By Shunyi, China

I was born in a remote mountain village into a family of several generations of farmers. When I was in school, my mother often exhorted me: “Our family has nothing to rely on. If you want to change your fate and make it in life, you only have yourself. Your only hope is to do well in school.” I took these words of hers to heart, truly hoping to one day stand out above the rest, and bring honor to my ancestors. But after graduating, not only couldn’t I find stable employment, but both my parents fell seriously ill. We spent all of our family savings and then borrowed money from relatives. I couldn’t pay them back in time, so my very own aunt even called me a bloodsucker behind my back. I threw myself into earning money so they wouldn’t keep looking down on me, but our destitute family conditions along with our relatives’ snubbing left me feeling depressed, and I cried in secret a lot. Just when I was feeling my absolute lowest, a friend shared Almighty God’s gospel of the last days with me. Through reading God’s words and gathering with my brothers and sisters, I learned that man was created by God, and our destinies are in His hands. I also learned that life is so painful because humans lost God’s protection after being corrupted by Satan. Now, in the last days, God has become flesh and is expressing the truth to save mankind from Satan’s corruption and harm. After learning about God’s intention to save humanity, I became highly engaged in gatherings and read God’s words as often as I could. Soon after, I started doing my duty in the church.

After a few months, seeing I was enthusiastic and wanted to pursue the truth, my brothers and sisters recommended that I train to be a group leader. I partnered with Brother Li Zheng, and together we were put in charge of some gathering groups. I had a job at the time, so Li Zheng went to the daytime gatherings that were a bit farther away, and I went to the evening gatherings. That way, everything matched my schedule. Toward the end of the year we didn’t have enough staff to handle general affairs, so Li Zheng was assigned to do that work and I was temporarily put in charge of those groups. I knew I needed to rely on God and do my part, but at the same time, I felt like I was in a tough spot. If I put all my time and energy into doing my duty, I wouldn’t have enough time for my job. My company had set me a year-end sales goal of one million yuan, and if I exceeded that I could get a bigger year-end bonus. I thought: “If I meet this goal, not only could I repay my debts, but I could save a bit of money, and then my friends and relatives wouldn’t look down on me. Maybe I should just get this money first, then focus on doing my duty.” My supervisor wanted me to work overtime in the evenings to meet that target, so I’d work an extra hour or more at night and then take time off for gatherings, but soon my supervisor stopped letting me take time off, and wanted me to work more overtime. That often made me late for gatherings. My brothers and sisters reminded me that I needed to show up earlier, and I’d just reluctantly nod my head at them. Soon after that, I landed a big order for over 500,000 yuan and got paid over 7,000 yuan that month, which just fed my desire for even more money. I thought: “Wow, that was some quick money! I already made more than half of my year-end target with that order. If five of my ten clients sign off on other orders, I could make a huge lump of cash! And then if I get some more big clients, maybe I could even buy a house and a car in a few years! Then I could go back home in all that glory and the villagers would really look up to me.” And so, I plunged myself headlong into my dream of making big money, often working overtime until late in the evening. Sometimes I thought about my brothers and sisters waiting for me to show up at a gathering and I felt a little guilty, but it was too late by the time I got off work. I’d get home exhausted and go straight to sleep, not having the energy to read God’s words. Some mornings I got up really late, so I’d just skim through God’s words a bit and then go to work. I didn’t know what to say to God when I prayed. Living in that sort of state, I got more and more perfunctory with my duty. Some of the newcomers I was responsible for urgently needed watering, but I just asked my other brothers and sisters to go to newcomer gatherings in my place. However, they all had their own duties and sometimes couldn’t take on mine, as well. As a result, the effectiveness of the watering was impacted. Later, my brothers and sisters fellowshipped with me about needing to put my duty first, and reminded me that just going through the motions in gatherings and being irresponsible in my duty would hinder newcomers’ life progress. Hearing that scared me. If new believers weren’t watered in time, they could be misled by rumors and drop out, and then I’d be doing evil. I knew I couldn’t keep on like that, so I prayed to God and promised to repent and change.

After that, I went to check on how my groups were doing. I saw that as a result of my not having done real work, newcomers’ issues and difficulties weren’t resolved in time, leaving them in a bad state. Some of them weren’t even attending gatherings regularly. I felt incredibly guilty when I saw how things were. More and more new believers accepted God’s work of the last days, who urgently needed watering and support. To help them better establish a foundation on the true way, I felt like I should quit my job and devote myself full time to my duty, but my boss had been giving me some good projects, and my supervisor said he’d help me find more clients. When I told my colleagues I was thinking about quitting, they said: “You’re more than halfway toward your sales target, so you’ll definitely pass it by the end of the year. It would be a shame to give up now.” Hearing them say that, I also felt that it would be a shame and wanted to hold on till the end of the year, then resign. That said, the church was still shorthanded, so only focusing on making money at my own job, and not putting my heart into the church’s work, would be incredibly selfish. This was a real dilemma for me. I prayed to God, asking Him to enlighten and guide me.

Then one day, when I was listening to a hymn of God’s words titled “Every Day You Live Now Is Crucial,” I heard this: “Right now, each day you live through is crucial, and it is of the utmost importance to your destination and your fate, so you must cherish everything you have today, and treasure each minute that passes. You must carve out as much time as you can to give yourselves the greatest gains so that you will not have lived this life in vain” (The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. To Whom Are You Loyal?). I also listened to “Time Lost Will Never Come Again”: “Awaken, brothers! Awaken, sisters! My day will not be delayed; time is life, and to seize back time is to save life! The time is not far off! If you fail the college entrance examination, you can study and retake it as many times as you like. However, My day will brook no further delay. Remember! Remember! I urge you with these good words. The end of the world unfolds before your very eyes, and great disasters rapidly draw near. Which is more important: your life, or your sleep, your food and drink and clothing? The time has come for you to weigh these things” (The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Utterances of Christ in the Beginning, Chapter 30). These hymns of God’s words made an impression on me. God’s work of the last days is the conclusion of the era. God is determining each person’s outcome, separating them according to their kind. In the end, everyone will either be saved and kept, or will sink into ruin. That’s determined by how we pursue the truth now. This is the critical moment that decides our outcome and our fate. Today, we are beset by one disaster after another—earthquakes, floods, and droughts occur at an ever-increasing rate. We don’t know when God’s work will come to its final end. I knew if I didn’t make use of my time to properly pursue the truth, instead chasing money and an easy life like the nonbelievers, my chance to gain the truth and be saved would be ruined. I thought of Lot’s wife. The angels guided her family out of the city and told them not to look back, but out of greed for her property and possessions, she did. Doing this turned her into a pillar of salt, a mark of shame. I was just like Lot’s wife. I coveted wealth and pursued worldly pleasures, putting a hand to the plow and looking back. I was so foolish and blind! I thought of how I was drifting out in the world before, heavily in debt with no way out. God’s salvation came upon me and carried me out of my suffering, giving me the chance to pursue truth and salvation. I’d reveled in God’s love but didn’t have the desire to repay it. I was derelict in my duty, irresponsible toward it. I was without a conscience. I couldn’t stay stubbornly on the wrong path. Instead, I had to let go of my personal interests, pursue the truth, and do my duty properly.

After that, I started to wonder why I was never able to let go of work and money—what was the root cause? Then one day, I read some of God’s words: “Satan uses fame and gain to control man’s thoughts, until all people can think of is fame and gain. They struggle for fame and gain, suffer hardships for fame and gain, endure humiliation for fame and gain, sacrifice everything they have for fame and gain, and they will make any judgment or decision for the sake of fame and gain. In this way, Satan binds people with invisible shackles, and they have neither the strength nor the courage to throw them off. They unknowingly bear these shackles and trudge ever onward with great difficulty. For the sake of this fame and gain, mankind shuns God and betrays Him and becomes increasingly wicked. In this way, therefore, one generation after another is destroyed in the midst of Satan’s fame and gain” (The Word, Vol. 2. On Knowing God. God Himself, the Unique VI). “‘Money makes the world go round’ is a philosophy of Satan. It prevails among the whole of mankind, in every human society; you could say it is a trend. This is because it has been instilled in the heart of every single person, who at first did not accept this saying, but then gave it tacit acceptance when they came into contact with real life, and began to feel that these words were in fact true. Is this not a process of Satan corrupting man? Perhaps people do not understand this saying to the same degree, but everyone has different degrees of interpretation and acknowledgment of this saying based on things that have happened around them and on their own personal experiences. Is that not the case? Regardless of how much experience someone has with this saying, what is the negative effect that it can have on someone’s heart? Something is revealed through the human disposition of the people in this world, including each and every one of you. What is it? It is the worship of money. Is it hard to remove this from someone’s heart? It is very hard! It seems that Satan’s corruption of man is deep indeed! Satan uses money to tempt people, and corrupts them into worshiping money and venerating material things. And how is this worship of money manifested in people? Do you feel that you could not survive in this world without any money, that even one day without money would be impossible? People’s status is based on how much money they have, as is the respect they command. The backs of the poor are bent in shame, while the rich enjoy their high status. They stand tall and proud, speaking loudly and living arrogantly. What does this saying and trend bring to people? Is it not true that many people make any sacrifice in the pursuit of money? Do many people not lose their dignity and integrity in the pursuit of more money? Do many people not lose the opportunity to perform their duty and follow God for the sake of money? Is losing the chance to gain the truth and be saved not the greatest of all losses for people? Is Satan not sinister to use this method and this saying to corrupt man to such a degree? Is this not a malicious trick?” (The Word, Vol. 2. On Knowing God. God Himself, the Unique V). God’s words revealed to me the root of pursuing money and fame. Since I was little, I thought of satanic philosophies like “Money makes the world go round” and “Stand out above the rest, and bring honor to your ancestors” as words to live by. I thought that with money, people could speak with confidence and dignity, that they could stand tall, have high status, and be respected. I thought that was the only way to have a worthwhile and honorable life. Especially when my relatives gave me the cold shoulder, I worked more overtime to earn more money, hoping to one day be free from their stifling gaze. After gaining my faith, I knew I needed to attend more gatherings and do more of my duty to understand the truth and progress in life, but I still couldn’t let go of my pursuit of money and status. When there was a conflict between my duty and my job, I put earning money first, treating my duty lightly. When my work was going well and I was earning more money, that desire became even stronger. I was entirely focused on how to bag more clients and get more orders signed to receive a bigger paycheck, totally disregarding the church’s work. That meant some newcomers weren’t watered in time and nearly dropped out, and watering work was seriously delayed. Only then did I realize that living by these satanic philosophies was making me increasingly selfish and greedy—I was only thinking of my own interests. I was enjoying the watering and sustenance of God’s words, but was not repaying Him through my duty. I was entirely without reason or conscience! Satan uses money and status to seduce and corrupt people. It pulled my heart further and further from God, to the point that I was just going through the motions even in prayer and reading God’s words. If that went on, I wouldn’t gain the truth, and I would lose my chance at being saved by God.

Later on, I heard another hymn of God’s words: “Lose the Chance and You Will Regret It Forever.” It says: “You should become mindful of God’s burden, here and now; you should not wait for God to reveal His righteous disposition to all humanity before growing mindful of God’s burden. Would it not be too late by then? Now is a good opportunity to be perfected by God. If you allow this chance to slip through your fingers, you will regret it for the rest of your life, just as Moses was unable to enter the good land of Canaan and regretted it for the rest of his life, dying with remorse. Once God has revealed His righteous disposition to all peoples, you will be filled with regret. Even if God does not chastise you, you will chastise yourself out of your own remorse. The best opportunity to attain perfection is the present; now is an extremely good time. If you do not earnestly seek to be perfected by God, once His work has concluded, it will be too late—you will have missed the opportunity. No matter how great your aspirations, if God is no longer performing work, then regardless of the effort you put in, you will never be able to attain perfection” (The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Be Considerate of God’s Intentions in Order to Attain Perfection). I could feel God’s expectations for us through His words. He hopes that we’ll be able to treasure this precious time, to pursue the truth properly, do our duty well, and gain His salvation. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to pursue being perfected by God, and a critical time to do our duty. In doing our duty, through the practice of seeking the truth to resolve various problems, we can learn more truths and progress in life faster. If I didn’t seize this opportunity to train well, but kept running after money instead, I’d end up with nothing at the conclusion of God’s work, and no amount of regret would be of any use. In fact, we should be content in life with food and clothing. If we neglect our duty in favor of big money, ultimately that will do harm to our life, and we’ll lose the incredible chance to gain the truth and be perfected by God. That would be terribly foolish!

Later, I read another passage of God’s words: “As someone who is normal, and who pursues the love of God, entry into the kingdom to become one of the people of God is your true future, and a life that is of the utmost value and significance; no one is more blessed than you. Why do I say this? Because those who do not believe in God live for the flesh, and they live for Satan, but today you live for God, and live to follow the will of God. That is why I say your lives are of the utmost significance. Only this group of people, who have been selected by God, are able to live out a life of the utmost significance: No one else on earth is able to live out a life of such value and meaning” (The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Know God’s Newest Work and Follow His Footsteps). Reading these words from God was encouraging for me. Pursuing the truth and getting to know God is the only way to have a truly meaningful life. Before, I’d always lived according to satanic philosophies, thinking that with money and status everyone would admire me and that would give my life meaning. But that was all wrong. Without faith, without gaining the truth as life, people can’t truly understand anything. They don’t even know where they themselves came from, or that God rules over the fates of mankind. They just plod after status and money, not thinking of turning back no matter how much they suffer. When the disasters come, people like this are bound to perish—then their money will be useless. It’s so sad to be toyed with and hurt by Satan for their entire life. Having faith and pursuing the truth, however, is different. We may not have as much material gratification, but by learning truths, we can see things a bit more clearly and will no longer be tempted and bound by money. We can gain peace and enlightenment. Job had so many family possessions, but that wasn’t what he took pleasure in. He was focused on understanding God’s rule in all things, and on fearing God and shunning evil. When trials came upon him, he never complained, and was able to stand firm in witness. He gained God’s approval and in the end God appeared to him. Job’s life had meaning and value. Thinking about it that way, I wrote my resignation letter. Seeing that I’d made up my mind, the boss didn’t try to get me to stay. My resignation process was smooth. The moment I walked out of the company I felt relaxed and free.

After that, I threw myself into my duty and worked with my brothers and sisters watering newcomers. A little while later, the new believers were coming to gatherings enthusiastically, and church life was picking up. I had such a sense of peace! Thank God!