The Responsibilities of Leaders and Workers (5) Part Two
Next we will fellowship about why God’s house promotes and cultivates all kinds of talented people. Some people don’t quite understand this, and think, “Wouldn’t it just suffice for God’s house to go straight ahead with promoting and using the various talented people? Why does it need to cultivate and train them for a period of time?” Do you understand this or not? Let’s first talk about the kind of people who become leaders and workers. Why does God’s house promote and cultivate those who have the comprehension ability, who carry a burden for the church, and who possess work capability? It is because although they are qualified in terms of their caliber and meeting the criteria, they have not yet had real experience and do not understand the truth, much less do they know how to practice the truth and do things according to principles. They must be trained for a period of time and given guidance, and only when they have mastered the principles of doing their duty and have real experience can they be formally used. If they were like the brothers and sisters in the church, eating and drinking God’s words, listening to sermons, living the life of the church, and training in doing a duty, and were only promoted and cultivated once their life had grown, then their progress would be too slow. In that case, how many years would it take for them to be fit for God’s use? Would this not affect the church’s work? Therefore, as long as someone has the ability to comprehend the truth, possesses work capability, and has a sense of burden, they should be promoted and cultivated and asked to train in doing the duty of a leader or a worker, and given a burden. In one regard, it gets them to make the most of their strengths. In another regard, when they encounter special situations, it is necessary to fellowship on the truth with them in order to resolve their difficulties. Sometimes they must also be pruned, and if necessary, they must also be disciplined and have to undergo numerous trials and refinement, and endure much suffering. Only by undergoing such practical training can they make real progress, and step by step understand the truth and master the principles, and then shoulder the work of leaders and workers as soon as possible. Cultivating and training leaders and workers this way will produce better results and be faster, which is beneficial to the work of God’s house and more beneficial to the life entry of God’s chosen people, because leaders and workers with practical experience can directly water and provide for God’s chosen people. When God’s house promotes and cultivates someone to be a leader, it gives them more of a burden to train them, to make them depend on God, and to make them strive toward the truth; only then will their stature grow as quickly as possible. The greater the burden that is placed on them, the more pressure they are put under, and the more they are forced to seek the truth and depend on God. Ultimately, they will be able to do their work properly and follow God’s will, and so will have set foot upon the right track of being saved and made perfect—this is the effect that is achieved when God’s house promotes and cultivates people. Without doing these specific tasks, they would not know what they are lacking, they would not know how to do things according to principles, and they would not know what it means to possess the truth reality. So doing specific work helps them discover their shortcomings and see that, apart from their gifts, they are devoid of the truth reality; it helps them sense how impoverished and pitiful they are, making them realize that if they do not depend on God and seek the truth, they will be incapable of any work; it makes them truly get to know themselves and see clearly that if they do not pursue the truth and changes in disposition, it will be impossible for them to be fit for God’s use. These are all the effects that must be achieved when leaders and workers are cultivated and trained. Only by understanding these aspects can people pursue the truth with both feet on the ground, comport themselves with a low profile, be guaranteed to no longer brag about themselves when doing their work, consistently exalt God and testify to God in doing their duty, and enter step by step into the truth reality. When someone is promoted and cultivated to be a leader, they are enabled to learn how to discern the states of different people, train in seeking the truth to solve different people’s difficulties, and supporting and providing for different kinds of people, and leading people into the truth reality. At the same time, they must also train in resolving various problems and difficulties encountered during work, and learn how to distinguish and deal with various types of antichrists, evil people, and disbelievers, and how to do the work of cleansing the church. In this way, compared with others, they can experience more people, events, and things, and more environments arranged by God, eat and drink more and more of the words of God, and enter into ever more truth realities. This is an opportunity to train themselves, is it not? The more the opportunities for training, the more plentiful people’s experiences, the broader their insights, and the more quickly they will grow. If people do not do the work of a leader, however, they will only encounter and undergo personal existence and personal experiences, and only recognize personal corrupt dispositions and various personal states—all of which only relate to themselves. Once they become a leader, they encounter more people, more events, and more environments, which encourages them to often come before God to seek the truth principles. For them, these people, events, and things form an invisible burden, and naturally also create highly favorable conditions for their entry into the truth reality, which is a good thing. And so, someone who is possessed of caliber, carries a burden, and has work capability will enter slowly as an ordinary believer, and faster as a leader or worker. For people, is it a good thing to enter the truth reality quickly, or slowly? (Quickly.) Therefore, when it comes to people who are possessed of caliber, carry a burden, and have work capability, God’s house makes an exception by promoting such people, unless they are not people who pursue the truth and they do not strive toward the truth, in which case, God’s house will not force them. As long as a person has the foundation of belief in God, meets the criteria for being a leader or worker, and is willing to pursue the truth and be used by God, then there is no question that God’s house will promote and cultivate them, give them the opportunity to train in being a leader or worker, and enable them to learn to do the church’s work, and learn to discern people, and learn to deal with all the various problems in the church, and learn to carry out various jobs according to work arrangements. During the period of being trained, if people can accept the truth and accept being pruned, can submit to God’s orchestration and arrangements, can seek the truth to resolve various problems, and learn to treat all kinds of people and distinguish and deal with all kinds of people according to God’s words, then they can get to grips with the relevant truth principles, and come to understand the truth and enter into reality—these are things that ordinary believers cannot experience or gain. So from this point of view, is it a good thing or a bad thing for God’s house to promote and cultivate someone? Is it of benefit to them, or is it a hardship that is forced upon them? It is of benefit to them. Of course, when some people have just been promoted, they don’t know what tasks they should do or how to do them, and are a little bewildered. This is normal; who was ever born able to do everything? If you could do everything, you would certainly be the most arrogant and conceited of people, and wouldn’t yield to anyone—in which case, could you still accept the truth? If you could do everything, would you still depend on God and look up to Him? Would you still seek the truth to resolve the problems of your own corruption? You certainly would not. On the contrary, you would be arrogant and conceited and walk the path of antichrists, you would fight for power and status and yield to no one, and you would mislead and ensnare people, and disrupt and disturb the church’s work—in which case, could you still be used by God’s house? If you know that you have many shortcomings, you should learn to obey and submit, and do the various tasks well according to the requirements of God’s house; this will allow you to gradually reach the point where you can do your duty in a way that is up to standard. But most people can’t do something so simple as obeying and submitting, so they shouldn’t blame God’s house for not promoting and cultivating them, because they are incapable of obeying. If even obeying is beyond you, would God’s house dare to promote and cultivate you? (No.) And why not? Using you would be too risky, too much trouble, too much of a worry! Because if ever God’s house used you, you might take control over people, and lead them onto the path of wickedness—that’s why it’s so risky. If you were used, you might recklessly commit misdeeds and throw the work into utter disarray, and God’s house would have to dismiss you and clean up all of the mess for you—that’s why it’s too much trouble. And if you were used, you would not know how to do any of the work, and you would have no effect at all in terms of your work; in all of the work you do, you would have to be urged, supervised, and tracked by the Above, who would have to intervene in all matters—so why should you be used? You’re too worrisome! This kind of person absolutely cannot be used. Even if they were cultivated, it would be of no avail, and would even cause a lot of trouble and also impact on the cultivation of others; wouldn’t the gains be outweighed by the losses? (Yes.)
Some people, because they are never promoted or used by God’s house, get ideas into their head and say, “Why doesn’t the Above ever notice me? Why doesn’t God’s house ever promote and cultivate me? It’s not fair!” Well, they should first weigh up whether they can obey, and whether they can submit to the arrangements of God’s house. Secondly, they should weigh up whether they meet the three criteria required for God’s house to promote and cultivate people to be leaders and workers—being able to comprehend the truth, carrying a burden, and possessing work capability. If they meet these criteria, then sooner or later they will have the opportunity to be promoted, cultivated, and used. For the house of God to promote them, there are things that are asked of them. And what are these things? They are required to act according to the principles and requirements of God’s house; they must do what is requested of them, and in the manner that is requested, thus cultivating them to first learn to act in a principled manner, and learn to seek the truth and submit to the truth, and learn to cooperate harmoniously. During the time that they are cultivated, at times God’s house will prune them; at times it will severely reprimand them; at times it will inquire as to the progress of their work; at times it will ask them exactly how the work is going, and will check up on their work; and at times, it will test what their point of view toward a certain thing is. The aim of these tests is not to make things hard for them, but to make them understand, in these matters, what the intentions of God are, and what attitude and principles they ought to possess. God’s house does this to train them and to get them to practice. And what is the aim and objective of training people? It is to enable them to understand the truth. The aim of understanding the truth is for people to be able to submit to the truth and act in accordance with principles, to keep to their place and loyally fulfill their duty, and, in the process of doing their duty, to enter into different truth realities and achieve changes in their disposition. God’s house trains leaders and workers in this way. As long as leaders and workers understand the truth, there is hope of them being able to lead God’s chosen people to understand the truth. However many truths leaders and workers understand, that is how many truths the people they lead have hope of understanding. When leaders and workers grasp the truth principles in their work, those they lead can also grasp the principles and enter the truth reality in their work. Therefore, leaders and workers who undergo training must possess better caliber than other people. They are enabled to understand the truth principles first and enter into the truth reality first, and then they lead more people in entering the truth reality and understanding the truth principles. What do you think of such an approach? (It is good.) Such people may not be well educated or highly articulate, or understand much about technology or current affairs and politics. They might not even be that proficient in some profession. But they are able to understand the truth, and after hearing God’s words, they are able to practice and experience them, and able to find the truth principles, and able to lead more people in entering into the reality of God’s words and abiding by the truth principles. This is who we mean when we talk about the kind of talented people who are promoted and cultivated to serve as leaders. Is this abstract? (No, it’s not.) Some people may ask: “You speak of talented people, so are they the cream of society? Must they have run some kind of business, or been some kind of CEO or entrepreneur out in society? Are they statesmen with a political background, or business talents, or talents in artistic and literary circles? Are they exceptionally gifted people?” The talented people that are spoken of in God’s house are different from those talented people out in the world. What is meant by this term “talented people” that we speak of? It means being able to understand the truth, and being able to lead people into the truth reality, and knowing how to discern various types of people, and how to resolve the various states and difficulties in which people find themselves, and having correct views and attitudes when encountering issues, and possessing the views and attitudes that people who believe in God and follow Him should have. It does not refer to people who have no spiritual understanding, or to hypocritical people, or to people who say high-sounding things and spout rhetoric. Rather, it refers to people who have the truth reality. This is what “talented people” means. Is this hollow? (No.) Aren’t these criteria that God’s house requires of this kind of talented people that it promotes and cultivates to be leaders and workers very practical? (Yes.) Extremely practical! Such candidates aren’t required to have advanced academic qualifications, but they must at the very least have the caliber to comprehend the truth. Some people may say: “If they aren’t required to have advanced academic qualifications, is it okay for them to be illiterate?” Reading God’s words wouldn’t be possible without some education. They need to understand the written word, but they don’t need advanced academic qualifications. Those who are promoted in God’s house include high school graduates, university graduates, and Ph.D. graduates, so there are no limits in terms of educational level. In addition, there are no limits on one’s social status either. From farmers and intellectuals, to businesspeople and housewives—all kinds of people are welcome. Besides there being no restrictions on educational level and social status, the required criteria are those several that I spoke of. Is that reasonable? (Yes.) Extremely reasonable! Now do you understand a little more about what I mean by “the talented people that God’s house promotes and cultivates”? (Yes.) People who meet these several criteria of being able to comprehend the truth, carrying a burden, and having work capability are candidates for promotion and cultivation by God’s house. If they meet these criteria, they are qualified. As for other things such as education, family background, social status, one’s appearance, and so on, the requirements aren’t that high. This is about promoting and cultivating people to be leaders and workers.
We just discussed several criteria that talented people with skills or professions should meet in order to be promoted and cultivated, which are that they should love positive things and be able to accept the truth, not be distorted in their comprehension, be able to loyally do their duty, suffer hardship and pay a price without complaining, and at the very least not do evil—these several criteria are essential when it comes to these people. So what is the aim of promoting and cultivating these people? Likewise, it is so that whenever these people encounter problems while performing their duty and doing specific work, they can seek the truth in order to resolve the problems, and act in accordance with principles. In the process of practicing entry, they are unknowingly being trained and regulated, and practice letting go of their own intentions, correcting their wrong and preposterous views of worldly people, letting go of some childish thoughts, and letting go of prejudices, notions, and imaginings regarding faith in God, and things like that. Of course, no matter what, this process of practicing is meant to enable people to gradually understand the truth, learn to submit, and learn to enter into the various truth realities. In the process of learning, they gradually master the truth principles, come to know what it means to believe in God, and what it means to practice the truth, and what it means to perform one’s duty, and finally, they gradually understand what they should do to perform their duty in a way that is up to standard, how they should do things as a believer ought to do, and so on—these are all things that people gradually enter into after they are promoted and cultivated. The process of people’s gradual entry is the process of being cultivated, and the process of being cultivated is actually the process of people practicing entering into the truth reality. But if you haven’t been promoted and cultivated, and you just act as an ordinary believer who attends gatherings, reads God’s words, fellowships about the truth, or learns hymns, by believing in God this way you are not truly fulfilling your duty as a created being, so you are far from doing your duty in an up-to-standard manner. You aren’t even clear what principles you should grasp in doing your duty, and can only speak some doctrines and slogans; therefore, you haven’t entered into truth reality yet, and your entry into life is slow. Similarly, the aim and objective of promoting and cultivating these people who engage in professional tasks is so that they enter the truth reality more quickly and gain a better and more accurate grasp of the truth principles. Those who can grasp the truth principles and enter into the truth reality—these are the talented people who are promoted and cultivated by God’s house. What does this kind of talented people refer to? It means those who—on the basis of loving positive things, and being able to suffer hardships and pay a price, and not being distorted in their comprehension, and not being evil people—have achieved understanding of the truth principles and entered into the truth reality, and are able to submit to God and the arrangements of God’s house, and have somewhat of a God-fearing heart. This is the second kind of talented people I speak of. The requirements for them are also practical, sufficiently specific, and not abstract. So is this kind of talented people required to be the cream of society, and socially experienced, and have certain academic qualifications, and a certain social status? (No.) God’s house never requires people to have social status, renown, academic qualifications or a high level of knowledge—these things are never required. When promoting and cultivating people, God’s house doesn’t look at their appearance, that is to say, how ugly or attractive they are. Apart from not promoting the kind of people who look like nonbelievers, or who are hideous or wicked in appearance, the other criteria are those I just mentioned—these are most practical. When nonbelievers promote someone, they first look at the person’s appearance; men should be handsome, like officials, and women should be beautiful, like fairies. In addition, they also compare people’s academic qualifications, social status, family background, and artifices. If you have advanced academic qualifications but no artifices, that will not do either, you will never be promoted and no one will think highly of you. If you have advanced academic qualifications and real talent, but aren’t particularly good-looking, and are short in height, and don’t know how to flatter or get close to your superiors, then you will never be promoted or cultivated as long as you live, and no one will discover you. Therefore, nonbelievers have this saying which goes, “There are many swift horses, but few who can recognize them.” Does this hold true in God’s house? (No, it doesn’t.) So does the expression “True gold is destined to glitter eventually” hold true? Is it valid? (No.) People who are cynical and yield to no one often say this. Always wanting to shine—this is a human ambition. The various kinds of talented people promoted and cultivated by God’s house are not gold, they are just ordinary people. The promotion and cultivation we talk about is just a manner of speaking; in fact, this refers to being elevated by God. Are you, a created being, gold before the Creator? You are merely dust, you are not even copper or iron. Why do I say that you are dust rather than gold? There is nothing commendable about people. Some may ask: “Isn’t what you said contradictory? Didn’t you just say that someone can be promoted if they meet the criterion of loving positive things?” As a person, shouldn’t you love positive things? If you love a few positive things, does that make you gold? Does that make you shine? If you love a few positive things, does it mean you have the truth? It is only by having the truth that one shines. If you do not have the truth, how can it be said that you shine? The fact is that a created being does not understand any truths. Being possessed of some humanity, and some ability and caliber to comprehend the truth does not mean that one is naturally possessed of the truth. People are not possessed of the truth, and even if their humanity is upstanding or kind, these things are not the truth, they are just qualities that normal humanity should possess. Therefore, speak not of shining. So, when can one shine a little? When they can utter the words of Job, “Jehovah gave, and Jehovah has taken away; blessed be the name of Jehovah” (Job 1:21), that is when they can be said to shine a little and live in the light. When you can use the truth reality you possess and the truth you understand to provide for, support, and lead others, through which they can be brought before God and into the truth reality, submit to God and worship God, only then can you shine a little.
The various kinds of talented people cultivated by God’s house are not supernaturally gifted, they are just ordinary, corrupt people. As long as they can accept the truth, obey and submit, and are possessed of a certain caliber, then God’s house will make an exception by promoting and cultivating them. When I talk about making an exception to promote and cultivate people, this is about being elevated by God, it is about giving you the opportunity to come before God and accept God’s leadership, and accept God cultivating and training you, so that during this period you can enter into the truth reality as quickly as possible and be able to accurately grasp the truth principles, do your duty in a way that is up to standard, and live with the likeness of a human. This is what the term “talented people” means in God’s house. Such people are not big and impressive in the slightest, they just understand the truth and are possessed of the truth reality, and can do their duty conscientiously and responsibly, and have a little sincerity and are able to pay a little price, and don’t act recklessly on the basis of their notions and imaginings. In making an exception by promoting and cultivating people who can meet these criteria, and training them up, is it appropriate for God’s house to do this? Is it beneficial to people? It’s extremely beneficial to people! Just like other believers, those who are promoted and cultivated believe in God, and read God’s words, and listen to sermons, and do their duty, but compared with other believers, they will grow faster and gain more. Would you like to gain more, or gain just a little? (Gain more.) Most people have this desire, which means that they love positive things. Sometimes I fellowship with some teams about entering into life, and quite a few people go along to listen, which shows that most people have a yearning desire for the truth, and are willing to understand more of the truth, and are also willing to enter into the truth reality. At the beginning, I fellowshipped with some people and they were really numb. I talked for a long time but they didn’t respond, or even show the slightest hint of a smile. After I had been in contact with them for a year or two, most of them became more natural in their facial expressions and responded, and in time their responses came somewhat quicker. That is, they turned from dead people into living people, and their spirits awakened. How was this achieved? If people don’t understand the truth, then no matter how much they love positive things, or how smart or brainy they are, they are still dead people. Some people start out stupid and dull-witted, no one out in the world has a high opinion of them, and neither are they very learned or well-informed. But after they come to believe in God, they can understand many truths and see many things clearly, and then live out the likeness of human beings, and thereby become living people. What does “living people” mean? It’s not about whether your physical body is alive or dead, or whether your body can move or draw breath, but whether your spirit is conscious of and sensitive to God’s words and the truth. Living people respond to the truth and to God’s words. After hearing God’s words, they have consciousness, a path, a plan, and a goal. Dead people do not have these manifestations. So, if God’s house promotes and cultivates someone, this person will gain relatively more. So how can people who don’t meet these criteria and don’t get promoted or cultivated gain sufficiently? How can they enter quickly into the truth reality? They must learn to practice and experience God’s words, attain understanding of many truths, and also be able to apply the truth to discern people and resolve problems—then they can enter into the truth reality.
Some people say: “Given that God’s house promotes and cultivates all kinds of talented people and allows them to enter into the truth reality as quickly as possible, doesn’t that mean that people who aren’t talented cannot enter into the truth reality?” Is it correct to say that? (No, it’s wrong.) So, after fellowshipping on this topic, has it made some people excited while making others despondent and disappointed? One should look at it this way: Those who have been promoted and cultivated shouldn’t be proud. You have nothing to boast about, this is God’s grace and blessing. When God gives you more, He also asks you to give more of yourself. If God’s house makes an exception by promoting and cultivating you, it means that you need to pay a higher price. If you can suffer this hardship, then of course you will gain more. If you say, “I am not willing to suffer this hardship,” then you will not gain the truth, nor gain God’s blessing. Some people say, “I want to gain those things but I don’t think I can, because God’s house won’t make an exception by promoting and cultivating me. I don’t meet the criteria.” It doesn’t matter if you don’t meet the criteria. As long as you pursue the truth and strive hard toward it, God will not treat you unfairly. These people who are promoted and cultivated can merely enter into the truth reality earlier because of their caliber and because of their various conditions. However, this early entry does not mean that they are the only ones who can enter into the truth reality. It just means that they can gain a little more earlier, and can enter into the truth reality a little earlier. Those who have not been promoted will lag behind them a little, but this doesn’t mean that they cannot enter the truth reality. Whether someone can enter into the truth reality or not depends on their pursuits. These people who are promoted and cultivated can grasp the truth principles more quickly and enter into the truth reality more quickly during the cultivation process, which benefits the work of God’s house. Therefore, it is right to promote and cultivate people who are found to have good caliber and to love the truth. If someone can find these people and promote and cultivate them without being envious of them or bringing them down, but instead offering them care, then they are being considerate of God’s intentions. On the contrary, if some people are envious and worry that these people are better than them and surpass them, so they exclude them and bring them down, this is clearly an evil act and something that antichrists often do. Only evil people and antichrists can attack and exclude the brothers and sisters.
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