Those who serve as leaders must at least understand a bit of the truth and have some practical experiences. If they have no experiences at all, then they certainly do not understand any of the truth. Some people who serve as leaders are good at preaching words and doctrines, and they are able to get approval and praise from most people. Although, on the surface, false leaders are able to answer questions, they aren’t able to fellowship the truth principles. All they preach is empty theory, and there’s nothing practical to it at all. When people hear their preaching, they feel that it accords with their own tastes, and those without discernment are very approving of it. Afterward, however, they still have no path of practice and can’t find the principles of practice. Can this be considered to have resolved any issues, then? Isn’t this them being perfunctory? Can trying to resolve issues in this way be regarded as doing real work? False leaders do not do real work, but they know how to act like an official. What is the first thing they do once they become a leader? It is to buy people’s favor. They take the approach of “New officials are eager to impress”: First they do a few things to curry favor with people and handle a few things that improve everybody’s day-to-day welfare. They first try to make a good impression on people, to show everyone that they are in tune with the masses, so that everyone praises them and says, “This leader acts like a parent toward us!” Then they officially take over. They feel that they have popular support and that their position has been secured; then they begin to enjoy the benefits of status, as though they were their proper due. Their mottos are, “Life is all about eating well and dressing nice,” “Life is short, so enjoy it while you can,” and “Drink today’s wine today, and worry about tomorrow, tomorrow.” They enjoy each day as it comes, they have fun while they can, and they give no thought to the future, much less do they consider what responsibilities a leader should fulfill and what duties they should do. They preach a few words and doctrines and do a few tasks for appearance’s sake as a matter of routine—they do not do any real work. They are not unearthing real problems in the church and completely solving them, so what is the point in them doing such superficial tasks? Is this not deceptive? Can important tasks be entrusted to this kind of false leader? Are they in line with principles and conditions of God’s house for selecting leaders and workers? (No.) These people don’t have any conscience or reason, they are devoid of any sense of responsibility, and yet they still wish to hold some official position, to be a leader, in the church—why are they so shameless? For some people who have a sense of responsibility, if they are of poor caliber, they cannot be leaders—and that’s to say nothing of useless people who have no sense of responsibility at all; they are even less qualified to be leaders. Just how lazy are such gluttonous and indolent false leaders? Even when they discover an issue, and they are aware that this is an issue, they don’t take it seriously and pay it no mind. They are so irresponsible! Though they are good talkers and seem to have a little caliber, they can’t solve various problems in the church’s work, leading to the work grinding to a standstill; the problems keep piling up, but these leaders do not concern themselves with them, and insist on carrying out a few superficial tasks as a matter of routine. And what is the end result? Do they not make a mess of church work, do they not screw it up? Do they not cause chaos and a lack of unity in the church? This is the inevitable outcome. In this situation, will false leaders make a report to the Above? Certainly not. If someone in the church wants to report the false leaders’ problems to the Above, will they consent to this? They will most definitely suppress and block that person off, they won’t allow anyone to report a problem to the Above, and they will restrict, suppress, and isolate anyone who does. Tell Me, aren’t these false leaders so despicable? Regardless of how much they have harmed the church’s work, they still won’t allow the Above to know about this, much less resolve it. All they care about is enjoying the benefits of their status and protecting their own vanity and pride—such people are so utterly despicable and shameless! Are they not totally without conscience and without humanity? When the Above inquires about the work, they say decisively that there are no problems, prevaricating and fobbing the Above off—in doing this, aren’t they deceiving the Above and hiding things from those below them? Problems with the church’s work keep piling up and up, and the false leaders cannot solve them themselves, yet they also don’t report these issues to the Above. Under these circumstances, they act as if nothing is wrong; they indulge in comfort just the same, they sit around doing nothing all day and idle their days away, and they don’t get anxious at all. And when the problems are exposed and the Above probes into this, they still say, “I arranged for people to do this work. I’ve fulfilled my responsibilities. If the work isn’t done well, then that’s on other people. What has it got to do with me?” With these few words, they totally absolve themselves of responsibility. It’s as though they have no responsibility for this matter at all. Not only do they not reflect on themselves, they also feel justified and at ease, saying, “In any case, I haven’t been idle in my duty; I’m not a freeloader. If the Above doesn’t dismiss me, then I’ll continue serving as a leader. If I put forward my resignation, won’t I be betraying God? Won’t I be showing disloyalty toward my duty?” If you prune them, they’ll be able to come up with many reasons to refute you. They won’t say that they are responsible for this matter, they won’t say what their responsibilities are, and they won’t reflect on what the nature of them not resolving issues and not doing real work is. Aren’t such people so hateful? They bring the church’s work to a standstill and harm God’s chosen people for such a long time without a shred of remorse in their hearts—are they still human? Do they still have a shred of conscience or reason? Some people say, “People like this should not be elected to be leaders.” This is how it is theoretically; however, there really are some people like this among the elected leaders and workers; this is a fact. This all happens because God’s chosen people lack discernment, and it’s also because most people like people-pleasers, and consequently elect some false leaders and false workers. Therefore, before church elections, the principles for electing leaders and workers must be fellowshipped on more, as must the principles for discerning false leaders and false workers; this will ensure that more people cast their votes in accordance with the principles. Only by doing this can good results come from church elections.

Tell Me, can such despicable and shameless idlers do a good job with the church work as leaders and workers? Can they resolve the problems present in the church or the difficulties encountered by God’s chosen people? (No.) So, what should you do when you encounter such false leaders? Suppose that someone says, “Our caliber is poor and we lack discernment, so there’s nothing we can do if we encounter a false leader.” Is this correct? Surely not everyone in the church is of poor caliber and without discernment? There must at least be several people who relatively understand the truth. So, if someone finds a false leader who is unable to do real work or resolve any problems, they should then fellowship with those who understand the truth and ask them to use their discernment and make a judgment. Is this appropriate? (Yes, it is.) Why is it appropriate? What will the consequences be if a church leader is not able to do real work? Who will the victims be? Won’t they be God’s chosen people in the church? If a false leader controls the church for three or five years, then how many people’s understanding of the truth and entry into reality will be affected? How many people’s attainment of God’s salvation will be delayed? These consequences don’t bear thinking about. So, when a false leader is found to not be doing real work and to be incapable of resolving any issue, this is a big deal for every single one of God’s chosen people, and they should promptly expose and report that false leader in order to avoid causing delays to the work. The ones who are harmed by church leaders not doing real work are God’s chosen people. If none of God’s chosen people expose or report them, and they are all just apathetic about doing this, then there is no hope for that church. Suppose that in your hearts you always harbor thoughts of not taking responsibility as, “Anyway, you’re the leader. You can’t do real work and yet you don’t report problems to the Above—if this delays the church’s work, the Above will hold you responsible. What’s that got to do with us? What’s the point of us worrying about it? We’re not the ones in charge. This responsibility is on you.” If you always harbor this notion in your hearts, won’t this delay things? Won’t this impact you pursuing the truth, entering reality, and attaining God’s salvation? If no one in the church takes responsibility, then it’s hard to say whether this church can bear testimony to God and receive God’s blessings, and it’s even harder to say how many people will attain salvation in this church. If everyone in this church thinks this way and holds this view, then there is absolutely no hope for this church. Don’t the film production teams have this problem right now? Some of your leaders don’t handle issues or report problems—they are false leaders. Are you able to see this? These leaders don’t resolve problems for you—have you not discovered that this is a problem? Do you actually feel happy about this? “Our leader is not reporting this problem and this problem can’t be resolved, so this is a good time for us to take a rest. That’s great! Moreover, the Above hasn’t personally asked about this matter recently, so there’s no need for us to report the problem either. Why shouldn’t we try to get ourselves a bit of leisure time? Do we have to film the movie so fast and get it filmed on time? The progress we’re making is fine! So what if we’re not done filming? Will we be condemned for it?” Is this your attitude? Do you think there isn’t such a strict schedule for the work of God’s house, so you can drag it out indefinitely, and that as long as the Above doesn’t ask about or look into the matter, there’s no need for you to worry or feel any pressure, and you can just resolve any issues that you can, and let slide any that you can’t? Is this your perspective? (No.) So why don’t you report problems when you have them? Is it that these false leaders have you under their control or that they’ve slipped you a magical, stupefying potion that has caused you to become delirious and unable to speak? What is the problem here? When there are problems present, do you know about them? If you say you don’t know about them, then you’re lying; if you know about them yet don’t report them, then you’re being negligent and severely derelict in your duties, and you have no loyalty to your duty whatsoever. Even if you work in the world to earn money, you still have to be worthy of your meager wages. Not to mention, you are today eating the food of God’s house; you are pursuing salvation while performing your duty, and by doing so you are paving the way and preparing for your own destination. You’re not doing this for God’s house, nor for any individual, much less for Me—you’re doing it for yourself. To put it in pleasant terms, people are doing their duty in order to attain salvation, but to be precise, they’re doing it for themselves to gain blessings and to have a good destination. You must understand this matter clearly; don’t be a fool. You’re not doing your duty for other people or for your parents, and you’re not doing it to bring glory to your ancestors or honor to your family name—you’re doing it for yourself. God created you, and ever since He created the world, He predetermined that you would be born in the last days. He brought you to His house, He let you hear His voice, He let you eat and drink His words every day and receive life provision, and He gave you a chance so that you could do your duty in God’s house. This is your best chance as a created being to attain salvation, and it is also your only chance. If, while you are doing your duty, you destroy this chance, then no matter if you receive punishment or weep and gnash your teeth when you ultimately fall into the disasters, it will all be your doing, and you will deserve it! It will be your own fault. There is no need for other people to shoulder your responsibilities, and there is no need for you to shoulder other people’s responsibilities. Only you can take responsibility for the path you walk and everything you do today, and only you can bear the ultimate consequences. What I can do is get you to understand the things I should say and tell you, and pave the way for you so that you may embark upon the path to salvation. I’ve explained everything clearly, so how you go about specifically acting is up to you. I don’t concern Myself with your business; I just perform the work that falls to Me, and I don’t do any work more than this. Isn’t it a fact that you are doing your duty for the sake of your own destination? If you say, “There are so many problems, but my leader isn’t reporting them, so I won’t report them either,” then isn’t that stupid? Isn’t that calculating? What is your responsibility when you see a problem? Your responsibility is to call everyone together and quieten yourselves to seek and fellowship on the problem, to see in which area the problem has arisen, and find the root cause of the problem. If, after some discussion, the root cause is found, but you aren’t able to resolve the problem yourselves, you should immediately report it to the Above. Who should report it? You should put yourself forward and say, “I’ll report it. If that doesn’t work, then we can select a few representatives and report it together.” Some people say, “Don’t we have a leader?” You reply, “He’s no leader! He doesn’t fulfill the responsibilities of a human being at all. He’s just a beast in human skin, and he should be kicked to the curb and dismissed! He isn’t reporting the problem, so we should report it ourselves—this is our responsibility. Only when we have fulfilled our responsibilities will God treat us as human beings. If we clearly know what our responsibilities are but we don’t fulfill them, then we don’t deserve to be human, and there’s no way God will regard us as such.” If God does not regard you as a human, what does this imply that He regards you as? It implies that He regards you as a pig or a dog. And would God still save you then? No way. So, if you don’t end up with a good destination, won’t you have brought that upon yourself? And won’t you have done your duty for nothing? It’s up to you to choose your path, and it’s up to you to walk it, too. No matter what path you pick, or what the ultimate consequences are, it is you who bears the responsibility; no one will take responsibility for the path you walk and the resulting consequences.

If, as leaders and workers, you ignore problems that occur in the performance of duties, and you even look for various pretexts and excuses to shirk responsibility, and you don’t solve some problems that you are capable of solving, and you do not report the problems you are incapable of solving to the Above, as if they have nothing to do with you, is this not a dereliction of duty? Is treating the work of the church in this way a clever thing to do, or a foolish thing to do? (It’s a foolish thing to do.) Are such leaders and workers not slippery? Are they not devoid of any sense of responsibility? When they encounter problems, they ignore them—are they not thoughtless people? Are they not cunning people? Cunning people are the most foolish people of all. You must be an honest person, you must have a sense of responsibility when you face problems, and you must try every means possible and seek the truth to resolve them. You absolutely must not be a cunning person. If you only concern yourself with shirking responsibility and washing your hands of it when problems arise, you would even be condemned for this behavior among nonbelievers, not to mention in God’s house! This behavior is certain to be condemned and cursed by God, and it is loathed and rejected by God’s chosen people. God likes honest people, and He loathes deceitful and slippery people. If you are a cunning person and act in a slippery manner, will God not loathe you? Will God’s house simply let you off the hook? Sooner or later, you will be held accountable. God likes honest people and dislikes cunning people. Everyone should understand this clearly, and stop being muddled and doing foolish things. Momentary ignorance is excusable, but if a person does not accept the truth at all then they are too obstinate. Honest people can take responsibility. They do not consider their own gains and losses; they just safeguard the work and interests of God’s house. They have kind and honest hearts that are like bowls of clear water which one can see the bottom of at a glance. There’s also transparency to their actions. A deceitful person always acts in a slippery way, always engages in pretense, covers up and conceals things, and wraps themselves up incredibly tightly. No one can see through this kind of person. People can’t see through to their inner thoughts, but God can scrutinize the things in their innermost hearts. When God sees that they are not an honest person, that they are a slippery thing, that they never accept the truth, always engage in deceit against Him, and never hand their heart over to Him, He does not like them, and He loathes and abandons them. What kind of people are all those who prosper among the nonbelievers, and those who are smooth-tongued and quick-witted? Is this clear to you? What is their essence? It can be said that they are all extraordinarily inscrutable, they are all extremely deceitful and cunning, they are the genuine devils and Satans. Could God save people like this? God loathes nothing more than devils—people who are deceitful and cunning—and He definitely will not save such people. You absolutely must not be this kind of person. Those who are always observant and alert when they speak, who are smooth and slick and play a role to suit the occasion when they deal with matters—I tell you, God loathes such people the most, people like this are beyond saving. With regard to all those who belong to the category of deceitful and cunning people, no matter how nice their words may sound, they are all deceptive, devilish words. The nicer their words sound, the more these people are devils and Satans. These are exactly the kind of people that God loathes the most. This is absolutely correct. What do you say: Can deceitful people, people who often lie, and smooth-tongued people obtain the work of the Holy Spirit? Can they gain the enlightenment and illumination of the Holy Spirit? Absolutely not. What is God’s attitude toward people who are deceitful and cunning? He spurns them, He sets them aside and pays them no heed, He regards them as of the same class as animals. In God’s eyes, such people are merely wearing human skin and in essence they are devils and Satans, they are walking corpses, and God absolutely will not save them. So, what state are these people in now? There is darkness in their hearts, they lack true faith, and no matter what happens to them, they are never enlightened or illuminated. When faced with disasters and tribulations, they pray to God, but God is not with them, and they have nothing they can truly depend on in their hearts. In order to obtain blessings, they try to put on a good show, but they can’t help themselves, because they are devoid of conscience and reason. They couldn’t be good people even if they wanted to; even if they wanted to stop doing bad things, they wouldn’t be able to control themselves, it wouldn’t work. Will they be able to know themselves after they are sent away and eliminated? Although they will know that they deserved this, they will not admit it to anyone, and even if they appear able to do a bit of a duty, they will still act in a slippery way, and their work will not produce any clear results. So what do you say: Are these people able to truly repent? Absolutely not. This is because they do not possess conscience or reason and they do not love the truth. God does not save this kind of cunning and evil person. What hope is there in believing in God for such people? Their belief is already bereft of significance, and they are bound to gain nothing from it. If, throughout their faith in God, people do not pursue the truth, then no matter how many years they believe for, it will have no effect; even if they believe to the very end, they will gain nothing. To gain God, people must gain the truth. Only if they understand the truth, practice the truth, and enter the truth reality will they have gained the truth and attained God’s salvation; and only then will they gain God’s recognition and blessings; and only this is gaining God. If people want to gain the truth, then the first step they should take is to learn to fulfill their responsibilities, that is, they should do their duty well—this is the most basic thing. People must absolutely not learn from false leaders, only preaching words and doctrines and not doing real work, not taking responsibility for anything they do, doing everything perfunctorily, and ending up being eliminated. Doing one’s duty is not a minor matter; people are most revealed in the performance of their duty, and God determines people’s outcomes based on their consistent performance while doing their duty. What does it signify when someone doesn’t do their duty well? It signifies that they don’t accept the truth or truly repent, and are eliminated by God. When false leaders and false workers get dismissed, what does this represent? This is the attitude of God’s house toward such people and, of course, it also represents God’s attitude toward such people. So, what is God’s attitude toward useless people such as these? He spurns them, condemns them, and eliminates them. So, do you still want to indulge in the benefits of status and be a false leader?

After people come to believe in God, what is the most painful and most upsetting thing that can happen to them? The biggest thing is nothing more than learning that they have been cleared out or expelled, and that they have been revealed and eliminated by God—this is the most painful and most sorrowful thing, and no one wants this to happen to them after they come to believe in God. So, how can people avoid this happening to them? At the very least, they must act according to their conscience, that is, they must first learn how to fulfill their responsibilities, they absolutely must not be perfunctory, and they must not delay that which God has entrusted to them. Since you are a person, you should contemplate what a person’s responsibilities are. Responsibilities that the nonbelievers value most, such as being filial, providing for your parents, and making a name for your family need not be mentioned. These are all empty and devoid of real meaning. What is the very minimum responsibility that a person should fulfill? The most realistic thing is how you perform your duty well now. Only ever being satisfied with going through the motions is not fulfilling your responsibility, and only being able to speak words and doctrines is not fulfilling your responsibility. Only practicing the truth and doing things according to principle is fulfilling your responsibility. Only when your practicing of the truth has been effective, and of benefit to people, will you have truly fulfilled your responsibility. No matter what duty you are doing, only when you persist in acting according to the truth principles in all things, will you have truly fulfilled your responsibility. Going through the motions according to the human way of doing things is being perfunctory; only sticking to the truth principles is properly performing your duty and fulfilling your responsibility. And when you fulfill your responsibility, is this not the manifestation of loyalty? This is the manifestation of performing your duty loyally. Only when you have this sense of responsibility, this aspiration and desire, and this manifestation of loyalty with regard to your duty, shall God look upon you with favor and approve of you. If you don’t even have this sense of responsibility, God will treat you as an idler, a blockhead, and will despise you. From a human point of view, it means disrespecting you, not taking you seriously, and looking down on you. It’s like how, if you’ve been in contact with someone for a while, and you see them speak about fanciful, impractical matters, and ramble on saying unrealistic things, and you notice that they like to brag and talk big, and that they’re not reliable—would you respect them? Would you dare entrust them with any task? Perhaps they would delay the task you entrust to them due to some reason or another, and so you wouldn’t dare to entrust anything to people like that. You would detest them from the bottom of your heart, and you would regret having ever associated with them. You’d feel fortunate that you hadn’t entrusted them with anything, and you’d think that if you had, you would have regretted it for the rest of your life. Say that you interact with someone and, through conversation and contact with them, you see that not only do they possess good humanity, but they also have a sense of responsibility, and when you entrust them with a task, even if you just say something casually to them, they imprint it in their mind, and they think of ways to handle the task well to satisfy you, and if they don’t handle the task you’ve handed to them well, they feel embarrassed to see you afterward—this is someone with a sense of responsibility. So long as they are told something or something is assigned to them—regardless of whether it is by a leader, worker, or the Above—people with a sense of responsibility will always think, “Well, since they think this highly of me, I must handle this matter well and not let them down.” Wouldn’t you feel at ease entrusting a task to such people who possess conscience and reason? The people you can entrust a task to are certainly those whom you look favorably upon and trust. In particular, if they have handled several tasks for you and carried them all out very conscientiously, and completely met your requirements, you will think they are trustworthy. In your heart, you will really admire and think highly of them. People are willing to associate with this type of person, to say nothing of God. Do you think God would be willing to entrust the church work and the duty that man is obligated to do to a person who is not trustworthy? (No, He would not.) When God assigns a piece of church work to someone, what is God’s expectation of them? Firstly, God hopes that they are diligent and responsible, that they treat this piece of work like a great matter and handle it accordingly, and do it well. Secondly, God hopes that they are a person who is worthy of trust, that no matter how much time passes, and no matter how the environment changes, their sense of responsibility does not waver, and their integrity stands up to testing. If they are a trustworthy person, God will be reassured, and He will no longer supervise or follow up on this matter. This is because, in His heart, He trusts them, and they are sure to complete the task that’s given to them without anything going wrong. When God entrusts a task to someone, is this not what He hopes for? (It is.) Then once you understand God’s intention, you should then know in your heart how to act in order to meet God’s requirements, how to find favor in God’s eyes and earn God’s trust. If you can see clearly your own manifestations and behavior, and the attitude with which you approach your duty, if you have self-awareness, and you know what you are, is it not then unreasonable for you to demand that God look favorably upon you, show you grace, or give you special treatment? (Yes, it is.) Even you think very little of yourself, even you look down on yourself, and yet you demand that God look upon you with favor—this does not make sense. As such, if you want God to look favorably upon you, you should at least make yourself trustworthy in the eyes of other people. If you want others to trust you, to look favorably upon you, to think highly of you, then at the very least you must be dignified, have a sense of responsibility, be true to your word, and be trustworthy. Furthermore, you must come to be diligent, responsible, and loyal before God—then you will have essentially fulfilled God’s requirements of you. Then there will be hope of you gaining God’s approval, will there not? (Yes, there will be.) Is this difficult to achieve? (No.) Even people want to find a reliable person to handle tasks and associate with, so is it excessive for God to ask that people do their duties well, and for Him to have this small requirement of them? (No, it isn’t excessive.) It’s not excessive at all. This is not to make things difficult for people, but rather it is very proper. It’s just that people don’t have the heart to do this, they don’t contemplate on God’s thoughts or appreciate God’s intentions. All they can do is constantly make demands of God, saying, “You have to bless me! You have to show me grace! You have to guide me!” So, what is it that you are doing? Can you truly fulfill your duty according to your conscience and reason? Can you truly be diligent, responsible, and loyal? This is the bare minimum condition you must meet in order for God to look upon you with favor. Isn’t this the direction which people should work hard toward? Since you believe in God, you must strive toward the truth and God’s requirements—this is the direction which people should work hard toward. People must work hard in the correct direction. That way, their seeking to satisfy God will no longer be hollow.

In their hearts, do false leaders have any concept of satisfying God in their belief in Him? Do they have any attitude? Clearly not. They just have an attitude of muddling through the world, and they treat God the same way, in a way that is incredibly irreverent and disdainful. This kind of attitude seriously humiliates and blasphemes against God, and God detests it. God gave them life and everything that a person possesses, and yet their attitude toward everything God has given them, toward the arrangements that God makes for their lives, toward God’s commission and work, and toward their own duties, is one of contempt and disdain. What does “disdain” mean? It means wanting to muddle through the days and not taking anything seriously. God detests this attitude of theirs in the extreme, and that is why He absolutely will not save such people. What is it you should understand here? It is that you must not be this kind of person. Regardless of whether you are a leader or not, or whether you have the ambition and desire to become a leader or not, you must first learn how to comport yourself, and absolutely not be an idler, a loafer, or a scummy person. In your comportment, you must have an upright attitude, dignity, and a sense of responsibility—this is the bare minimum. Only upon this foundation can people meet God’s requirements and complete His commission. If you don’t even have this bit of foundation, then there’s nothing to talk about.

April 3, 2021