What is the main characteristic of false leaders who pass themselves off as spiritual people? It is that they are good at giving sermons. These “sermons” are not true sermons. They are not sermons that fellowship about the truth, nor are they sermons that possess the truth reality. Rather, they are sermons of words and doctrines; they are pseudo-spiritual sermons, sermons of the Pharisees. False leaders are very good at working hard on the words and phrases of God’s words, they pay special attention to preaching words and doctrines, and yet they never seek the truth in God’s words and never contemplate how they should enter the truth reality. They are content with merely being able to preach words and doctrines; once they have preached the doctrine clearly and logically, they think that’s good enough and that they have the truth reality, that they may stand before others and throw their weight around, and lecture people from their high station. On the surface, what they say and do seems related to the truth, they don’t appear to cause disruptions or disturbances, nor do they seem to advocate erroneous sayings or incite erroneous practices. And yet, there is one issue, which is that they cannot shoulder any real work, or fulfill the least bit of their responsibility, which leads finally to them being unable to discover any problems in the work. The way they work is like a blind person groping their way along: They always go by their feelings and imaginings to blindly apply regulations to matters, totally unable to see clearly the essence of problems, and yet they still spout nonsense about them—they cannot resolve real problems at all. If a false leader truly did understand the truth, they would naturally be able to discover problems and seek the truth to resolve them. But false leaders clearly do not understand the truth, yet they pretend to be spiritual, thinking themselves capable of doing the church’s work, unscrupulously daring to enjoy the benefits of their status. Is this not repulsive? They think that they have a real skill—that they can preach. Yet they just cannot do real work. The words and doctrines that false leaders know and preach cannot help them do their work well, nor can it help them discover problems in the work, and much less can it help them resolve all the problems they are faced with. After working for some time, they are unable to speak about any experiential testimony. Is such a leader or worker up to standard? It is quite evident that they are not. And how should false leaders who are not up to standard be handled? Not only are they to be dismissed and eliminated, but if they do not repent, then they cannot be chosen again to serve as a leader or worker when an election is held. If someone elects a false leader or false worker who has been eliminated, they are knowingly disturbing and damaging the work of the church and it shows that the voter is a worshiper and follower of that false leader, and not someone who truly believes in God. Have you ever elected a pseudo-spiritual false leader? (We have.) I suppose you have elected quite a few of them. You think that whoever has believed in God for a great number of years, has read much of God’s word and heard many sermons, who has plentiful experience of preaching and working, who can preach for hours at a time, is certainly capable of doing work. Then, after you have elected them as a leader, you discover a serious problem: The brothers and sisters can’t ever see them and they can never find them when there’s an issue. No one knows where they are hiding, and they hide somewhere and won’t let anyone disturb them. That is a problem. They are always playing hide-and-seek at critical moments in the work and brothers and sisters can’t ever find them when they’re needed to resolve a problem—are they not neglecting their proper duties? Why do some people not dare face the brothers and sisters once they become a leader? Why are they nowhere to be found? What exactly is keeping them occupied? Why do they not resolve real problems? Whatever they are busying themselves with, of this, you can be sure: If they go for a while without doing real work, they are a false leader, and they should be quickly dismissed, and someone else should be elected. Would you elect this sort of false leader in the future? (No.) Why not? What do you think the consequence of choosing a blind person as your guide is? That person is blind themselves, so can they guide others to the correct path? It is just as God’s words say in the Bible, “If the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch” (Matthew 15:14). A blind person walks without a direction or goal; how can they lead others? If someone picks a blind person as their guide, then they are even blinder. There is a saying among the nonbelievers: “asking a blind person the way.” Electing a false leader to serve as a church leader is asking a blind person the way. It is an absurdity, is it not? All who cast their vote for a false leader are blind people choosing the blind, and not one of them understands the truth.

When some people choose a pseudo-spiritual person to be a leader, they feel so happy, thinking, “We have a great leader now. Our leader is really good at giving sermons. They preach in a very logical and structured manner, and their sermons make a lot of sense.” Some people who lack discernment are moved to tears, they feel great attachment to this leader, and they don’t even want to go do their duties. They understand things quite clearly when they listen to fellowship, but when they discover issues while doing their duty, they don’t know how to resolve them and they feel puzzled, thinking, “I seem to understand everything when I listen to the leader fellowship, so how come I can’t resolve the difficulties I encounter in my work?” What is the problem here? Everything that this kind of false leader preaches is words and doctrines, empty phrases, slogans, and nonsense. What they preach does not resolve these people’s real issues; they’ve got these people fooled. They feed them with illusions, saying a few slogans to make them mistakenly believe that the problems have been resolved, when in fact they’re not fellowshipping on the truth principles regarding their problems. How can problems be resolved by fellowshipping in this way? The doctrines they preach have nothing to do with real issues; they’re just avoiding the essence of all issues and speaking about theories in an empty way. They preach only words and doctrines and spiritual theories. They have no idea what the truth reality is, and when problems arise, they become baffled. The sermons they give cannot resolve real problems, they are just a kind of theory, a kind of knowledge and doctrine. This kind of false leader preaches God’s words and the truth as though they were kinds of words and doctrines and slogans. They avoid all real problems and only preach words that are hollow and impractical. And what will happen in the end? No matter how long they preach for, at most their sermons will have the effect of encouraging and exhorting people, making people a little more enthusiastic and giving them a burst of energy, but they cannot resolve any other issue. The truth is not disconnected from reality, but rather it is linked to reality and to all kinds of issues that actually exist. So, will you now be able to discern pseudo-spiritual false leaders when you next encounter them? If not, then when you want to vote for someone to be a leader, first get them to resolve a few issues. If they resolve them in accordance with principles, and if they achieve pretty good results and resolve the issues using the truth reality, then you can vote for them; if they avoid and don’t talk about the essence of the problems and the real situation, and all they can do is preach doctrine in an empty way, shout slogans, and stick to regulations, then you can’t vote for that person. Why can’t you vote for that person? (Because they aren’t able to resolve real problems.) And what kind of person is not able to resolve real problems? A person who can only preach words and doctrines—they are a hypocritical, pseudo-spiritual Pharisee. They don’t possess the caliber necessary to understand the truth, they have no ability to resolve issues, they can’t resolve problems, and so if you choose them to be a leader then they are bound to be a false leader. They aren’t capable of doing a leader’s work or of fulfilling a leader’s responsibilities. So, wouldn’t you be harming them if you voted for them? Some people say, “How is that harming them? We mean well by voting for them. They have some caliber, and if we elect them, won’t we then have someone who can take responsibility for the work?” Of course it’s a good thing to have someone take responsibility, but this kind of person isn’t able to take responsibility. All they can do is speak about theories in an empty manner, they don’t take the real situation into account, and they are of no help when it comes to solving problems, so by voting for them, aren’t you giving them the opportunity to do evil? Aren’t you forcing them to walk the path of a false leader? Therefore, you must not choose such people to be leaders.

Are you able to discern who among the people around you—whom you often come into contact with and are quite familiar with—is only able to speak about doctrines in an empty way and isn’t able to resolve real problems? Who always preaches lofty theories and proposes novel and unique plans that nobody has ever heard before, but becomes confused and speechless when asked how to practice and implement the specific plans of operation and concrete details? What they say is very empty and completely unrealistic, not related to or consistent with the real situation, the actual environment, what people can actually achieve, people’s statures, and the level of their professional skills. Even more so, what they say is not in line with the requirements of God’s house; they simply talk nonsense, they’re indulging in fantasy, and they just impulsively speak whatever comes to mind. They think they don’t need to take responsibility for anything they say, not even when they boast and brag. With this attitude, they express their views and put forward their ideas—aren’t they pseudo-spiritual people? (Yes.) Some people believe that no one takes boasting, bragging, or high-sounding ideas seriously anyway, and they get to show how capable they are. They think that if they get something wrong, then they don’t need to take responsibility for it, and if they get something right then everyone will hold them in high esteem, and so they say whatever they want and make everything out to be very easy. They have lots of ideas, but not one of them comes with a specific plan of practice and can be properly implemented. They don’t take any view they put forward seriously, whether it’s pure or distorted. They say one thing today and another thing tomorrow, and although the views, theories, and bases they talk about are all very lofty, they are all empty and impractical. Occasionally they talk about a plan that isn’t hollow or distorted, but when they’re asked how the plan is to be specifically carried out, they can’t say. When shouting slogans, speaking high-sounding words, and expressing views, they are very enthusiastic and proactive. But when it comes to doing specific work and implementing specific plans, they disappear without a trace, they hide themselves away, and they have no views anymore. Can people like this be leaders? (No.) So, what will the consequences be of people like this becoming leaders? Won’t they harm both themselves and others? They will cause delays to the church’s work and, moreover, they will cause great harm to themselves. The doctrines they preach are just some limited things, and when they’re done preaching them, they’ve got nothing else to say, and so they will always have to hide and “cloister themselves away to focus on their self-cultivation.” Won’t this make things difficult for them? As soon as they become a leader, they will feel as though three great mountains are pressing down on their heads, they will feel exhausted every day and they will feel very pressured—what’s the point of them suffering like this? They don’t have the caliber to be a leader, and when they encounter problems, they just randomly apply regulations according to their imaginings and cannot resolve real issues—people like this cannot be leaders. They aren’t capable of doing real work, so they will be false leaders, and they will still think they’re pretty great even when they cause delays to the life entry of the brothers and sisters. If you could discover and grasp the caliber and character of these pseudo-spiritual people, would you still vote for them to be leaders? If you yourself are this kind of person and someone wants to vote for you, what would you do? (I’d have some self-awareness, and state that I’m not suitable to be a leader.) And if, after you’ve made this statement, everyone still thinks you’re good and insists on voting for you, what should you do? Say to them, “I can’t do the work of a leader, I can’t shoulder that work. I appear on the surface to have some caliber, and sometimes I have some good ideas and provide a little bit of light, but most of the time I just preach words and doctrines. I really can’t be a leader or worker. I’m no better than you are. Whatever you do, please don’t vote for me. Even if I get the most votes, I still can’t be a leader. I cannot harm anyone! I’ve served as a leader before, and every time I failed and got dismissed. Every time I got dismissed, it was because my caliber was poor, I lacked work capability and couldn’t do real work. All I could do was preach words and doctrines, and besides that, I wasn’t able to perform well or fulfill even one of the responsibilities leaders are supposed to fulfill. I was a false leader.” This is having self-awareness, not just saying a few words about not being suitable to be a leader and leaving it at that. Some people think, “I’ve performed my duty in this group for so many years and I should be considered a senior staff member in any case. Even if I’ve never made a contribution, I’ve worked hard, so how come no one has discovered my strengths? I’m leader material, too. I often come up with thoughts, ideas, and suggestions that are quite valuable and that have a practical use. Whether leaders adopt them or not, in any case, I’m someone with attitudes, ideas, and views. Why doesn’t anyone vote for me?” If this is how you think, then you can evaluate yourself like this: Are those thoughts, ideas, and suggestions you have just statements, or do they really have a practical use? Are you able to discover and resolve all manner of difficulties encountered in the work? Are your thoughts and ideas usable? Are you able to shoulder the work? If your thoughts and views remain at the level of words and doctrines, if they simply have no practical use and, more importantly, they simply do not accord with the work principles of God’s house, then what exactly is your caliber like? When you get chosen to be a leader, can you then fulfill the responsibilities of leaders and workers? Do you want to be a leader out of ambition, or out of a sense of burden? If you truly possess work capability and the ability to resolve issues, and when you see certain leaders and workers carrying out work very poorly and not being able to resolve any problems, this makes you feel anxious, and you make suggestions to them but they don’t listen, and they aren’t able to resolve issues and yet they don’t report them to the Above, and you feel worried and anxious for the work of God’s house, and you feel unbearably upset when you see false leaders causing delays to the church’s work, this shows that you have a sense of burden. However, if you want to get everyone’s approval, to find a bigger audience, and to get more people to listen to you preach and pontificate, just because you have some ideas, and if you want to stand out from the crowd, then this is not a sense of burden—this is an ambition. Ambitious people can only preach words and doctrines, and any ideas they have are also just empty words and doctrines. When people like this become leaders, they are bound to be false leaders, and if they are evil people, then they are antichrists. If your ideas remain at the level of empty words, then once you become a leader, you are bound to be just the same as every pseudo-spiritual false leader. You will always go “cloister yourself away to focus on your self-cultivation,” otherwise, you’ll feel a sense of crisis and will have nothing to preach. If you’re just the same as them, and while you’re preaching from up on high, you’re unable to discover any problems present in the work, and naturally also unable to resolve any problems, then you’re bound to be a false leader. And what happens to false leaders in the end? They get dismissed from their posts because they’re not able to do real work—they’re bound to walk this path.

There are many people who always feel indignant and ready to make a move in their hearts, and whenever it comes time to choose a leader or a supervisor, they always want to be the one who is chosen. Some people think they have believed in God for the most years, they have endured the most hardship, they have performed their duty for the longest time and with the most loyalty, and are the most eligible to be a leader, and so they want other people to choose them. What will they be able to do if other people choose them? Will they be able to avoid gaining the title of false leader? Will they be able to fulfill the responsibilities of leaders and workers? These are all real problems, but no one considers things like this. Among these people, some are of sufficient caliber. They can seek the truth when there are problems in their duty, and when they understand the truth and are able to handle matters according to the principles, they can be up to standard. Provided that these people understand the truth, love the truth, and can pursue the truth, and in addition have relatively good humanity, then they won’t have any problems becoming up-to-standard leaders and workers—it won’t be very difficult for them. Some people always complain that the work they are doing is difficult, they are not willing to make an effort or pay the price when it comes to the truth, and they grumble when they get pruned. Can such people be up-to-standard leaders and workers? Their intent and attitude are just wrong, they are not people who pursue the truth, and no matter what God requires of them, they maintain a negative attitude. People like this don’t deserve to be leaders and workers. They have no sense of burden in their hearts, and no matter how clearly or lucidly the work arrangements of God’s house are put, they’re still not willing to work hard to do the work well. Actually, it’s not hard to do the work well. Why isn’t it hard? Firstly, God’s house has specific work arrangements for all the work of the church and the Above has made specific stipulations for it, so you’re not required to be innovative in any item of work, or to complete it independently. The Above has given you a scope and a direction, and has given you principles, and has given you minimum standards; in doing your work, you are not beating the air, or lacking any direction. Secondly, with any item of work, no matter who the supervisor is, and no matter whether the focus of the work is overseas or domestic, the most primary thing is that the brother Above is specifically following up on, guiding, supervising, inspecting, and carrying out vetting on the work, and is frequently making inquiries. How specific are these actions? The brother Above personally gets involved in and follows up on every script, every movie, every program, every hymn, and so on. I also get involved in some work, giving you a general direction and framework. Thirdly, for any aspect of the work that involves the truth principles, the Above also frequently fellowships to you on the truth principles and guides your work; the Above also prunes you, carries out vetting for you, and at any time the Above will correct your distortions. Fourthly, in terms of major personnel and administrative work, the Above personally helps you by carrying out vetting and making decisions. The fact is that no matter what work you do, you don’t complete it independently; it is all arranged, led, directed, and vetted by the Above. So, what is it that you do? You just enjoy things that are ready-made—you’re so blessed! You don’t need to worry about anything; you just need to get to work with your hands and feet. This is the work that falls to you. Have you ever paid an additional price? (No.) The Above has done all this major, important work; therefore, the work you do is all very easy and there are no big difficulties at all. Under such circumstances, if people still don’t do their work well, then that is inexcusable, and it proves that they are simply not putting their heart and effort into their work or fulfilling their responsibilities. Some people say, “Who doesn’t have any flaws when doing work? Aren’t people allowed to have any issues?” You’re not required to achieve a perfect score in your work; you’re just required to get a passing mark, and then you will be considered to have fulfilled the responsibilities of leaders and workers. Is this very demanding? (No.) It’s easy to get a passing mark on the basis of the direction and vetting of the Above; it just depends on whether people sincerely pursue the truth. If they don’t make any effort when it comes to the truth, and always want to be perfunctory, and if they are satisfied with just going through the motions when working, not doing anything bad, not causing any disturbances or disruptions, and not having anything bothering their conscience, then they can’t achieve a passing grade. Most leaders and workers have this kind of attitude when working; they do a bit of work but they don’t want to exhaust themselves, they are content with being just mediocre, and as for what the results of their work are like, they think that is God’s business and that it has nothing to do with them. Is this attitude acceptable? If they have such an attitude, then the work they can do is very limited and they’re not putting their all into it, which indicates that they’re either not capable of doing real work or that they don’t do real work, and so they should be characterized as false leaders—this is entirely appropriate and it is not unjust. Some people always say, “Your requirements of us are too high. If we don’t do this work then we’re false leaders, and if we don’t meet that requirement then we’re false leaders as well. What do You take us for? We’re not robots, we’re not perfect. We’re just ordinary people, we are just mortals. You tell us to be ordinary people, regular people, so why do You have such high requirements of us as leaders?” Actually, My requirements of you are not high. I just ask you to fulfill the responsibilities a human being should fulfill. This is something you should and must do, and it is something you can achieve as leaders and workers. If, however, you don’t work hard to strive toward the truth, and are always afraid of suffering hardship and always covet comfort, then regardless of your reasons or excuses, you are bound to be a false leader. It’s like the things that people with normal humanity should achieve and that adults should take care of themselves, such as what time an adult should get up in the morning, how many meals they should eat and how many hours they should work in a day, and when they should wash their dirty laundry—you must handle these things yourself, and there is no need for you to ask anyone else about them. If you ask other people about everything and don’t understand anything, doesn’t this mean that you are of inadequate intelligence, and that you’re a simpleton? Doesn’t it mean that you’re not able to take care of yourself? Can people like this be leaders? Aren’t they false leaders? Such people should be dismissed. People like this still want to cling to their position and not step down, and they still want to be leaders! After some false leaders get dismissed, they feel like they’ve been wronged and don’t stop crying about it. They cry until their eyes get all swollen. Why do they cry? They don’t know what sort of thing they are. When I say that My requirements of people are not high, what I mean is that what you’re being asked to do is that which you can achieve; the way has already been paved for you and the scope has been set, and the decisions have been made, and you just need to take action. It’s like eating: Grains, vegetables, all kinds of condiments, pots, and stoves have been prepared for you, and all you need to do is learn how to cook; this is what an adult is supposed to do and achieve. If you can’t achieve this, then you’re a simpleton, and you cannot be counted within the intelligence range of normal adults. Some leaders aren’t capable of doing this real work, and so they must be dismissed. So then, how can we define and determine whether someone is capable of doing this kind of work? If they possess the intelligence and caliber of an adult, and they possess the conscientiousness and sense of responsibility that an adult is supposed to possess, then they should be able to do this kind of work. If they can’t, or they don’t do it, then they are a false leader. That is how this is determined, and determining it in this way is accurate. This is not a condemnation or judgment of a person, so is it harsh? The facts are all laid out, and this is not harsh at all.