Supplement: The Story of Daming and Xiaoming

Before we get to the main topic of our fellowship, let’s start by telling a story. What’s the benefit of telling stories? (They’re easy to remember.) Up to now, how many easy-to-remember stories have I told? (The story of Dabao and Xiaobao.) “The Story of Dabao and Xiaobao” was what I told last time. (There was also “Hunting Rats” and the story of the female leaders.) Quite a few stories have been told already. Why do I tell stories? Actually, the aim is to switch to a more relaxed, easy-to-understand form to fellowship about some truths people should understand. If you understand the truths from the stories I tell, and these truths help in various aspects of your entry in daily life, then the stories were not told in vain. It shows that you truly understand the truths involved in the stories, that you understand the practical side of these truths, rather than just hearing them as mere stories. Last time, I told the story of Dabao and Xiaobao. Today, I’ll be telling the story of Daming and Xiaoming. As you listen, think about what this story is really trying to make you understand and which aspect of truth it involves.

Daming and Xiaoming are father and son. Some time ago, Daming and his son Xiaoming accepted God’s new work. Is this a good thing? (Yes.) It is a good thing. Xiaoming is young and can only read a little bit, so Daming reads God’s words to him every day and patiently explains the words Xiaoming doesn’t understand. After a period of time, Xiaoming comes to understand quite a few doctrines about how to conduct oneself as a person, as well as some vocabulary he has never encountered before believing in God, such as submission, faith, honesty, deceitfulness, and so on. Daming, seeing his son’s progress, is very pleased. However, recently Daming has noticed that no matter how much he reads God’s words to Xiaoming, there isn’t much progress in his behavior or speech. Daming becomes anxious and he develops a burden, thinking: “How can I get my son to understand some truth by reading God’s words, to show some change so that others will approve of him, give him a thumbs-up, and praise him as a good child? And then, because of Xiaoming’s performance, they could acclaim that believing in God is good, and the gospel could be spread to others through my son’s changes—how great that would be!” Having developed this burden, Daming keeps pondering: “How can I properly educate Xiaoming to understand more about self-conduct, so that he performs better and aligns with God’s intentions? Finally, when Xiaoming becomes a good child and everyone praises him, all this glory could be given to God—how wonderful that would be! At that point, the heavy stone in my heart would be laid down.” Is the burden that Daming feels reasonable? Can it be considered as performing a proper task for him? (Yes.) From this perspective, his starting point is correct—it counts as being reasonable and a proper task. Is the path Daming chose for Xiaoming correct or wrong? Is it good or bad? Let’s see as we go on. Daming often prays and supplicates to God about this, and finally one day, he has an “inspiration.” What “inspiration”? The so-called “inspiration” in quotation marks. Since this “inspiration” is in quotes, what kind of path might Daming be referring to? Can you imagine what will happen next in the story? It’s not very clear, is it? It’s somewhat unknown.

One day, after reading God’s words to his son, Daming asks Xiaoming very seriously if believing in God is good. Xiaoming solemnly replies, “Believing in God is good. People who believe in God do not bully others, do not meet with disaster, can go to heaven, and will not be sent to hell after death.” Is Xiaoming correct? Given his young age, Xiaoming’s being able to say this is already quite good. His understanding of belief in God is very simple, it is rudimentary and extremely superficial, but for him, it’s already profound. Hearing this, Daming is pleased and feels comforted, and says, “Well done, you’ve made progress, Xiaoming. It seems that your belief in God has some foundation. Daddy is very pleased and comforted. But is believing in God really that simple?” Xiaoming ponders for a moment and says, “Isn’t this all that God’s words say? What else is there?” Daming immediately responds: “God’s requirements are not just these. You have believed in God for such a long time, and when brothers and sisters visit, you don’t even know to greet them. From now on, when you meet elderly people, call them grandpa and grandma; when you meet younger adults, call them uncle, aunt, or older brother and older sister. In this way, you will become a child who is loved by everyone—and God only loves children who are loved by everyone. From now on, listen to me and do as I say; when I tell you to call someone something, you call them that.” Xiaoming takes his father’s words to heart, feeling that what his dad says is correct. In his young heart, he believes that his dad is older, has read more of God’s words, and knows more than he does. Moreover, his dad has his best interests in mind and will definitely not lead him astray, so whatever his dad says must be right. Xiaoming doesn’t understand what is the truth and what is doctrine, but at the very least he knows what is good and bad, right and wrong. After his dad speaks, Xiaoming also develops a bit of a burden about this matter. Going forward, whenever Xiaoming goes out with his dad and they run into someone, if his dad tells him to call them “aunt,” he says “Hello, aunt”; if told to call them “uncle,” he says “Hello, uncle.” People all praise Xiaoming as a good child who is polite, and they also commend Daming for his proper parenting. Xiaoming is quite pleased, thinking to himself, “Dad’s instruction is good; I’m liked by whoever I meet.” Xiaoming feels delighted inside and particularly proud, thinking that the way his dad is guiding him is truly good and correct.

One day, as soon as Xiaoming gets home from school, he rushes to his dad and says, “Dad, guess what happened? Old man Zhang next door caught such a big—” Before he can finish, Daming interrupts: “‘Old man Zhang’? How could you say that, Xiaoming? Are you still a believer or not? How can you call him ‘Old man Zhang’? You’ve forgotten what I told you, you don’t actually have faith in God, you’re not a true believer. Look, I remember this; I can help and remind you. You should call him Grandpa Zhang, got it?” Xiaoming thinks it over: “Calling him Grandpa Zhang works too.” He continues, “So, Grandpa Zhang next door caught a fish that was this big! Old lady Zhang was thrilled!” “Did you forget again?” Daming says. “You’re still not getting it, boy. I just told you, you should call him Grandpa Zhang; that means his wife, who is of the same generation, should be called what? It should be Grandma Zhang. Remember this; don’t ever say old man Zhang or old lady Zhang again, or else people will laugh at us. Wouldn’t that be embarrassing for us as believers? They would say we’re impolite and improper, not like believers. This doesn’t bring glory to God.” Xiaoming initially was excited to tell his dad about the big fish old man Zhang caught, but after being corrected by his dad, he loses interest and doesn’t want to talk about it anymore. He turns around, puts on his backpack, and mutters as he walks away: “You think you know everything, with all this Grandpa Zhang, Grandma Zhang stuff. What does it have to do with us? Like you’re the only one who’s spiritual!” Daming replies: “Well, I am spiritual, in fact! For most people, no matter how old they are, I can tell their seniority just by looking at their age, and know how they should be addressed. I call older people uncle and aunt—why can’t you even get a title right? As believers, we can’t forget about this; we can’t mess up the generational terms.” After this upbraiding, Xiaoming doesn’t feel great inside, but deep down, he still thinks his dad is right; whatever his dad does is right, and even if he doesn’t want to, he admits that he’s wrong. From then on, whenever he sees old man Zhang or old lady Zhang, he calls them Grandpa Zhang and Grandma Zhang. Everything that his dad teaches and instills in him, Xiaoming takes to heart. Is this a good thing or a bad thing? So far, it seems like a good thing, doesn’t it?

One day, Xiaoming and his dad go for a walk and see an old sow leading a litter of piglets. The relationship between the sow and her piglets is very close. Xiaoming thinks that everything created by God is good; whether it’s a pig or a dog, they all have maternal instincts and should be respected. This time, Xiaoming doesn’t speak rudely or rashly call her an “old sow.” Afraid of making a mistake and angering his dad, he quietly asks, “Dad, how old is this mother pig? She has given birth to so many piglets, what should I call her?” Daming ponders for a moment: “What should we call her? That’s hard to say.” Seeing his dad lost in thought without coming up with an answer, Xiaoming complains: “Haven’t you read a lot of God’s words? You’re older than me too; how do you not even know this?” Provoked by Xiaoming, Daming grows a bit anxious and says: “How about we call her ‘grandma’?” Before Xiaoming calls out to the pig, Daming reconsiders and says, “We can’t call her grandma; that would put her in the same generation as your maternal grandma, wouldn’t it? Calling her Granny Pig would be even worse, that would put her in the same generation as my mother. Since she has given birth to so many piglets, we can’t neglect her identity or status, and we can’t get her generation wrong. We should call her ‘Auntie Pig.’” Hearing this, Xiaoming respectfully bows to the pig and calls out, “Greetings, Auntie Pig.” The sow is startled and, in her alarm, she and all the piglets scamper away. Seeing this, Xiaoming wonders if he called her the wrong title. Daming says, “The pig must be happy and excited to react this way. In the future, when we encounter such situations, regardless of what others say or do, we should continue to behave this way. Be polite and follow social norms; even pigs will be pleased when they see that.” From this matter, Xiaoming learns something new. What does he learn? He says, “God created all things; as long as all beings respect each other, are polite, understand seniority, and respect the elderly and love the young, then all beings can coexist harmoniously.” Xiaoming understands this doctrine now. Upon hearing this, his dad praises Xiaoming as an eminently teachable little boy. From then on, Xiaoming becomes even more civilized and polite. Wherever he goes, he is well-behaved and stands out from the crowd. Isn’t he a “good boy”? He is a “good boy” in quotation marks. And that brings us to the end of the story.

What do you think of this story? Isn’t it quite amusing? How did this story come about? It’s derived from the speech, actions, behavior, thoughts, and viewpoints of people in real life—they were condensed into this little story. What issue is this story talking about? What problems can you see with Daming in the story? What about Xiaoming? What is the essence of Daming’s problems? First of all, think about it: Is there any part of what Daming summarized and practiced that was in line with the truth? (No.) What was he practicing then? (Notions and imaginings.) Where did these notions and imaginings come from? (Traditional culture.) The root is traditional culture; his notions and imaginings were the products of infecting, conditioning, and education of traditional culture. He took what he believed was the best, the most positive, the quintessential elements of traditional culture, repackaged them, and turned them into what he believed to be the truth for his son to practice. Can this story be considered obvious and easy to understand? (Yes.) Share what you understood and what you were able to comprehend from listening to this story. (After listening, I felt that Daming’s problem was that although he believed in God, he never put effort into understanding God’s words. He believed in God based on people’s traditional notions, thinking that if he adhered to those superficial norms, God would be satisfied. He didn’t seek or contemplate from within God’s words what God actually requires of people and how one should live out a normal humanity.) What was Daming living by? (Notions and imaginings.) Living by notions and imaginings is an empty phrase; actually, he was living by traditional culture, and he treated traditional culture as the truth. He was living by traditional culture—what details are involved in this? Why did he want Xiaoming to address people by certain titles? (On the surface, he said it was to bring glory to God through these good deeds, but in actuality, he wanted to satisfy his own vanity, to be praised for having the ability to educate his child well.) Yes, that was his intention. His education was not to make his child understand God’s words and the truth; it was to make his child do things that added glory to him, to satisfy his personal vanity. This is also a problem. Is there a problem with always focusing on adorning and packaging oneself through behavior? (Yes.) This indicates a problem with the path he was on, and this is the most serious problem. What is the purpose of always focusing on packaging one’s behavior? It’s to gain people’s admiration, to make people flatter and compliment oneself. What is the nature of this? It’s hypocrisy, it is the Pharisees’ approach. Those who focus on outwardly good behaviors, who focus on packaging their behavior, who put lots of effort into their behavior—do they understand the truth? (No.) They read a lot of God’s words and put in quite a bit of effort, so why don’t they understand the truth? They don’t understand that God’s management and salvation of mankind aim to make people understand the truth, to perfect people, and to make them undergo a change in disposition—they don’t understand it. They think, “No matter how I read God’s words, I will summarize some speech, actions, and behaviors that people have an easier time agreeing with, that they appreciate, and that they will give their thumbs-ups to, and then I will live out these things and hold fast to them in real life. This is what a true believer would do.”

Do you have issues similar to those of Daming? Besides the obvious aspects just discussed, such as following social norms, paying attention to seniority, respecting the old and caring for the young, and maintaining a proper order among the elderly and the young, are there other similar behaviors, thoughts, viewpoints, or understandings? Do you yourselves know to dig into and dissect these issues? For example, in the church, if someone is older or has believed in God for many years, you always want to give them face. You let them finish speaking, not interrupt them even if they are speaking nonsense, and even when they do something wrong and need to be pruned, you still try to save their face and avoid criticizing them in front of others, thinking that regardless of how unreasonable or terrible their actions may be, everyone still needs to forgive and tolerate them. You also often teach others: “We should give the elderly some face and not harm their dignity. We are their juniors.” Where does this term “juniors” come from? (Traditional culture.) It’s derived from traditional cultural thought. Additionally, a certain atmosphere has formed in the church whereby people, upon meeting older brothers and sisters, warmly refer to them as “Big Brother,” “Big Sister,” “Auntie,” or “Older Brother,” as if everyone is part of a big family; these older people are shown extra respect, which unconsciously leaves a good impression of the younger people in others’ minds. These elements of traditional culture are deeply rooted in the thoughts and bones of Chinese people, to the extent that they continuously spread and shape the atmosphere in church life. Because people are often restricted and controlled by these concepts, they not only personally endorse them, work hard to act and practice in this direction, but also approve of others doing the same, instructing them to follow along. Traditional culture is not the truth; this is certain. But is it enough for people to simply know it’s not the truth? That it is not the truth is one aspect; why should we dissect it? What is its root? Where does the essence of the problem lie? How can one let go of these things? Dissecting traditional culture is for the purpose of providing you with an all-new understanding of the theories, thoughts, and views of this aspect deep in your heart. How can this all-new understanding be achieved? First, you have to know that traditional culture originates from Satan. And how does Satan instill these elements of traditional culture into humans? Satan, in every era, uses some famous figures and great people to spread these thoughts, these so-called sayings and theories. Then, gradually, these ideas are systematized and concretized, coming ever closer to people’s lives, and eventually they become widespread among people; little by little these satanic thoughts, sayings, and theories are instilled into people’s minds. After being indoctrinated, people consider these thoughts and theories coming from Satan as the most positive things they should practice and adhere to. Satan then uses these things to imprison and control people’s minds. Generation after generation have been educated, conditioned, and controlled under such circumstances, all the way up until the present. All these generations have believed that traditional culture is right and good. Nobody dissects the origins or source of these so-called good and right things—this is what gives the problem its severity. Even some believers who have read the words of God for many years still think these are correct and positive things, to the extent that they believe these can replace the truth, can replace the words of God. Even more so, some think, “No matter how much of God’s words we read, living among people, the so-called traditional ideas and traditional elements of culture—like the Three Obediences and Four Virtues, as well as concepts like benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and trustworthiness—cannot be discarded. This is because they are passed down from our ancestors, who were sages. We can’t go against the teachings of our ancestors just because we believe in God, and we can’t alter or abandon the teachings of our ancestors and those ancient sages.” Such thoughts and awareness exist in all people’s hearts. Unconsciously, they are all still controlled and bound by these elements of traditional culture. For example, when a child sees you’re in your twenties and calls you “uncle,” you feel pleased and satisfied. If they directly call you by your name, you feel uncomfortable, thinking the child is impolite and should be upbraided, and your attitude changes. In actuality, whether they call you uncle or by your name, it doesn’t have any bearing on your integrity at all. So why are you unhappy when they don’t call you uncle? It’s because you are dominated and influenced by traditional culture; it has preemptively taken root in your mind and become your most basic standard for treating people, events, and things, and for evaluating and judging all things. When your standard is wrong, can the nature of your actions be correct? It most definitely cannot. If measured with the truth, how would you handle this matter? Would you care what others call you? (No.) Unless, that is, if they insulted or humiliated you—in that case, you would definitely feel uncomfortable; this is a normal expression of humanity. However, if your standard of measurement is God’s words, the truth, or the culture coming from God, then regardless of whether people call you by your name or “uncle” or “brother,” you would have absolutely no reaction. On this matter, you can follow local customs. For instance, in China, when someone calls you “uncle,” you feel they’re being respectful toward you. But if you went to a Western country and someone called you “uncle,” you’d feel awkward; you’d prefer being called by your name, finding this to be a form of respect. In China, if someone much younger than you called you by your name, you’d get very unhappy, feeling they’ve disregarded seniority; you’d feel greatly humiliated, and you would get angry and even condemn this person. Doesn’t this show there’s a problem with this way of thinking? This is the problem I intend to address.

Each country and each ethnicity has its own traditional culture. Do we criticize all traditional cultures? There is one culture that should not be criticized. Can you say what culture that is? I’ll give you an example. God created Adam; who was it that named Adam? (God.) So, God created humankind, and when interacting with them, how does He address people? (By calling them by their names.) Right, He calls them by their names. God gives you a name, and this name has meaning in God’s eyes; it serves as a designation, an appellation. When God gives you a designation, He calls you by this designation. Isn’t this a form of respect? (Yes.) This is the best form of respect, a respect that aligns most closely with the truth and is the most positive. This is the standard for respecting people, and it comes from God. Is this not a form of culture? (It is.) Should we advocate for this culture? (Yes.) This comes from God; God calls a person directly by their name. God gives you a name, gives you a designation, and then uses this designation to represent you and call you. This is how God treats people. When God created a second person, how did He treat her? God let Adam name her. Adam named her Eve. Did God call her by this name? He did. So, this is a culture that comes from God. God gives each created being a designation, and when He calls out that designation, both humans and God know who is being referred to. This is called respect, this is called equality, this is a standard to measure whether a person is polite, whether there is a sense of decorum in their humanity. Is this accurate? (Yes.) It is indeed accurate. In the Bible, whether it records a certain event or the genealogy of a family, all the characters have names, they have designations. However, there’s one thing I’m not sure if you’ve noticed: The Bible does not use appellations like grandfather, grandmother, uncle, aunt, elder uncle, elder aunt, and so on; it simply uses people’s names. What can you glean from this? What God has set for people, whether it’s rules or laws, is, in human terms, a kind of tradition that has been passed down among people. And what is this tradition that has been passed down from God? It is something that people should abide by: There is no need for hierarchical titles. In God’s eyes, there aren’t these convoluted familial titles like grandfather, grandmother, elder uncle, younger uncle, elder aunt, younger aunt, and so on. Why are humans so concerned with these hierarchical titles and appellations? What does it mean? God detests these things most. It is always Satan’s kind that is fussing about these. In terms of this traditional culture, there’s one very substantive fact with God: God created all of humankind, and He knows clearly how many families and descendants one person may have; there is no need for any hierarchy. God simply says to be fruitful and multiply, to make your family prosperous—that is all you need to remember. How many descendants each generation has, and how many descendants those descendants have—that’s all there is to it, there is no need for hierarchy. Later generations don’t need to know who their ancestors were, nor do they need to build ancestral halls or temples, much less offer sacrifices or worship them. The Bible records that all who believe in God and follow Him, those who believe in Jehovah, all present offerings before the altar. Everyone in a family comes before God and presents offerings. This is unlike the Chinese, where each family has an ancestral hall filled with memorial tablets for great-great-grandfathers, great-grandfathers, great-grandmothers. In the place where God first began His work, these things do not exist. Other places far away from God’s work, however, are controlled by Satan and evil spirits. In these Buddhist countries, these satanic practices thrive. There, people must worship their ancestors, and everything must be reported to the family, everything must be relayed to the family’s ancestors; even if the ancestors’ ashes are no more, later generations still must offer incense and bow their heads. In modern times, some people who have been exposed to more Western and newer ideas and have broken free from traditional family bonds are unwilling to remain in such families. They feel tightly and rigidly controlled by such families, with elders in the family intervening in almost any matter, especially when it comes to marriage. In China, such things are not uncommon. Satan makes people focus on seniority, and this concept seems to be readily accepted by people, who believe: “Each generation has its rank; those at the top are our ancestors. Once the word ‘ancestor’ is mentioned, people should kneel and worship them like gods.” From childhood, one is influenced, conditioned, and brought up by their family in this way; their young minds are instilled with one thing: that one cannot live in this world without a family, and that leaving the family or breaking free from the bonds of family is a morally reprehensible offense. What does that imply, a morally reprehensible offense? It implies that if you do not listen to your family, you are an unfilial child, and being unfilial means you are not human. Therefore, most people dare not break these familial shackles. Chinese people are severely conditioned, influenced, and controlled by hierarchy, as well as concepts like the Three Obediences and Four Virtues, and the Three Fundamental Bonds and Five Constant Virtues. Young people who don’t properly address their elders as uncles, aunts, grandpa, or grandma are often accused of being rude and uncultured. What does this mean? It means you are considered inferior in this ethnic group, in this society, because you don’t follow social norms, you’re not cultured, and you are worthless. Others are well-dressed, skilled at pretense, and speak with both manners and grace; they are honey-tongued, while you don’t even know to call someone uncle or aunt. People will say you’re uncultured, and look down on you wherever you go. This is the kind of ideology that Chinese people are instilled with. Some children who don’t know how to address people will be harshly scolded or even beaten by their parents. While beating them, some parents will say, “You’re rude, worthless, and uncultured; I might as well just beat you to death! You do nothing but embarrass me, making me lose face in front of people!” Just because the child doesn’t know how to address others, parents would blow the issue out of proportion for the sake of their own face, beating the child severely. What kind of behavior is this? This is outright nonsense! Would you realize these things if I didn’t fellowship this way? Can you, through phenomena you observe in real life, or through reading God’s words, or through your own experiences, gradually and bit by bit see through these matters, and then change the direction of your life, altering the direction of the path you’re on? If you can’t, your insight is lacking. In all matters, using God’s words, God’s work, and God’s demands as the standard is the most correct approach, it is without a single error—this is beyond doubt. Anything that comes from Satan, no matter how much it aligns with human notions or tastes, no matter how decent it appears, is not the truth but a counterfeit.

The purpose of telling this story is to straighten you out, to make you understand what the truth is, what humans gain from believing in God, what it means for God to make people change their dispositions and obtain the truth, and whether the truth spoken by God and His demands have any relation to what one might conceive of, or the thoughts, perspectives, and various understandings that are produced through education and conditioning from one’s national and social environment. You should all dissect these matters yourselves too. Today, our example has only covered one aspect. In fact, in each person’s heart, there is no shortage of things from traditional culture. Some people say: “Since we’re meant to dismiss hierarchy, does that mean I could call my parents by their names?” Is this okay? If you call your parents mother and father, does that mean you’re still observing hierarchy and have fallen back into traditional culture? No. Parents should still be called as they should be; calling them mom and dad is how God has people address them. This is how they ought to be called; it’s just like how your parents call you “kid,” “son,” or “daughter.” So what are you primarily meant to understand by My telling this story? What issue is it mainly addressing? (Our standard for judging things must change; everything should be judged according to God’s words and requirements.) That’s right. Don’t blindly make things up yourself. People always want to create their own “truth.” Whenever they want to do something, they come up with a set of arguments and theories, and then a set of methods, and carry it out regardless of its correctness. They practice this for years, sticking to it doggedly regardless of whether it bears any result, yet still feel they are benevolent, righteous, and kind. They think the things they’re living out are good, and that this garners them praise and admiration, and they wind up increasingly thinking they’re great. People never ponder, try to fathom, or seek what God’s requirements are for each matter, what the principles of action are for doing each thing, and whether they have demonstrated loyalty to God’s commission in the process of doing their duty. They don’t ponder these things; they just ponder those twisted and wicked matters—isn’t this engaging in wickedness? (Yes.) Whoever is outwardly gentle, behaves properly, is educated and follows social norms, is full of talk about benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and trustworthiness, and who speaks with refined elegance and says pleasant-sounding things—observe whether or not such a person practices the truth. If they never practice the truth, then they are nothing but hypocrites who feign goodness; they are just like Daming, and not a bit different. What kind of people are those who focus solely on having good behavior and use it to deceive others into praising and admiring them? (Hypocrites.) Do these people have spiritual understanding? (No.) Can people who don’t have spiritual understanding practice the truth? (No.) Why can’t they? (They don’t understand what the truth is, so they just take some outwardly good behavior and things that people see as good as the truth and practice them.) That’s not the main point. No matter how much they don’t understand the truth, don’t they still know some obvious principles of doing things? When you tell them how to do their duty, can they not understand? Such people have one characteristic: They have no intention of practicing the truth. No matter what you say, they won’t listen to you; they’ll just do and say as they please. We’ve been talking frequently about the various manifestations of antichrists lately. Take a look at those around you: See who has shown some change, and whose behavior and principles of doing things haven’t changed at all, whose hearts remain unmoved no matter how you fellowship with them, and who still don’t change, or intend to change, and continue doing things however they please, even if they are able to link the content of your fellowship to themselves. Have you encountered such people? You have, haven’t you? Why are some leaders and workers removed from their roles? It’s because they don’t practice the truth, they don’t do real work. They understand all sorts of doctrines, and they persist in their own ways. No matter how you fellowship the truth principles, they still have their own set of rules, clinging to their own views and not listening to anyone. They just do as they wish—you say one thing, they do another. Leaders and workers like this should be removed, right? (Right.) Indeed they should. What path are these people on? (The path of an antichrist.) Walking the path of an antichrist, given enough time, they will become an antichrist themselves. It’s just a matter of how long it will take. If, no matter how you fellowship the truth with them, they still don’t accept it and don’t change at all, then it’s really troublesome, and they’ve already become an antichrist.

What is the biggest inspiration you have gained from the story told today? It should be that it is easy for people to deviate. Why is it easy for people to stray? First, people have corrupt dispositions; second, no matter their age, people are not blank slates in their thoughts and deep within their hearts. So what tips does this story give you? It is easy for people to go astray—that is the first one. Secondly, people tend to adhere to what they believe is good and right as if it were the truth, treating biblical knowledge and spiritual doctrines as God’s words to practice. After understanding these two issues, what new understanding, ideas, or plans do you have for the path you should walk in the future and for each task you have to perform in the future? (When doing things in the future, we should not act on what we believe to be right. First, we should consider whether our thoughts align with what God desires, and whether they match God’s requirements. We should find principles for practice in God’s words, and then proceed. Only in this way can we ensure that we are practicing the truth and that the path we are walking in our belief in God is correct.) You must put in effort with regard to God’s words. Stop making your own assumptions. You do not have spiritual understanding; your caliber is poor; and however grand the ideas you come up with are, they are not the truth. Even if you are confident that what you’ve done is flawless and correct, you should still bring it to the brothers and sisters for fellowship and verification, or compare it against relevant words of God. Can you achieve one hundred percent flawlessness in this way? Not necessarily; you may still deviate in your practice, unless you have fully grasped the truth principles and the source of what God has said. That’s one aspect. What’s the second? If people depart from God’s words, no matter how rational or agreeable their actions may seem, they cannot replace the truth. Anything that cannot replace the truth is not the truth, nor is it a positive thing. If it’s not a positive thing, what is it? It’s definitely not something that pleases God, nor is it in line with the truth; it is something that God condemns. What will be the consequences if you do something that God condemns? You’ll make God detest you. All things not coming from God are negative things, they come from Satan. Some people may not understand this; let it come gradually as you gain experience.

Today, we have been solemnly criticizing one thing; what are we criticizing? The matter of referring to an old sow as Auntie Pig, right? Is it shameful to call a pig “Auntie Pig”? (Yes.) It is a shameful matter. People always want to have an honorific title. Where does this “honor” come from? What does “honor” refer to? Is it about seniority? (Yes.) Always wanting to be regarded as an elder, always focusing on seniority—is this good? (No.) Why is focusing on seniority not good? You should analyze what the significance of focusing on seniority is. It’s so simple to just say it like this: “God does not allow people to focus on seniority, so why are you senselessly discussing it? You’re talking nonsense while pretending to be civilized. You never consider the interests of God’s house while doing duty, always betraying them for the sake of your own. When something involves your own interests, you won’t hesitate to betray the interests of God’s house. Who are you trying to fool acting like a good person? Are you worthy of being deemed good?” Would saying it like this be acceptable? (Yes.) What should be said to make it even harsher? “What are you babbling about? You’re just a stupid pig, an imbecile, with no understanding of the truth whatsoever. What are you posing as? You’ve been educated, you’re cultured, and you believe in God. You’ve read so many of God’s words and you still think you believe in God quite well. But in the end, you don’t even know what it means to practice the truth. Aren’t you just a stupid pig, a complete idiot?” That’s all for this story. Let’s now return to the main topic of fellowship.