By Xiaomo, China

I’m in charge of the gospel work in the church. Once, some brothers and sisters reported that a group leader, Xinyue, was arrogant, autocratic, and unable to work well with others or take suggestions. Everyone felt constrained by her and it impacted the gospel work. Everyone tried to point this out and help her, but she just verbally acknowledged and accepted it, and didn’t change at all after. Later, we discussed it and decided to dismiss her from her post. I was really embarrassed by this, because I’d fellowshipped with Xinyue a few times before about her problems, but to my surprise, instead of being resolved, her issues just got worse. It made me reflect and wonder what the real reason for that was. I thought back to when I’d first taken over the job. I noticed Xinyue’s group was the most successful in gospel work, and really engaged in their duty. I thought quite highly of them. Especially when I saw how capable Xinyue was, I felt that there shouldn’t be any major issues with her as group leader, so I didn’t follow up on their work much. Though some sisters reported their issues to me, I didn’t take them seriously. I felt that since they did well in gospel work, even if there were some problems, it wasn’t a big deal. Sometimes when I fellowshipped with them, I just gave them some simple pointers, and I didn’t follow up to see if the problems had been resolved afterward. I remember once when we were discussing work, I noticed Xinyue and Xiaoli were in disagreement. They were both really arrogant and stuck to their own views. I found some words of God that addressed their states to fellowship on, and seeing that they were both able to reflect and willing to change, I felt like a burden had been lifted from my mind. Then again, they’d had trouble working together for a long time, so I knew that fellowshipping once with them could not resolve the problem, and I should follow up on things and see if their states had really changed. But then I thought, to fellowship with them more, I’d have to find passages of God’s words and try to fathom their states, which is really taxing. Besides, they were doing their duties normally, so I thought it’d be fine not to check up on them. So I just left it at that. There was another time when I saw Xinyue and another sister disagreeing during fellowship. The other sister made a reasonable suggestion, but Xinyue refused to accept it, and kept insisting she was right. That sister finally had no choice but to give in. Seeing how self-righteous Xinyue was, I wanted to reveal her problem, but then I thought of the time and energy I’d have to put into fellowshipping on it, and the other work I still had to take care of. As there wasn’t any clear conflict or friction between them, maybe it wasn’t as bad as I thought. The less trouble the better. Plus, Xinyue was a group leader, so if she revealed some arrogance, she should be able to resolve it through seeking. And so, I didn’t point out her problem. Looking back on it all, I was well aware that Xinyue was arrogant and couldn’t work well with others. Also she was a leader, so by brushing off such an important matter, I was being really irresponsible!

I read this in God’s words later: “No matter what important work a leader or worker does, and what the nature of this work is, their number one priority is to be au fait with how work is going on. They must be there in person to follow up on things and ask questions, getting their information first-hand. They must not simply rely on hearsay or listen to other people’s reports; instead, they must observe with their own eyes the situation of the personnel, how work is progressing, and learn about what difficulties there are, whether any areas are at odds with requirements of the Above, whether there are violations of principles, whether there exist any disturbances or disruptions, whether there is a lack of necessary equipment or related instructional materials regarding professional work—they must stay on top of all of this. No matter how many reports they listen to, or how much they glean from hearsay, neither of these beats paying a personal visit; it is more accurate and reliable for them to see things with their own eyes. Once they are familiar with all aspects of the situation, they will have a good idea of what’s going on” (The Word, Vol. 5. The Responsibilities of Leaders and Workers. The Responsibilities of Leaders and Workers (4)). “No matter which work they are inspecting, leaders who carry a burden will always be able to identify problems. For any problems which have to do with professional knowledge, or to do with breaches of the principles, they will be able to identify, enquire about, and gain an understanding, and when they discover a problem, they resolve it promptly. Intelligent leaders and workers only resolve problems to do with the church’s work, professional knowledge, and truth principles. They do not pay small matters in daily life any heed. They look after every facet of the work of spreading the gospel which God commissioned. They ask about and inspect any problems which they are able to perceive or discover. If they are unable to solve the problem themselves at that moment, then they gather with other leaders and workers, fellowship with them, seek the truth principles, and think of ways to resolve it. If they encounter a big problem which they really cannot resolve, then they promptly seek from the Above, and allow the Above to handle it and resolve it. Leaders and workers such as this are people who are principled in their actions. No matter what problems there are, so long as they have seen them, they will not let them go; they insist on fully understanding these problems and then resolving them one by one. Even if they are not resolved thoroughly, it can be assured that these problems will not arise again” (The Word, Vol. 5. The Responsibilities of Leaders and Workers. The Responsibilities of Leaders and Workers (4)). I was really ashamed when I saw what God requires of leaders and workers. I hadn’t borne a burden for the gospel work. Not only had I failed to promptly follow up on the gospel work, but I hadn’t gained a detailed understanding of the brothers’ and sisters’ states. Like Xinyue being a group leader but also being hard to work with—I should have resolved this through fellowship, but I just briefly pointed out her problem without talking to the others to gain a detailed understanding of it. I also hadn’t exposed the nature of her issue or its consequences. After that, I hadn’t inquired about whether she’d changed or not. I hadn’t pondered on whether this was an issue of her disposition essence or a revelation of corruption, whether she was suited to be a group leader, and other details like that. So her problems were never resolved, and the gospel work was impacted. Later, I’d seen that Xinyue was still arrogant, self-righteous, and autocratic, and I knew I should fellowship with her to resolve this, or it would delay the work. But I still didn’t take care of it, because I didn’t want the hassle. I was just superficially going through the motions of resolving problems, content with doing surface-level work, mentioning the problem and nothing more. I paid no mind to whether the issue was actually resolved or not. I was being irresponsible, I wasn’t doing my job or any actual work. That’s how a false leader behaves. The church had put me in charge of gospel work, hoping that I’d be able to do my duty according to God’s requirements, to be serious and responsible in my work, and to use the truth principles to resolve the brothers’ and sisters’ issues so that the gospel work could proceed smoothly. But instead, when problems arose that needed resolving, I did nothing, thinking the less trouble, the better. I was truly acting as a false leader and hindering the gospel work’s progress. My attitude toward my duty was really disgusting to God!

Afterward, I sought and pondered on the true root of my failure to do real work. I read something in God’s words: “In their work, leaders and workers should be considerate of God’s intentions and be loyal to Him. The best way for them to behave is to proactively recognize and solve problems. They must not remain passive, especially when they have these current words and fellowship to act as a basis. They should take the initiative to thoroughly resolve actual problems and difficulties by fellowshipping on the truth, and do their work exactly how they ought to. They should promptly and proactively follow up on the progress of the work; they cannot always wait for orders and prompting from the Above before they reluctantly take action. If leaders and workers are always negative and passive and do not do real work, they are unworthy of serving as leaders and workers, and should be dismissed and reassigned. There are many leaders and workers now who are very passive in their work. They only ever do a bit of work after the Above sends orders and pushes them; otherwise, they slack off and procrastinate. The work in some churches is quite chaotic, some of the people who do duties there are incredibly slack and perfunctory, and do not get any real results. These problems are already very severe and terrible in nature, but the leaders and workers of those churches still act like officials and overlords. Not only are they unable to do any real work, they cannot recognize or solve problems. This paralyzes the church’s work and causes it to stagnate. Whenever a church’s work is in a terrible mess and there is no sign of order, there is definitely a false leader or an antichrist in charge. In every church where a false leader is in charge, the church’s work will be in shambles and a complete mess—there is no doubt about that. … What is going on when people are blind to the work that needs to be done? (They do not bear a burden.) It is accurate to say that they do not bear a burden; they are also very lazy and crave comfort, take breaks whenever they can, and try to avoid any extra tasks. These lazy people often think, ‘Why should I worry so much about this? Worrying too much will just make me age faster. How will I benefit from doing that, and from running around so much, and exhausting myself so much? What will happen if I burn out and get sick? I don’t have the money to pay for treatment. And who will take care of me when I’m old?’ These lazy people are just this passive and backward. They have not an ounce of the truth, and cannot see anything clearly. They are clearly a bunch of muddled people, are they not? They are all muddled-headed; they are oblivious to the truth and have no interest in it, so how can they be saved? Why are people always undisciplined and lazy, as though they are the living dead? This touches on the issue of their nature. There is a kind of laziness in human nature. No matter what task people are doing, they always need someone to supervise them and spur them on. Sometimes people are considerate of the flesh, crave physical comfort, and always hold something back for themselves—these people are full of devilish intentions and cunning schemes; they are truly no good at all. They always do less than their best, no matter what important duty they are doing. This is irresponsible and disloyal” (The Word, Vol. 5. The Responsibilities of Leaders and Workers. The Responsibilities of Leaders and Workers (26)). “All false leaders never do real work, and they act like their leadership role is some official position, enjoying the benefits of status. The duty that ought to be performed and work that ought to be done by a leader they treat as an encumbrance, as a bother. In their hearts, they brim with defiance toward the work of the church: If you have them keep an eye on the work and find out issues that exist within it that need to be followed up on and resolved, they are full of reluctance. This is the work that leaders and workers are supposed to do, this is their job. If they don’t do it—if they are unwilling to do it—why do they still want to be a leader or worker? Do they do their duty in order to be considerate of God’s intentions, or in order to be an official and enjoy the benefits of status? Is it not shameless to be a leader if they just wish to hold some official position? No one is of lower character—these people have no self-respect, they are without shame. If they wish to enjoy fleshly ease, they should hurry back to the world and strive, take, and seize as they are able. No one will interfere. God’s house is a place for God’s chosen people to do their duties and worship Him; it is a place for people to pursue the truth and to be saved. It is not some place for anyone to relish in fleshly ease, much less a place that allows people to live in princely comfort. False leaders are a type of person that knows no shame; they are brazen, unabashed, and have no reason. No matter what actual work is allotted to them, they do not treat it as important. They put it at the back of their mind, and while their mouth gives an excellent response, they do not do any real work. Is this not a lack of virtue? … No matter what work some people do or what duty they perform, they are incompetent in it, they cannot shoulder it, and they are incapable of fulfilling any of the obligations or responsibilities that a person ought to. Are they not trash? Are they still worthy of being called human? With the exception of simpletons, the mentally incompetent, and those who suffer from physical impairments, is there anyone alive who ought not to do their duties and fulfill their responsibilities? But this kind of person is always slippery and slacking off, and does not wish to fulfill their responsibilities; the implication is that they do not wish to be a proper human being. God gave them the opportunity to be a human being, and He gave them caliber and gifts, yet they cannot use these in doing their duty. They do nothing, but wish to relish enjoyment at every turn. Is such a person fit to be called a human being? No matter what work is given to them—whether it be important or ordinary, difficult or simple—they are always perfunctory and slippery and slacking off. When problems arise, they try to push responsibility for them onto other people, taking no responsibility, and they wish to keep living their parasitic lives. Are they not useless trash?” (The Word, Vol. 5. The Responsibilities of Leaders and Workers. The Responsibilities of Leaders and Workers (8)). His words really pained me. All that time, God had been fellowshipping in detail on the responsibilities of leaders and workers, but I hadn’t entered into this at all. I was slacking off, being irresponsible, indulging the flesh, and getting no results in my duty. I was the sort of parasite and good-for-nothing God exposes. When handling Xinyue’s problem, I was well aware that the issue wasn’t resolved, but I craftily just did whatever would save me trouble. I realized that I was often ineffective in my duty because I was lazy and only cared about my own comfort. At first, when the others had troubles in their gospel sharing, or weren’t sure of some principles, I’d fellowship with them to resolve these issues. But because some of them progressed slowly or had complex issues, I felt it was too much trouble and too exhausting to help them. I’d need to seek and ponder, and patiently fellowship with them, so I chose to avoid that, resolving only glaring issues and shelving difficult ones. I downplayed big problems and ignored small ones. So lots of issues were never resolved. I pandered to the flesh all along without really fixing things. As a result, there hadn’t been progress in the gospel work for a long time. It was entirely because I was lazy by nature, treasured the flesh, and wasn’t devoted or responsible in my duty. I thought of God’s words: “This is a serious dereliction of duty! You have lost the attitude and responsibility that as leaders and workers you should have toward your duties” (The Word, Vol. 5. The Responsibilities of Leaders and Workers. The Responsibilities of Leaders and Workers (26)). “Is such a person fit to be called a human being?” (The Word, Vol. 5. The Responsibilities of Leaders and Workers. The Responsibilities of Leaders and Workers (8)). I was a leader, so it was my responsibility to do everything I could to resolve the issues I found. But I just wouldn’t walk the right path—I was always thinking of my own comfort. Whenever I had to take real action and do some real work, I bailed. This harmed the church’s work and the brothers’ and sisters’ life entry. Doing my duty in that way was seriously negligent! I thought of how, in God’s work in the last days to resolve man’s corruption, He has expressed millions of words, reminding and exhorting, judging and chastising, warning and exposing, using every means to fellowship with us meticulously lest we not understand and be unable to enter the truth. To save mankind, so deeply corrupted by Satan, He has worried and suffered so much, expended so much effort and paid a great price. But while enjoying the sustenance of so much truth from God, I took on important work in the church without thinking about repaying His love. I wasn’t able to suffer a little or pay a bit of a price for my duty. As soon as I had to take serious action and do some real work, I ran away. I always wanted God’s rewards and blessings in exchange for a tiny bit of effort. I was so selfish and vile, lacking conscience and reason. At that point I finally saw that always thinking of the flesh and longing for comfort was living without dignity and being unreliable. I was a lazy leader, a false leader. Doing my duty like that gave me temporary comfort, but I kept losing chances to gain the truth because of my laziness, and God would ultimately eliminate me. I was saving a little but losing a lot, I was so foolish! I thought of something the Bible says: “And the prosperity of fools shall destroy them” (Proverbs 1:32). I knew some brothers and sisters who were dismissed because they always thought of the flesh and comfort, without doing real work. Coveting comfort disgusts God, and it could even ruin our chance at salvation. God is holy and righteous and He scrutinizes my intents in my duty. I couldn’t keep doing my duty that way. God’s house isn’t the place for me to be coveting fleshly comfort, it’s the place for me to fulfill my duty and practice the truth. Since I’d accepted that duty, I should put my all into doing it well. I prayed to God in repentance: “God, thank You for setting up this situation to show me that I’ve coveted fleshly comfort in my duty and haven’t been responsible at all. From now on, I want to do my best to really work at my duty.”

After that, by reading God’s words, seeking and reflecting, I saw that I harbored another mistaken view. Almighty God says: “Leaders and workers must get an understanding of the supervisors of important work, gospel directors, every team leader, directors of film production teams, and so on, from various sources, and more intensely observe and examine these people, before they can be sure of them. Only by carefully assigning duties to people in this way can they ensure the arrangements are appropriate, and that the people will be effective in their duties. Some people say, ‘Even nonbelievers say, “Neither doubt those you employ nor employ those you doubt.” How can God’s house be so untrusting? They are all believers; how bad can they be? Aren’t they all good people? Why must God’s house get to understand them, supervise them, and observe them?’ Are these words valid? Are they problematic? (Yes.) Does getting to understand someone and observing them in depth, and interacting with them in close proximity adhere to the principles? It is in complete adherence to the principles. Which principles is it in adherence to? (Item four of the responsibilities of leaders and workers: ‘Keep abreast of the circumstances of supervisors of different work and personnel responsible for various important jobs, and promptly alter their duties or dismiss them as necessary, so as to prevent or mitigate losses caused by using unsuitable people, and guarantee the efficiency and smooth progress of the work.’) This is a good point of reference, but what is the actual reason for doing this? It is because people have corrupt dispositions. Although, today, many people do a duty, there are only a few who pursue the truth. Very few people pursue the truth and enter reality as they do their duty; for most, there are still no principles to the way they do things, they are still not people who truly submit to God; they merely claim that they love the truth, and are willing to pursue the truth, and are willing to strive for the truth, yet it is still unknown how long their resolve will last. People who do not pursue the truth are liable to reveal their corrupt dispositions at any time or place. They are devoid of any sense of responsibility toward their duty, they are often perfunctory, they act as they wish, and are even incapable of accepting pruning. As soon as they become negative and weak, they are liable to abandon their duty—this happens often, nothing is more common; such is the way all who do not pursue the truth behave. And so, when people have yet to gain the truth, they are unreliable and untrustworthy. What does it mean that they are untrustworthy? It means that when they encounter difficulties or setbacks, they are likely to fall down, and to become negative and weak. Is someone who is often negative and weak someone who is trustworthy? Definitely not. But people who understand the truth are different. People who truly understand the truth are bound to have a God-fearing heart, and a heart of submission to God, and only people with a God-fearing heart are trustworthy people; people without a God-fearing heart are not trustworthy. How should people without a God-fearing heart be approached? They should, of course, be given loving assistance and support. They should be followed up on more as they do their duty, and given more help and instruction; only then can they be guaranteed to do their duty effectively. And what is the aim of doing this? The chief aim is to uphold the work of God’s house. Secondary to this is in order to promptly identify problems, to promptly provide to them, support them, or prune them, setting right their deviations, and making up for their shortcomings and deficiencies. This is beneficial to people; there is nothing malicious about it. Supervising people, observing them, trying to understand them—this is all in order to help them enter the right track of faith in God, to enable them to do their duty as God asks and according to principle, to stop them from causing any disturbances or disruptions, and to stop them from doing futile work. The aim of doing this is entirely about showing responsibility toward them and toward the work of God’s house; there is no malice to it” (The Word, Vol. 5. The Responsibilities of Leaders and Workers. The Responsibilities of Leaders and Workers (7)). God’s words show us one of the principles to practice in our work. We should keep a close eye on the brothers and sisters under our purview, particularly those doing key work, because everyone has corrupt dispositions and lacks the truth reality, and can’t help but do things out of corruption. We can’t blindly trust anyone or take a hands-off approach—that shows that we are irresponsible in our work. I was exactly like that. Sometimes the others pointed out my issues, and in the moment, I felt determined to change, but often it was just a wave of enthusiasm. When I had to really act on it, I was still constrained by corrupt dispositions, unable to practice the truth. That’s why I needed the others’ supervision and help, to practice and enter better. Everyone has shortcomings and isn’t able to grasp the truth principles, so it’s inevitable that some issues or oversights appear in our duties, and we sometimes reveal corruption and act willfully. At those times, leaders must supervise and follow up, gain a deep understanding of how people’s duties are going, find problems and fix deviations, and stop harm coming to the church’s work. But I’d been really blind and foolish. I saw that Xinyue seemed active in her duty and did well in gospel work, so I didn’t worry about her. I handed over such important work to her and then didn’t give it another thought. My partner mentioned there were problems in the group, but I didn’t take them seriously. When I learned that Xinyue was arrogant and didn’t work well with others, I didn’t look into it in detail. I thought since she was the group leader, she’d seek and enter after a few simple pointers, and that I didn’t need to worry about it. But things turned out completely differently from how I’d imagined. The person I worried least about had the most serious problems. Because of her arrogant disposition, the others were constrained and couldn’t do their duties normally. All this came of me not doing real work and not viewing things and people through God’s words. We reviewed that group’s work later on and found it still had some problems. They’d gained lots of people through their sharing of the gospel, but some of those newcomers weren’t in line with the principles. Some didn’t have good humanity and had to be cleared out, which not only wasted resources, but was also a hassle for the church. The more I followed up on their work, the more specific problems I found, and the more I saw that I hadn’t been doing real work before. I only looked at the surface—when work seemed to be progressing smoothly, I thought that no one had problems in their duty. I looked at things so superficially. I saw how pathetic it was that I didn’t understand the truth, and warned myself that, in the future, I’d have to look at things according to the truth, fulfill my responsibilities, and supervise the work of those under my supervision. I also felt just how important God’s requirement that leaders do detailed work in person really is. It truly helps us step onto the path to doing our duties in a way that is up to standard.

I read more of God’s words after that: “If you truly possess caliber of a certain degree, truly have a grasp of professional skills within the scope of your responsibility, and are not an outsider to your profession, then you just have to abide by one phrase, and you will be able to be loyal to your duty. Which phrase? ‘Put your heart into it.’ If you put your heart into things, and put your heart into people, then you will be able to be loyal and responsible in your duty. Is this phrase easy to practice? How do you put it into practice? It doesn’t mean to use your ears to hear, nor your mind to think—it means using your heart. If a person can truly use their heart, then when their eyes see someone do something, act in some way, or have some sort of response to something, or when their ears hear some people’s opinions or arguments, by using their heart to ponder and contemplate these things, some ideas, views, and attitudes will come up in their mind. These ideas, views, and attitudes will make them have a deep, specific, and correct understanding of the person or thing, and at the same time, will give rise to suitable and correct judgments and principles. Only when a person has these manifestations of using their heart does it mean they are loyal to their duty” (The Word, Vol. 5. The Responsibilities of Leaders and Workers. The Responsibilities of Leaders and Workers (7)). God’s words showed me a path of practice. To do my duty well, I had to learn to be attentive and responsible. I had to take real action for everything I saw and heard to enter my heart, and to discover problems in my duty. Otherwise, I was just going through the motions, blind to any problems. I also had to do everything in my power to resolve the problems I found, seek help from those above me when I couldn’t fix something, do and achieve whatever I could, fulfill my responsibilities, have a clear conscience, and accept God’s scrutiny. I couldn’t rely on my notions and imaginings in my duty. I had to follow the truth principles and God’s requirements until the problems were resolved. Though there were still many issues in our work, I had to do my best to resolve them, and no matter how well that went, I needed to first learn to put my heart into it and fulfill my responsibilities. The gospel work is important to God’s house, and in this critical, end time, if I continued to take my duty lightly, seek comfort and protect my own interests, that would be a selfish, despicable way to live. So I prayed to God, “God, my stature is small and I don’t have great caliber, but I want to put everything into my duty and practice according to Your requirements.”

Later, I discovered that the church’s gospel work wasn’t very effective, mainly because some gospel workers were new and weren’t clear on the truths about bearing witness to God’s work. So I arranged for Li Mei to go and give them some actual instruction. At first, I’d spend time analyzing the religious notions of potential gospel recipients and understanding the gospel workers’ issues with Li Mei. But later, when my own work got busy, I thought about handing over all those problems to Li Mei, so that I wouldn’t have to worry about them too much. When that thought occurred to me, I felt guilty. The gospel work wasn’t going well, and Li Mei wanted to discuss it with me after she went and learned about those issues, but I’d hoped to push that hard work onto her, like a bureaucrat. That was despicable. So I prayed to God and consciously rebelled against the flesh. When Li Mei gave me feedback on the issues, I got involved actually, fellowshipping with her and seeking the truth to resolve those problems. With this actual cooperation, I could gain an understanding of the group’s work and progress more quickly, and promptly find and resolve the gospel workers’ problems and struggles. I saw God’s guidance through this actual cooperation. Some new gospel workers gradually came to grasp the principles, the gospel work became more fruitful, and some newcomers took on duties soon after accepting God’s new work. Though recently I’ve been expending more time and energy, when I truly put my heart into my duty, it doesn’t feel difficult or tiring. Actually, I’ve become equipped with more truth principles, and by quieting myself before God in prayer and seeking when there are problems, I’ve grown closer to God and been more focused in my duty. I still have lots of shortcomings in my duty. I’m still a long way from performing it in an up-to-standard manner. But through my experiences, I’ve reflected on and learned about my issue of not doing real work, and I have direction for how I should do my duty in the future. Everything I’ve gained is thanks to the enlightenment and guidance of God’s words.