Those who seek a backer believe in God just to use the church and the brothers and sisters to handle matters for them and resolve the difficulties in their lives. But they never mention doing their duty, nor do they eat and drink or fellowship God’s words. As soon as they hear about some nifty way to get things done, they become highly excited; they start blabbering incessantly and can’t even be interrupted. But when it comes to doing duty or being honest and not telling lies or cheating others, they turn mute. They are not interested in these things in their hearts—no matter how passionately you speak, they have no response and do not engage; they even constantly try to interrupt you and steer the topic toward something they are interested in. They rack their brains thinking of ways to get the brothers and sisters to do things for them and put in effort for them, not wanting to give the brothers and sisters any opportunity to mention doing duty or expending oneself for God. If anyone suggests that they do their duties and expend themselves for God, they quickly find an urgent matter of their own to offer up in exchange; while the brothers and sisters handle this matter for them, they reluctantly put in some effort for God’s house, satisfying the brothers and sisters’ request by a narrow margin, and once their personal matter is settled, they grow cold toward the brothers and sisters. To maintain contact with the church, to not lose this backer that is the church and these helpers that are the brothers and sisters, they keep close contact with everyone who is useful to them, often inquiring solicitously after them, saying considerate and insincere words to maintain relationships. They talk about how much they believe in God’s existence, how much God blesses them, how much grace God gives them, and how they often shed tears, feeling indebted to God and willing to repay God’s love—this is to deceive the brothers and sisters and gain their help. Once someone is no longer worth exploiting, they immediately block and delete their contact information. They vigorously curry favor with, cater to, and get close to those who are most beneficial to them, those who are most worth exploiting. As for those who are not worth exploiting, those who, like them, have no influence or status in society and are also at the bottom rung of society without anyone to rely on, they don’t even spare them a glance. They exclusively associate with those who are worth exploiting and who have connections in society, those they see as capable. They can put in effort and endure hardship for the church only when they need something from the church or the brothers and sisters. Actually, the manifestations of disbelievers of such people are very obvious. At home, they never read God’s words, never pray to God when there are no difficulties, and participate in church life with great reluctance. They don’t ask to do duties and do not take the initiative to involve themselves in church work; they especially never actively participate in dangerous work. Even if they do agree to do it, they show great impatience, and only when called or invited do they reluctantly put in a bit of effort. These are manifestations of disbelievers. Not reading God’s words, not doing duty—even though they reluctantly participate in church life, it’s to avoid losing the community of the brothers and sisters in the church, a huge backer for them. They maintain relationships with these people just to make it more convenient for them to handle matters in the future. Once such people gain a foothold in society and have a place to settle down and begin their lives, and once they’ve made it in the world and have acquired influence and prospects for a dazzling future, they will quickly and unhesitatingly leave the church, sever ties with the brothers and sisters, and lose contact. If there is a potential gospel recipient with whom they have a good relationship and you want to contact them to preach the gospel to that person, you won’t be able to reach them. They not only sever ties with the church but also end friendships with certain individuals. Haven’t they already betrayed themselves as disbelievers? (Yes.) So how should the church handle such people? (Clear them out.) Should we give them a chance, show understanding for their weakness and for the difficulties in their lives, and support and help them more so they can come to believe that God exists, become interested in the truth, and sincerely expend themselves for God? Does this work need to be done? (No.) Why not? (Because these people are not here to believe in God at all.) That’s right, they have not come to believe in God; their goal is very clear—they are here to find a backer. So, can fellowshipping the truth with such people achieve any results? (No.) They won’t take it in; they don’t value it, don’t need it, and aren’t interested in it.

How should we describe those who believe in God just to find a backer? It is quite fitting to describe them as people who put their own interests before anything else. As long as they see someone is useful and beneficial to them, they will do anything that person asks; they will even follow any and all orders they give. They put their own interests above everything else; as long as something serves their interests, that’s fine. If you tell them that believing in God will bring blessings and benefits, they will definitely believe in Him and do whatever you ask them to do. As long as your ability to handle matters in society meets their needs and allows them to benefit, they will certainly associate with you. However, their association with you does not mean they can truly believe in God, nor does it mean they will sincerely expend themselves for God as you do. Even if they get along well with you and you have an especially good relationship, it does not necessarily mean you speak the same language, follow the same path, or have the same pursuits. Therefore, you must not be misled by such people. These people are slick and have tactics for interacting with other people. Their purpose for believing in God is to find a backer, not to pursue the truth and achieve salvation. This shows how lowly and dark their character is! They come to the church to find people they can exploit, conspiring to obtain various benefits for themselves. Doesn’t this mean that such people are capable of acting without any scruples and doing all manner of shameless things? (Yes.) Just from the fact that their purpose for believing in God is to find a backer and secure a living, it is clear that these people are nothing good, and they are lowly in character, selfish, despicable, and sordid, living in great darkness. Therefore, the principle of the church for dealing with them is likewise to discern them and then clear them out or expel them. Once you discern that they are not true believers, that they have come to the church looking for a way out and taking advantage, wanting to exploit the brothers and sisters to handle matters and render service for them, then, in such cases, leaders and workers and the brothers and sisters should promptly and accurately handle the situation. Without endangering the safety of the church or the brothers and sisters, clear them out or expel them as soon as possible. They should not be allowed to continue to lurk among the brothers and sisters. They are not the objects of God’s salvation. When such people are lurking in your midst, they constantly keep a covetous and watchful eye on everyone to see who is worth exploiting. They are always calculating if there are people in the church they can use—who has relatives working in a hospital, who knows how to treat diseases or has secret remedies, who can get wholesale prices at stores, which brother’s family runs a car dealership, who can get insider prices on houses—they specifically investigate these matters. These people are meticulous in their calculations! They calculate even small matters, and they also wish to scheme against the brothers and sisters, and plot to take advantage of them. They investigate the family background of everyone and keep everyone within the ambit of their schemes and conspiracies. Can your hearts feel peace when interacting with such people? (No.) What should be done if there is no peace? You should be on guard against such people. These people believe in God with ulterior motives; they are not here to pursue the truth or salvation, but to find a backer, a livelihood, and a way out for themselves. Such people are especially selfish, despicable, and insidious. They do not do any duty or expend themselves for God. When the church needs them for something, they are nowhere to be found, but they reappear once the matter is over. These people only know to take advantage, and there is no use letting them remain in the church; various methods must be called upon to cleanse them away as soon as possible. Some people say, “Does it really require various methods to deal with one person?” The church has all kinds of people; many of them believe in God just to find a backer and a way out, to gain blessings, or to avoid disasters. It is only the severity of these motives that varies; some people display one kind of behavior, while others display another. Therefore, different people must be treated differently; only this aligns with principles. As for these disbelievers who are looking for a backer, they must be cleansed away promptly. Don’t let them freeload in the church. They ask the brothers and sisters to handle matters for them—since it actually only requires a little bit of effort to help them handle matters, why shouldn’t they be lent even this small bit of help? The first point is that, crucially, these people are not true believers; they are thoroughgoing disbelievers. The second point is that these people cannot change from not believing to being true believers. They are not the ones whom God has predestined and chosen; they are not the objects of His salvation—rather, they are evildoers who have infiltrated the church. The third point is that these people rush about all over in the church, always seeking help from the brothers and sisters no matter how great the issue they face is, which imperceptibly harasses the brothers and sisters and meanwhile creates a severely negative atmosphere in the church that is detrimental to everyone. Therefore, it is best to cleanse away these devils who believe in God only to find a backer as soon as possible. If you haven’t identified them or perceived that they are this type of person yet, you can retain them for observation. Once you discern and see through that they are among the various evil people that God’s house needs to clear out, don’t hesitate or show them any courtesy. After discussing with everyone and reaching a consensus, you can clear them out. If the leaders and workers in the church ignore this matter, as long as the majority of the brothers and sisters confirm that they are the type who believes in God only to find a backer and a way out, you have the right to clear them out directly without going through false leaders. Doing so is correct and fully aligns with the truth principles. It is your right, your obligation, your responsibility; it is for your own protection. Of course, when the brothers and sisters who are true believers encounter difficulties, we have the responsibility and obligation to do our utmost to help them to the best of our abilities, either with loving help and support, or through material assistance. This is the love among brothers and sisters, the love of those who believe in God. However, we have no responsibility or obligation to practice helping disbelievers because they are not brothers and sisters and do not deserve this grace or such help. This is treating people according to principles. Our fellowship on the seventh purpose for believing in God concludes here. There’s no need to provide any more specific examples about these kinds of people. In short, anyone whose purpose for believing in God is to find a backer is someone who should be cleared out or expelled from the church. Once leaders and workers discern that there are such people in the church, they should promptly clear them out. Clear out each one you find, leaving none behind. If the majority of the brothers and sisters have already been harassed to the point of feeling helpless and being unable to bear it anymore, and the leaders and workers still defend them by saying, “They have difficulties; we should help them,” then such leaders should be told: “They are not true believers in God at all. They ignore anyone who fellowships God’s words with them and refuse to do their duty when told. They’ve never had any intention of expending themselves for God, and they just want to use the brothers and sisters to handle their matters. We have no responsibility or obligation to help such disbelievers!” Even if the church leader does not approve, you have the right to join together with the majority to clear them out of the church. If the church leader still does not agree at this point, then report the matter upward; isolate the leader and let them reflect. You can accept their leadership again once they agree. If they continue to disagree, you can remove them and re-elect a new leader. This is the seventh purpose for believing in God: to find a backer.