Supplement:

A Day in the Life of Xiaojia

Let’s move onto the next topic. What should it be? I should probably tell a story. Stories also touch upon the truth, and criteria for man’s comportment, actions, and worship of God. Listen to what this story has to do with the truth, and the criteria for human conduct. It talks about a day in the life of Xiaojia. Our hero is Xiaojia, and over roughly how long does the story happen? (One day.) One day. Some people might say, “Is a day’s events even worth telling?” Well, it depends on what you tell. If it’s all just gossip and right and wrong, then it’s not worth telling. But if it touches upon the truth then never mind a day—even a minute’s events are worth telling, right? (That’s right.)

Xiaojia is someone passionate about pursuits and enthusiastic about doing his duty, and his story begins early one morning after he’s just gotten up. After rising, reading God’s word, and practicing his devotions, Xiaojia headed for breakfast and grabbed a bowl of porridge and some vegetables. Then he saw some eggs, and thought: “I should take a couple. Two eggs a day are enough nutrition.” But just as he reached out, he hesitated, “Take two or one? It’ll be bad if others see me take two. It’s too greedy, and others will think I’m a glutton. Better to only take one.” He withdrew his hand before reaching out again and picking up an egg. Just then, someone else came over to take an egg, and Xiaojia’s heart skipped a beat as they did so. He thought: “Actually, best to not eat eggs. I’ve got porridge and vegetables, as well as some steamed buns, and that’s enough for breakfast. I shouldn’t be so greedy. And why even desire to eat eggs? How terrible if others saw. Wouldn’t that be indulging in comfort? I won’t have any.” Thinking thus, Xiaojia put the egg back and, after finishing breakfast a few minutes later, began to do his duty. He busied himself with the tasks at hand, finishing one thing after another. Time passes quickly, and in the blink of an eye it’s time for lunch. Everyone else went to eat, but Xiaojia looked at his watch and saw that it was 12:40 p.m. “Wait a minute. I shouldn’t be in a hurry to go eat when everyone else does. If I rush off with everyone else, then won’t I be just the same as them, and seem a glutton? I’ll wait just a little bit longer.” He went on with what he was doing, but his stomach let him down and started rumbling. He clasped his stomach and absent-mindedly looked at the computer, thinking: “I’m starving! What’s for lunch today? Could there be some meat? It would be great if I could have a little meat!” His stomach kept rumbling as he thought, and it was only with great difficulty that he managed to wait until everyone else had come back from lunch. Someone said: “How come you didn’t have lunch? Hurry up and go, the food’s going cold.” Xiaojia said, “No worries. I haven’t finished what I’m doing. I’ll go when I’m done.” “Wouldn’t it be better to keep working after you’ve eaten?” “It’s fine. I’ll be done soon.” So, Xiaojia endured his hunger and went on with his work. In fact, he was now very hungry, and not in any mood to keep working, but still he endured his hunger and kept up his pretense. After a while he looked at his watch again, saw that it was 1:30 p.m., and thought: “That’ll do. I should probably go for lunch now.” Just as he was about to get up and go eat, a sister brought him a tray of food and said: “It’s so late! How come you didn’t go have lunch? It doesn’t matter how busy you are, you still have to eat, and you’ll get stomach problems if you don’t eat on time.” He replied: “It’s fine. I’ll eat after I’m done.” “You don’t need to go. I brought your meal to you, so hurry up and eat.” “What’s the rush? I’m not even hungry yet.” Just as he said he wasn’t hungry, his stomach rumbled with a sound like thunder. Xiaojia clutched his stomach, smiled sheepishly, and said to the sister: “Don’t worry about bringing me food again.” “But if I don’t, the food will just get cold and have to be heated again. It’s already been reheated once.” “Well then, thank you!” With his mouth watering, Xiaojia took his meal from the sister. Glancing at the tray, he was very happy: two steamed buns, vegetables, meat, and soup. Xiaojia had another thought when he saw the steamed buns, and said to the sister: “I can’t eat two buns. I’m too busy these days, can’t sleep well, and don’t have much of an appetite. Isn’t it a waste if you give me two buns? Take one back.” “It’s okay. You can send it back if you really can’t finish it,” the sister replied before leaving. Xiaojia thought to himself: “Hurry up and go. I’m starving.” He picked up the bowl, seeing that no one was around but still feeling a little embarrassed, and gingerly took a sip. Then he looked at the meat, “Wow! I could smell the braised pork from miles away. But I can’t eat it right away, as I have to eat my vegetables first. I’ll eat less meat if I fill up on veg, otherwise I’d finish half the bowl of meat, and wouldn’t that be embarrassing?” He considered a moment before doing just so. He munched the steamed buns and vegetables, and drank his soup. As he ate, he felt like he wanted to have a bit of meat, so grabbed a chunk of braised pork. Bringing it to his mouth, he closed his eyes and carefully savored it, “So delicious! Meat really is good, but I can’t eat too much. Just a mouthful is enough, then more vegetables and more soup.” He continued eating the steamed buns, but kept staring at the meat while he ate, “Should I eat this meat? It’s so good, it’d be a real shame not to eat it.” His mouth started watering again, and he thought, “I know! I’ll tear the buns into pieces and dip them in the broth. Isn’t that the same as eating meat? This way others can see that I’m not eating meat, but I’ll still get all that meaty flavor. How great is that!” With this thought, he put a bit of steamed bun into the broth before fishing it out and eating it, finding it delicious and almost exactly like meat. Xiaojia then immediately tore apart the whole bun and put it in the broth…. In under ten minutes, he’d eaten it all, as well as finished his soup. He’d only eaten one steamed bun, enduring his desire to eat the other one and restraining himself. After all the dishes had been finished as planned, Xiaojia was more or less full, and didn’t think he needed any more. Then he thought: “Oh, it’s not really appropriate to eat so quickly, like I’m starving. I really was pretty hungry, but it’s not good for people to see me like that. I have to eat slowly. But what can I do now that I’ve already finished? Well, I have an idea. I’ll send it back in ten minutes.” He held his watch and stared at the face, “Five minutes … ten … fifteen … Okay, two o’clock. Great, send it back!” Happy, he sent back the remaining braised pork and steamed bun.

It was after 2 p.m. when Xiaojia returned. His brothers and sisters had gone for their afternoon break, and he didn’t have anything to do by himself, so was really bored. He thought: “Should I have a nap too? It’s always good to have a nap after eating. But no, if I sleep while everyone else sleeps, what does that make me? I can’t sleep. I have to hold on. But how to stay awake? I wouldn’t be able to sleep while standing, but if I’m always standing up then I’ll startle someone if they suddenly come in. No, I can’t stand. Well, I’ll just sit in front of my computer then. If anyone sees me, they’ll just think I’m working, but I’ll actually be taking a break. What a good move.” So he sat naturally in front of the computer, staring at it blankly, but within five minutes he was asleep and snoring on the keyboard. Forty minutes later, Xiaojia suddenly woke from his deep sleep and jumped up, “Aren’t I standing? How come I fell asleep?” He looked at the time, saw that it was getting late, and went to wash his face while no one was there. Seeing himself in the restroom, he said “Oh, no! My face is covered in keyboard marks! How can I be seen like this?” He hastily scrubbed his face, rubbing and patting it, and was in the restroom for quite a while. Then he looked in the mirror and saw that the keyboard marks were mostly gone, and rejoiced in his heart: “No one would ever notice, unless they were really paying attention.” After this he combed his hair and straightened his collar, suddenly realizing that the collar of his light-colored shirt was a little greasy, and on closer inspection his cuffs were a bit dirty too. He thought to himself, “I haven’t washed or changed my clothes for a few days now, but there’s some benefit to not washing. A bit of dirt never hurts anyone, and I’m not bothered by a little grime. Anyway, doesn’t it look more spiritual to be a bit grubby?” He simply turned out the collar and sleeves of his shirt and rolled up the sleeves of his jacket, revealing all the dirty areas. Very satisfied, he cheered up and walked calmly out of the restroom. After a while most people were in their places and began to busy themselves with work. When Xiaojia saw that everyone else was there, he said: “You guys didn’t get a long nap! You can really suffer and pay the price! I didn’t even have a nap, but just rested my eyes for a minute before splashing some water on my face. I wouldn’t have any energy otherwise.” No one replied. He felt pretty bored, so also got to work. Because he’d had so much soup at lunch, he kept wanting to use the restroom but resisted the urge, thinking: “If I go, won’t people think I’m lazy? That’s not a good reputation to have, so I can’t go.” So he held on, enduring until someone else finally went to the restroom, and he saw his chance. He quickly joined the line, thinking, “It’s great to just follow the crowd, as no one will say anything about me.”

It was a busy afternoon. Xiaojia did a lot of work, fellowshipping with this person, asking questions of that person, seeking resources, and doing all kinds of tasks relevant to his duties. After all the bustle, it was finally time for dinner. This time Xiaojia was just a little bit later than the others, but he more or less finished eating on time. The period after dinner was Xiaojia’s happiest time of day, because it was the only time when he could calmly have a cup of the coffee he liked, without any self-reproach nor the criticism of others, but with a tranquil heart. Why? Because he had enough reasons for why he needed to drink coffee, reasons totally legitimate in the eyes of everyone else. Thus this was his happiest time. As he made his coffee, he muttered to himself, “Meh, gotta work overtime again today. Don’t even know for how long. Guess I’ll see how long this coffee can keep me going.” He banged the freshly brewed coffee onto the table, as if to tell everyone, “And what? I’m having my coffee, what are you going to do about it?” He glanced at the others around him. No one was looking at him, but he still nonchalantly picked up his cup and took a sip of coffee, thinking: “They all say coffee’s good, and it really is. It tastes different every day, offering a different experience. It’s wonderful!” Happy, he proudly sipped his coffee, then looked vacantly about for his evening’s work. He basically had no goals in mind, and felt exhausted after a busy day, but forced himself to keep going. He couldn’t doze off, and couldn’t let others see he was tired or had any perfunctory, irresponsible, or irreverent attitude in handling his work or his duty. He forced himself to perk up and sat at his computer to keep working, and naturally drank coffee after coffee. The more he drank, the more alert he became and the less sleepy. Xiaojia occasionally glanced at his watch, “It’s past one o’clock, but I can’t sleep as I’ve set myself the goal of three o’clock. I can’t even go to sleep at 2:50 a.m., as that would be breaking my promise and I’d have no explanation for God. This is a promise a created being should keep, so I have to honor it. I said I’d sleep at 3 a.m., so I’ll sleep at 3 a.m., even if I have to drink loads of coffee.” So, he drank coffee and resisted his tiredness, mentally constraining and controlling himself. At three o’clock, Xiaojia had an important task to perform, so he took his phone and sent a message which read: Sister so-and-so, this is Xiaojia. I’ve got an important reminder for you not to forget there’s a group gathering tomorrow morning at 10 a.m. It’s mandatory to attend, and don’t be late. Signed below: Xiaojia. At the same time as being relieved after sending the message, Xiaojia also thought: “Sending it is one thing, but what if she doesn’t receive it? Does she know that I sent her a message? I can’t sleep yet. I need to wait and see if she replies.” After waiting for half an hour there was still no reply, and he thought: “Is she asleep? How come she’s sleeping so early? How useless, already asleep at three.” He waited until the sister replied at 3:50: I haven’t forgotten about 10 a.m. tomorrow. I hope you don’t forget either, and come on time. Xiaojia read it and thought, “Oh, what kind of person is this? How can she be going to sleep later than me?” But he couldn’t take it anymore. “No more coffee! If I have any more then I won’t sleep at all tonight. I need to go to bed, as I have to get up at 5:30 a.m., 6 a.m. at the latest. I can’t be later than my other brothers and sisters, as I must let everyone see me praying, reading God’s words, and listening to sermons after they get up. So I can’t get up late. It’s all because of this message that I couldn’t go to sleep early. But it doesn’t matter, the others know I was up late. I achieved my goal though, and will try to get to sleep by four o’clock tomorrow.” While Xiaojia tried to think, he couldn’t help but feel so dazed that he didn’t even take off his clothes when he got back to his room. He collapsed on his bed, already half asleep, but still forced himself to remember: Don’t eat eggs in the morning, only have one steamed bun for lunch, don’t eat braised pork, go to sleep at 3 a.m., still have messages to send…. Xiaojia thought and thought until he finally lay still, falling asleep in weariness, exhaustion, dreams, and delusion. And this was a day in the life of Xiaojia.

Tell Me, what was that all about? Wasn’t it tiring for Xiaojia to always pretend like that? (Yes, it was.) Robots don’t get tired doing the same thing all day, because they don’t have minds or consciousness, but it’s exhausting for people. Why did Xiaojia live like that when he was so tired? Why did he do it? Did he have a plan? (Yes, he did.) What did his plan revolve around? (Showing off to others.) Was there any benefit to him showing off? (It could make people admire him.) It could make people admire him. Is Xiaojia’s approach familiar to you? What kind of people act in that way? (Pharisees.) That’s right. Pharisees take good behaviors, and behaviors and practices that align with people’s notions, and perform them in front of others so they look good and are worshiped. They use this method to achieve their goal of misleading people. What is the primary nature of them faking it in this way, and engaging in all sorts of good behaviors to show off to other people? It is one of pretense, trickery, misleading—anything else? (Fake spirituality.) How many things in Xiaojia’s day involved dispositions, and are common to all those who are capable of fakery? Eating eggs, steamed buns, braised pork, and drinking coffee. These are all external things, but what essence can you see within them? Pretense and self-control. What pretense? (The pretense of suffering.) Do people view suffering as a good or bad thing? (A good thing.) Suffering is a good behavior which everyone highly admires. What do people consider it to be? They consider it to be the practice of the truth. So, Xiaojia didn’t hesitate to suffer and pay a price. What did his suffering entail? Not eating nice foods, and staying up late, getting up early, and disciplining his body. What is the nature of these kinds of suffering? They’re all pretense. He didn’t suffer for the truth or righteousness, but for the esteem and adoration of others, and a good reputation and prestige for himself. Did he suffer for the truth? (No, he didn’t.) Which of his actions were in line with the truth principles, and were Xiaojia rebelling against himself and setting aside his personal interests for the sake of the truth? Were any of them? (No.) What was the nature of his suffering? Was it putting the truth into practice? Was it a manifestation of his love for the truth? (No, it wasn’t.) Well, what was it? (Hypocrisy.) It was hypocrisy, it was being averse to the truth, it was trickery, pretense, fakery, and misleading; it was purely actions and choices that were based on his own imaginings and notions, and centered around his own interests, and it had nothing to do with the truth at all. He wasn’t seeking the truth, so his actions were not the truth either; not only did they have nothing to do with the truth at all, they were also completely at odds with the normal needs of humanity contained in the depths of his heart. Is it a sin to eat eggs? (No, it isn’t.) But Xiaojia saw eating eggs as greedy. Eggs are a kind of food that God created for man. If you have the means to eat them, then it is not greedy to do so, but if you don’t have the means to eat them, and you steal and eat the eggs of others, then that is greedy. How did Xiaojia define this matter? He believed that eating eggs was greedy, and even greedier if others were to see it. He thought that if he could eat eggs without anyone seeing, behind their backs, that wouldn’t be greedy. What was his standard for measuring greed? It was based on whether anyone saw. Did he base it on God’s words? No, it was his own personal view. In fact, do others have any thoughts or views on this matter of eating eggs? (No, they don’t.) This was purely a theory that Xiaojia fabricated himself. He believed that eating eggs for breakfast was being greedy, indulging in comfort, and showing consideration for the flesh. Based on his view, then, aren’t all those who eat eggs indulging in comfort and showing consideration for the flesh? His implicit meaning was: “When all of you eat eggs, you’re showing consideration for the flesh. I don’t show consideration for the flesh, I can restrain myself, so I don’t eat eggs. Put eggs right in front of me and I can still put them back, even after picking them up. That’s just the kind of resolve and determination I have, and that’s how much I love the truth. Could you do that? If you couldn’t, then you don’t love the truth.” What did he treat his idea as? As the standard for measuring right and wrong. Wasn’t this fakery? (Yes, it was.) This was fakery.

Another manifestation that Xiaojia displayed was that he didn’t go eat when it was time for lunch. What did he do instead? (He put it off.) He suppressed his hunger and put off going to eat. But why? (To show off to others.) He was putting on a show, and doing this for others to see. What did he want others to see and understand from this? He wanted to show others how much suffering he could endure, and how diligent, loyal, earnest, and responsible he was in his work! He wanted people to see that he was really superhuman! Then he would have achieved his aim; that was the assessment he wanted. What did that assessment mean to him? It was his life, his lifeblood. Is this a love of the truth? (No, it isn’t.) So, what do people such as him like? They don’t hesitate to show off, engage in plotting and scheming, and deceive others by putting on a facade, showing them how much they can suffer, and thereby receiving comments from them like: “You can really endure suffering. You’re someone who really loves God, and you do your duty with loyalty.” They don’t hesitate to use false appearances and tricks to conceal the actual facts, deceive God and con other people, all to get a good word or a favorable assessment from others. What sort of disposition is this? (A wicked disposition.) This is wicked. They’re so good at pretending, and at putting on a show and playing tricks! It’s just a meal, what’s the problem with calmly going to eat? What living person doesn’t eat? Is it a sin to eat on time? Is it a sin to find something to eat when one is hungry? (No, it isn’t.) It’s a physical need; it’s reasonable. These people treat all reasonable needs as unreasonable and condemn them. What do they promote? They promote constant bodily discipline, concealing the true facts, and presenting a facade so others can see how they suffer, how they refrain from indulging in comfort, and how they pay any price, and offer up their time, energy, and everything they have for their work. This is what they want people to see. Is this what they actually do? No, it’s not. They mislead others with false appearances, and this is a manifestation of a wicked disposition. They go to such great lengths over something as insignificant as eating a meal—what kind of people are they? Is this what a person with normal humanity should do? (No, it isn’t.) It’s not. It’s too insidious! Would most people approve or feel revolted if they heard about somebody showing off so much over a minor matter? (They’d feel revolted.) Could you ever act like this? (Sometimes.) As gravely as this? (No.) Hunger is a difficult feeling to bear, but some people are able to tolerate this suffering. If you ask them to submit to God’s words, expend effort on His words, act according to the principles of God’s words, and speak honestly, they’d find it too strenuous and difficult. For these people, giving up their own interests and pride would be harder than ascending to heaven, but they’re willing, no matter the cost, to set aside God’s words, act according to their own imaginings, and protect their own fleshly interests. Isn’t this a manifestation of not loving the truth? (Yes, it is.) It’s one aspect.

What other manifestations did Xiaojia display? He was terribly sleepy but didn’t go to bed. Tell Me, if someone is sleepy and goes to bed for a while, or takes a quick nap, and then has more strength for work, isn’t this reasonable? (Yes, it is.) It’s reasonable. Would anyone condemn Xiaojia for sleeping? (No, they wouldn’t.) So, why was he so terrified, if no one would condemn him? What was he afraid of? (Letting something slip.) That’s right, he was afraid of letting something slip. In his imaginings, he believed that he was held in high regard by everyone, that everybody thought he was particularly capable of enduring suffering, and exceptionally pious. He felt that if his true colors were exposed, and everyone discovered he wasn’t that kind of person, his whole good image would collapse. He couldn’t bear the thought of this, and so he restrained himself over even a nap. He was that strict with himself. What kind of person is he? Isn’t he mentally ill? People like this often listen to sermons, read God’s words, and gather to fellowship, so how come they don’t focus on the truth? It’s great for you to ponder on the truth principles. Look at what God’s words say: Are there any declarations about people napping in God’s words? (No, there aren’t.) God didn’t make any declarations about this matter, nor did He even mention it. Anyone who possesses the thinking of normal humanity should know how to handle this. It’s reasonable to have a nap when you’re sleepy. It’s reasonable to rest at noon on a hot summer day. In particular, some older people, who can’t keep up in terms of their bodies, energy levels, and so on, need to sleep for a while after lunch. This isn’t based on their lifestyle habits, but on their physical needs. God has given you the awareness, consciousness, and responses of normal humanity to allow you to handle your own daily diet, toil, and rest according to your own work and environment; you shouldn’t abuse yourself. For example, suppose that you don’t eat lavish meals and say, “God doesn’t allow people to eat nice foods; always eating nice foods makes people greedy.” God never said this, and He doesn’t have this sort of requirement for people. But this is what Xiaojia thought, and he reckoned that God probably thinks the same. He thought that if someone goes to sleep too early, this is indulging in comfort, and God doesn’t like it. Isn’t this not understanding the truth? (Yes, it is.) When Xiaojia didn’t understand the truth, he could have sought it, but he didn’t do that, he just acted according to his own subjective will. How far did he take this? He drank three or four cups of coffee in a day, just so he could stay up late. Some people say: “I’ve drunk a lot of coffee while doing my duty these past few years so that I can do the work of God’s house.” If another person says, “Who made you drink coffee? Didn’t you choose to drink it?” they will think to themselves, “You know why I drink coffee? It’s not to stay up late, it’s to lose weight. Didn’t you know that? But I can’t tell you that, because then you’d know. Will I look thin if you’re thinner than me?” This is really calculating, right? What views and ideas are contained within this? Is there any of the understanding or rationality of normal humanity? (No, there isn’t.) No, there are only battles of wits, tricks and plots, pretense, fakery, and misleading contained within this. That’s all there is. It’s being calculating whenever something happens. They absolutely won’t tell any person their honest views and thoughts, let alone allow everyone to know, or allow God to see. Their mentality is not one of, “I lay myself bare. My actions are in line with my thoughts, and that’s just who I am.” Their mentality is definitely not this, so what is it? They conceal and pretend as much as they can, fearing that the image others have of them is not grand, devout, or spiritual enough.

Why did Xiaojia want to stay up late? Many kinds of work don’t require late nights, and people are mostly sleepy after 10 p.m. Even if they keep working, it wouldn’t be effective, because people have finite energy. But Xiaojia always forced himself, not caring whether it was effective, even though he knew full well it wasn’t. Why did he send a message before sleeping? (So others would notice.) To make others witness that he went to bed at three o’clock. Even if you don’t sleep all night, won’t you be the one who’s ultimately sleepy? And won’t you have brought it on yourself? Some people stay up late and send a message at 3 a.m. When the recipient replies at 4 a.m., they wait until 5 a.m. to reply, to demonstrate that they go to sleep even later. They torment themselves and harm each other in this way, and in the end neither of them get any sleep the whole night. Aren’t they a pair of reckless idiots? What sort of behavior is that? It’s stupid behavior. Where does this kind of behavior come from? It all comes from a corrupt disposition. For now, we won’t look at which corrupt disposition this behavior derives from, we’ll just say how ridiculous it is. These people could change this kind of ridiculous behavior and practice by picking any of God’s words to practice. Any one of His words could enable them to live peacefully and securely, and make their lives more realistic and practical. Why don’t they choose to live according to God’s word? Why do they torment themselves like this? Aren’t they reaping what they sow? (Yes, they are.) However much someone like this suffers, it’ll always be in vain, and however much suffering they endure, the consequences of it will be theirs to bear. Some people say: “I’ve believed in God for all these years, and I’ve been a leader for 20. I always stayed up late and didn’t sleep, and in the end, I suffered from nervous exhaustion.” I say: “You got off lightly with nervous exhaustion. If you keep tormenting yourself foolishly and acting like that, psychosis won’t be far behind.” Can someone be healthy if they don’t sleep at night, are always on edge, and their body functions abnormally? They brought this on themselves! Say that you tell them, “Acting that way won’t do. Try your best to arrange your work for the daytime, and increase your productivity. When everyone discusses work, speak less nonsense and don’t talk so much about unimportant things. You should grasp the key points, core, and theme of the discussion, and when it is over, everyone should get on with their own tasks. Don’t keep rambling on and on, and don’t dawdle.” They won’t listen to you. They are not good at expressing themselves, but they don’t summarize experiences, they just talk drivel to waste time until one or two in the morning, not sleeping or letting anyone else sleep. Isn’t this tormenting and harming others? Finally, they think, “God, You saw, right? It was three o’clock and I still hadn’t slept!” God saw it. He not only saw how they looked on the outside, but also their inner hearts, and He says: “Your heart is filthy. You stay up all night in pointless torment, but God will never remember this. When it’s time to sleep, you do not go to bed, but instead force yourself to hold on. You’ve brought this suffering on yourself!” When people are sleepy, their eyelids naturally close. This is an instinct, so you deserve to suffer if you always go against instincts and the laws of nature! God will not ask you to endure suffering that is pointless, or caused by violations of the laws of nature, or violations of the principles or the truth. If you insist on these kinds of suffering, then so be it. Some people, when they hear that someone doesn’t go to sleep until 3 a.m., think, “Isn’t that just like me? Well, in the future I’ll go to sleep at 3:30 a.m.” They then hear that someone sleeps at 3:30 a.m., so they want to sleep at 4 a.m. Isn’t this a mental illness? You could compete over anything, and you choose to compete about who sleeps latest—this means that you are mentally abnormal. Do such people have a problem with comprehension? (Yes, they do.) They cannot comprehend the truth. When you have time, stop putting in effort, wracking your brain, and putting thought into things like outward behavior, pretense, and fakery. What, then, should you put effort into? See how God’s words expose mankind’s corrupt nature and wicked disposition, and how He exposes people being perfunctory. Put effort into comparing yourself to these words of God that expose man, reflect on how many of the manifestations which God exposes you possess, and how many of them you often act out or reveal. It’s a great thing to summarize these things! How despicable it is for a person to always make an effort over a few eggs or steamed buns, or over dipping things in broth! What is that? It is calculating and lacking in wisdom. What is a person like that? (An idiot.) Well said. When it comes to people who always consider how many eggs to eat, or always think about drinking coffee to stay up at night, it’s not an exaggeration to call them idiots who are obsessed with food. In what areas are they stupid? Why do we say these people are stupid? (What they suffer is totally worthless.) It is definitely worthless. Why would you want to do such childish things? Do you think that a lifetime not eating eggs will enable you to understand the truth? Isn’t acting in this way foolish? (Yes, it is.) Don’t do foolish things. What kind of people tend to do foolish things? (People who lack spiritual understanding.) Do these people have the ability to comprehend the truth? (No, they don’t.) Some people say: “Their caliber is good, and they can preach so skillfully.” They might preach skillfully, but why do they always engage in childish activities whenever it comes time to act? Why do they act in such an immature and laughable way? What’s going on here? They talk one way but act in another. What they speak about is their doctrinal understanding, and what they act out are those things they truly understand and can accept. Deep down, do they endorse or acknowledge the doctrines they preach? (No, they don’t acknowledge them.) They don’t acknowledge that those things are the truth, or criteria they should put into practice and abide by. In fact, it’s the schemes and notions in their hearts, the fake ideas and practices, and the behaviors that others deem good, that they really believe to be criteria and paths of practice. Won’t such people be written off if they never turn themselves around? Will they have any chance of salvation? There’s little hope.

Tell Me, is it reasonable to hold an umbrella or wear a straw hat in the hot sun? (Yes, it’s reasonable.) People working in the sun will get burned quickly if they don’t wear a hat, so it’s totally reasonable to do so. Some people do not think like this, and say: “Wear a straw hat? Wouldn’t that be an insult to me? Could I wear a hat? I’m not scared of suffering, nor of getting tanned. In fact, it’s healthy.” If this is what they really think, it’s not a problem, but the key is that, deep down, some people don’t think like this. They think, “Look at you, wearing a straw hat because you’re scared of getting a tan or sunburned on a hot day. I won’t wear one! What’s to fear in a tan or sunburn? God likes those things, so I don’t care what other people think!” What do you think of people who say this? Do you think they’re a little deceitful, a little fake? In fact, there’s a motive behind their refusal to wear a hat, which is to show people that they are able to suffer and that they are really spiritual. This kind of hypocritical behavior is disgusting! Can people who are this good at pretending do their duties well? Can they suffer and pay a price for their duties? Once they get a tan or sunburned, won’t they complain and blame God? Hypocritical Pharisees never put the truth into practice, but feign spirituality. Could they really suffer and pay a price? Based on the essence of hypocrites, you can see that they don’t have any love for the truth, and that they are even less capable of suffering or paying a price for it. What’s more, no matter how many words of truth they hear, they never listen or understand them as the truth, instead they treat and preach them as a kind of spiritual theory. These kinds of hypocrites don’t understand why people believe in God, why He wants to provide the truth to people, what the process of people accepting God’s salvation is like, where its significance lies, and what God really means by salvation. They don’t understand any of these truths. If there’s a hypocrite in a church who doesn’t love the truth but loves being fake, then they are truly a Pharisee. They pay attention to behavior, appearances, and people’s assessments in their hearts, and no matter how many truths they hear, they never put them into practice. Everything they say is correct, and they can speak every kind of doctrine, but they don’t practice what they preach. If someone is really in step with them, are they the same kind of person? (Yes, they are.) How will someone with normal thinking view this hypocrite’s manifestations? They’ll think, “Their method of practice is wrong, isn’t it? Why is it so weird? When it’s time for a meal, they should just go and eat, so why do they go around in so many circles about it?” They’ll say this person is strange, that they understand things differently from others, in a distorted way—and they won’t be affected by them. But if someone is the same kind of person as this hypocrite, and pays particular attention to external behavior and people’s opinions, then they’ll compare and compete with them. It’s just like how Xiaojia sent a message at 3 a.m., and the recipient replied at 4 a.m., thinking: “You sent a message to me at 3 a.m., so I’ll reply at 4 a.m.,” and then Xiaojia thought, “You replied to me at 4 a.m., so I’ll send mine at 5 a.m.” Over time, competing like this, everyone gradually becomes a hypocrite. If a church leader is this kind of person, and the brothers and sisters lack discernment, then they’re in danger, they may be misled at any time. Why do I say this? It’s easy for a person who doesn’t understand the truth to be misled and influenced by the outward good behavior of others. Because they don’t know what is right, they believe in their notions that such behavior is good. If someone else can carry out those behaviors, that person will then become the object of their adoration, and they will think that person should be a leader, be perfected, and be loved by God. They will approve of this kind of behavior, and affirm it in the depths of their heart. What will happen if they affirm it? They will follow that person. If they are both leaders, they’ll compare and compete with each other. One time, leaders and workers from churches in different countries gathered online. After I went online and listened for a while, I felt that something wasn’t right. I thought, “What are these people doing here? Are they preaching?” After understanding the situation, I realized that they were praying. I wondered to Myself why they were praying like that. It sounded frightening, it was all so outrageous and ugly. That isn’t a big deal in itself, so what was the main problem? They seemed to be praying with their eyes open, not before God, and not saying what was in their hearts. Rather, they were competing to see who was the most eloquent, who could speak more doctrines, and who spoke the most extensively and profoundly. It sounded like a match in an arena, and certainly not like a prayer to God. Aren’t these people finished? Haven’t they been written off? With people like this serving as leaders, how much suffering do those below them have to endure? Aren’t the people below them being harmed? Each person prayed enthusiastically for at least 20 minutes, and despite the Above’s stipulations that gatherings should not be dominated by any one person, and that people may only fellowship for 5 to 10 minutes, they still brazenly took up so much time praying. Later, I finally understood why so many gatherings last from morning to night: These so-called leaders take a long time just praying, one after another, while those below them suffer. These false leaders were there to verbally spar, to ramble, with some so incoherent that they forgot whether they’d already said something. To them, it was all okay, as long as they spoke for longer than the others. I was puzzled: When a person prays, they should be praying to God with their eyes closed, so why were their eyes open? Did it really not disturb their minds to have their eyes open and see how other people were praying? Especially needing to think about how others were praying and which words they were using, and wanting to be superior to them—with a heart full of things like this, would it be possible to pray to God and speak from the heart? Isn’t this abnormal reason? Aren’t these all manifestations of the false spirituality of false leaders and false workers? It’s a good thing for everyone to gather together, and read God’s words, and fellowship on the truth, but some people have reported: “Oh, you have no idea. When those leaders gather and pray, it is like they are chanting scriptures; they keep talking about one thing, and it’s the same every time we gather. I’m sick of hearing it.” How do gatherings like this edify people? False leaders and workers always do this; can they be in accordance with God’s intentions? They don’t pay attention to fellowshipping on the truth to help people understand it, nor to solving problems by fellowshipping on the truth; instead, they engage in the false spirituality of religion. Is this not leading people astray? What’s the problem here? They don’t understand God’s intentions at all, nor His requirements for people. They just engage in religious rites and show off! Worse still, they use prayer to expose, attack, and condemn others, while some use prayer to justify themselves. Their prayers appear to be for God’s ears, but in fact they are for man’s. Therefore, these people don’t have the slightest bit of God-fearing hearts, they are all disbelievers who are disturbing the work of God’s house. These false leaders reveal so much ugliness in their prayers. Some pray, saying things like: “God, some people have misunderstood me. I didn’t mean it like that. I’m praying to you, I don’t feel negative, and other people can think what they like.” Some speak doctrines, and others compete over who listens to more sermons, who remembers the most hymn lyrics or God’s words, who spends the most time praying, who is the most eloquent, or who has the most varied ways to pray, and engages in many different types of prayer. Is this prayer? (No, it isn’t.) What is it? It’s unscrupulously doing evil! It’s toying with and trampling on the truth, dishonoring and blaspheming God! These devils and disbelievers dare say anything through prayer—tell Me, are they true believers? Do they have any piety at all? (No, they don’t.) People like this become negative when their status as a leader is removed, they do not reflect on themselves at all, but complain everywhere: “I suffered so much in my work for god, yet they still said I did no actual work and that I was a false leader, and replaced me. What’s more, how many people can speak doctrines as comprehensively as I can? How many are as loving as I am? I gave up my family and career, and spent every day in the church gathering with my brothers and sisters, speaking for three or five days at a time. How could they replace me just like that?” They are uncompliant and harbor complaints. There are also those who spread the assertion: “Don’t be a leader in god’s house. If you get selected as a leader, you’re in for trouble, and once you are replaced you won’t even have the chance to be an ordinary believer.” What are these words? They are the most absurd and ridiculous words, and it can also be said that they are words of noncompliance, dissatisfaction, and blasphemy against God. Isn’t that the meaning of those words? (Yes, it is.) What is contained within those words? An attack—those words are not an ordinary judgment! These people don’t say that they were replaced for running amok doing bad things and failing to do any actual work, but complain that God was unrighteous to them, that He didn’t take their pride into account in His actions, and that He didn’t understand how they felt and their emotional investment. Their mentality is that of a nonbeliever, they are completely devoid of the truth realities!

How long do you usually pray during gatherings? Does it take up too much of everyone’s time? Do your prayers ever annoy people? Some people take a lot of time praying, and everyone feels fed up listening to them, yet these people still think they’re the most spiritual, and believe this is what they’ve gained and accomplished over their many years of believing in God. They don’t get tired even after praying for a couple hours, during which they just repeat the same old, irrelevant stuff, speaking all those words and doctrines, and slogans that they know, or things they have heard from others, or things they have made up. They do this no matter if everyone is fed up or not and regardless of whether they like it or not. Is this how you pray? Tell Me, is it right to pray briefly, or at length? (There is no right or wrong.) That’s right. You can’t pass a verdict on which of these is right or wrong, you should just pray to God according to the needs of your heart. Sometimes prayer doesn’t require any ceremony, while sometimes it does; it depends on the environment and what’s happened. If you think a prayer may take a while, then pray to God privately about your personal matters. Don’t pray about all that in the gatherings and take up everyone’s time. This is called reason. For the sake of their pride and reputation, some people don’t pay this any mind. That is being ignorant and lacking in reason. Do people who lack reason have any shame? They aren’t even aware that everyone is averse to watching them pray. Can people who don’t even have this little bit of perception or awareness comprehend the truth? They cannot. The truth principles God requires man to put into practice are all in His words, and all the words God fellowships on regarding the practice of the truth contain and are principles, people just need to carefully ponder on them. There are so many principles in God’s words about putting the truth into practice; there are principles and paths for how to practice in all sorts of matters, situations, and contexts, the key thing is whether or not you have spiritual understanding, and possess comprehension ability. If someone has this comprehension ability, then they can understand the truth. But if they don’t, all they’ll comprehend are regulations, no matter how detailed God’s words are, and this is not understanding the truth. God, therefore, gives you a principle so you can adapt it to different circumstances. Through listening to His words and coming to know Him, through various experiences and through fellowship, as well as the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit, you will come to understand one aspect of the principles by which He speaks, and His required standards for one sort of matter. Then you will have understood that aspect of the truth. If God had to explain everything in detail, and tell people how to act in this matter or that matter, then the principles He speaks of would be useless. If God used this method, and told mankind regulations for one thing after another, what would people ultimately gain? Just some practices and behaviors. They’d never understand God’s intentions or His words. If people don’t understand God’s words, then they’ll never be able to understand the truth. Isn’t this how it is? (Yes, it is.) Are you able to understand the truth? Most people cannot, and it’s only the few who have spiritual understanding and love the truth that can really achieve this. So, what are the preconditions for those who are able to achieve this? They can achieve it if they have spiritual understanding, have comprehension ability, sincerely pursue, and love the truth and positive things. When it comes to those remaining who cannot achieve it, in one respect, it’s due to problems with their caliber or comprehension, and in another, it’s an issue of time. It’s like people in their 20s—if you ask them to achieve what someone in their 50s could and should achieve, isn’t this forcing them to do something that’s beyond their abilities? (Yes, it is.) Now have a think, what is a person’s ability to comprehend the truth related to? (Their caliber.) It’s related to their caliber. What else? (Whether or not they pursue the truth.) It has a certain relationship to their pursuit. Some people are actually adequate in terms of their apprehension, speed of mind, and IQ, and can understand the truth, but they don’t love or pursue the truth. They don’t feel anything toward the truth in their hearts, and they don’t make any effort in this respect. To people like this, the truth will always be something hazy and unrecognizable, and no matter how many years they believe in God, it will be of no use.

Well, I’ve finished telling My stories. Can the plot and content of these stories help you to understand some truths? (Yes.) Why do I tell these stories? Would it be necessary to tell these stories if they were out of touch with people’s living conditions, the dispositions they reveal, and their thoughts in real life? (No.) It wouldn’t be necessary. The things we’ve discussed are all common phenomena and states people often reveal in their life, and they are related to human dispositions, views, and thoughts. If, after listening to these stories, you think that they’re just stories, that they’re a little humorous and mildly interesting but that’s it, and you’re unable to understand the truths in them, then they’ll be of no use to you. You must understand some truths from these stories—this will at least have a corrective effect on your behavior, particularly your views on certain things, and enable you to turn back from your distorted methods of understanding, and possess a pure understanding of these kinds of things. This isn’t just to change your behavior, but to solve, from the root, these states that are created by corrupt dispositions. Do you understand? Now, let’s fellowship on the main topic.