By Xu Fei, China

I was born into an ordinary rural family, and our living conditions at home were pretty average. My neighbor was a teacher, and his family had been wealthy for generations and was highly respected. I was really envious. When I was a child, the neighbors ate noodles, while my family could only afford to eat cornbread. When the neighbors walked down the road, the villagers would all actively greet them, but they would only offer a few perfunctory pleasantries to us. When I saw how the neighbor’s children dressed neatly and cleanly, and then I looked at my own worn-out cotton-padded jacket, I was too embarrassed to stand with them, feeling really inferior. I thought to myself, “When I grow up, I’ll make some money to improve my family’s living conditions, so we can live a good life, so that others will respect us.” When I was fifteen, my father was sentenced to seven years in prison due to political issues. Because our family had no money or power, even my uncle bullied us, and he even made my aunt hit my mother over small matters. Seeing this filled my heart with hatred, and it further fueled my desire to make money, as I felt that only by becoming wealthy would others stop bullying us. I often heard people say, “The poor don’t fight the rich, and the rich don’t compete with officials. The rich can use money to crush the poor, and an official can put a poor person to death with a single word.” I thought to myself, “Only by having money can a person have power and status, and not be looked down on or bullied. I need to make money!” Later, I heard that I could make money as a taxi driver, so I went to get my driver’s license. After driving a taxi for a while, I felt like I wasn’t making enough money, so I started working in sales at a company, and I was able to earn thousands of yuan in commission by closing a deal. To earn more commission, I spent most of my time making calls, and even when I was exhausted and dizzy, I didn’t take a break. Even when my throat became hoarse, I didn’t stop to drink water. As long as the client was willing, I would go at any time. Sometimes I would return home in the middle of the night, feeling completely worn out, but when I thought about the thousands of yuan I’d earn in commission after closing a deal, I wouldn’t feel as tired anymore.

After getting married in 2002, my husband and I opened a restaurant to improve our family’s living conditions. In 2003, SARS broke out, and after being in operation for more than a year, the restaurant wasn’t turning a profit, so we transferred it. I wasn’t content to just fail like this, so we opened another restaurant, but in the end, for various reasons, we couldn’t keep running it. I was in pain and despair, but I wasn’t willing to give up, so I told myself, “For the sake of my family’s lives, and to stop people looking down on us, I can’t give up so easily. I have to keep working hard. I refuse to accept that I can’t make money!” Later, my husband and I opened another restaurant, and we were so busy every day that I never slept before midnight. To save money on another employee, I still washed dishes, mopped floors, and cleaned even while I was pregnant with my second child, and after my child turned one month old, I went back to work at the restaurant. Over time, the restaurant became busier and busier, with dozens of tables of guests every day, and I had to keep running around, attending to the guests. In the summer, I would often have headaches from the heat, and we were so busy that I didn’t even have time to drink water. I was physically and mentally exhausted. But when I saw that we earned more than 10,000 yuan in a day, I was really happy, and I thought that no matter how hard or tiring things got, it would all be worth it. Through our hard work, we not only acquired a car and a house, but we also managed to save some money. I thought to myself, “After all these years of hardship, I can finally hold my head up high and live with dignity.” Later, my husband opened an investment company and even built a factory in our hometown. We were making so much profit that we couldn’t even count it. My child said to me, “Mom, Dad’s trunk is full of money!” A lot of people started trying to worm their way into our favor, and there was always someone to help with the work at home. Even government officials came to chat with us. When I walked down the street, people would greet me from far away, and when people talked about me, they would give a big thumbs-up, and they also told my parents, “Your daughter’s really impressive; in just one year she’s built three houses, and that’s in addition to the two factories, and restaurant she’d already built in the city! Incredible!” Hearing people say this made me feel really satisfied, and I thought to myself, “It’s great having money. I can finally bring honor to my parents! One should always aim higher, because when you have money, people start to see you in a different light. As they say, ‘When you’re poor in the city nobody cares about you, but when you’re rich in the mountains, you find relatives you never knew you had!’ After all these years of hard work, I can finally hold my head high.”

I enjoyed living like this for two or three years, but even though we had money, property, and everything we needed, and the restaurant, company, and factories were all running smoothly, I always felt an emptiness in my heart. My husband often went out with clients to eat, drink, and have fun, and he’d frequently stay out all night. He became more and more absent from home, and didn’t take care of the children. There was little chance to even have a family meal together. We’d gained money, but we’d lost the feeling of home. I felt a mix of emotions in my heart, and a deep sense of unease. When I had free time, I felt bored, and I found myself with nothing to do but wander around to pass the time. Before long, my husband’s investments fell through, and he was detained due to his involvement in a financial case. The factory could no longer operate, and it turned out that the company’s management had embezzled tens of millions in funds, so we had no choice but to sell off our cars and property to pay off debts. Even the restaurant I ran had to be sold. After this incident in our family, friends and relatives kept their distance, looking at us with cold eyes and mocking us. Amidst my suffering, I found out that my husband had been having an affair. I felt like I’d been struck by a bolt from the blue. All these reversals to our fortune became hard for me to accept, and I screamed in my heart, “Oh God, is this my fate?” I was in such deep agony and despair that I couldn’t sleep for nights, and I had no one to share the pain in my heart with.

I couldn’t accept that all my years of hard work had come to ruin, so I wanted to find someone to open a factory with. But I never found a suitable person, so I borrowed money to buy a car and started a taxi business to make money. Due to my frugality, constant mental focus, poor diet, and lack of sleep, my blood vessels hardened, and I started to have high blood lipids and high blood pressure. I also developed thyroid nodules. Later, my health deteriorated further. My eyes watered in the wind, my vision blurred, and I also often had a swollen head and tight chest. When the headaches became severe, I’d have to drive while keeping one hand holding the back of my head and the other on the wheel. I didn’t expect that two years later, all the money I earned from driving would be stolen by my nephew. And just like that, my savings that I’d given years of my life to earn were gone. I felt utterly heartbroken and helpless. Eventually, my body couldn’t keep it up anymore, and I had to stop and rest to recover. In my quiet solitude, I thought to myself, “I’ve worked so hard to earn money all these years, but in the end, I’ve gained nothing and just ended up with a body full of illness. Am I destined to spend my life unable to make any money?” In my pain, as I was struggling on the edge of despair, Almighty God’s gospel of the last days came to me.

In March 2021, a friend testified to me about Almighty God’s gospel of the last days, saying that God had been incarnated again and had carried out a new stage of work, and that He was speaking words to judge and purify people, ultimately restoring people to the likeness in which God originally created them, and restoring human life to the way it was in the Garden of Eden. I felt really happy after hearing this, and after a period of investigation, I accepted God’s new work. Later, I read God’s words: “God uses His life to supply all things, both living and lifeless, bringing all to good order by virtue of His might and authority. This is a truth that can be conceived or comprehended by none, and these incomprehensible truths are the very manifestation of, and testament to, the life force of God. Now let Me tell you a secret: The greatness of the life of God and the power of His life are unfathomable to any created being. It is thus now, as it was in the past, and it will be thus in the time to come. The second secret I shall impart is this: The source of life for all creatures comes from God, however different they may be in life form or structure; whatever kind of living being you are, you cannot turn against the life trajectory set by God. In any case, all I wish is for man to understand this: Without the care, protection, and provision of God, man cannot receive all that they were meant to receive, no matter how diligently they try or how arduously they struggle. Without the supply of life from God, man loses the sense of value in living and the sense of the meaning of life. How could God allow man, who frivolously wastes the value of His life, to be so carefree? As I have said before: Do not forget that God is the source of your life” (The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. God Is the Source of Man’s Life). After reading God’s words, I was deeply moved, and I understood that God is sovereign over all things and controls the fate of humanity. No matter how hard they try, people cannot attain that which God has not predestined for them. I’d thought that my hands were just as capable as others’ and that if others could do something, then so could I. But after all my years of hard work, even though I did earn money, and I managed to acquire cars, property, a company, and assets, just when I had a little success, it all vanished in an instant, and later, the money I’d earned from driving a taxi for two years was stolen by my nephew. I finally understood that people can’t change their fate, and that in this life, I can’t obtain that which isn’t destined for me, no matter how hard I try. Once I realized this, my heart was finally at peace, and I felt a sense of ease. I’d lived in such pain because I didn’t recognize God’s sovereignty and was always fighting against fate. After reading God’s words, I understood that everything is predestined by God, and that I am just an insignificant created being and should submit to God’s sovereignty and arrangements.

Then I read God’s words: “In the vast expanse of the world, oceans silt into fields, and fields flood into oceans, countless times over. Except for He who holds sovereignty over everything among all things, there is no one who is able to lead and guide this human race. There is no ‘mighty one’ to toil or make preparations for this human race, still less is there anyone who can lead this human race toward the destination of light and liberate it from earthly injustices. God laments the future of mankind, He grieves at the fall of mankind, and is pained that mankind is marching, step by step, toward decay and the path of no return” (The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. God Is the Source of Man’s Life). “Humanity, having strayed from the Almighty’s provision of life, is ignorant of the purpose of existence, but fears death nonetheless. They are without help or reliance, yet still reluctant to close their eyes, and they steel themselves to prop up sacks of flesh, which lack any feeling in their souls, as they drag out an ignoble existence in this world. You live in this way, without hope, as do others, without aim. Only the Holy One of legend will save the people who, moaning in the midst of their suffering, long desperately for His arrival. So far, such belief has not been realized in those who lack consciousness. Nevertheless, the people still yearn for it so. The Almighty has mercy on these people who have suffered deeply; at the same time, He feels averse toward these people who lack consciousness, as He has had to wait too long for an answer from humanity. He wishes to seek, to seek your heart and your spirit, to bring you water and food and to awaken you, that you may no longer be thirsty and hungry. When you are weary and when you begin to feel something of the bleak desolation of this world, do not be lost, do not cry. Almighty God, the Watcher, will embrace your arrival at any time. He is keeping watch by your side, waiting for you to turn back around. He is waiting for the day you suddenly recover your memory: when you realize that you came from God, that, at some unknown time you lost your direction, at some unknown time you lost consciousness on the road, and at some unknown time acquired a ‘father’; when you realize, furthermore, that the Almighty has always been keeping watch, waiting there a very, very long time for your return. He has been watching with desperate longing, waiting for a response without an answer. His watching and waiting are beyond any price, and they are for the sake of the human heart and the human spirit. Perhaps this watching and waiting are indefinite, and perhaps they are at an end. But you should know exactly where your heart and your spirit are right now” (The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. The Sighing of the Almighty). After reading God’s words, I was deeply moved and filled with a feeling of warmth. I realized that God had been waiting for my return all along. I’d initially been single-minded in my pursuit of money, and all I thought about was money, money, money! Between the opening of our restaurant and the failure of our investment company, and along with the cold eyes of friends and relatives, and my husband’s infidelity, all these things caused me such pain and despair that I got to the point where I even wanted to die. But when I thought of the elderly and children at home, I gave up on the thought of taking my own life. Later, when I was driving a taxi, I often had headaches, and even with my blood pressure reaching 170 mmHg, I couldn’t bring myself to stop and rest. In order to obtain fame and gain, and for others to think highly of me, I forced myself to continue earning money despite my illness. I thought of a colleague who’d been driving one day but had a stroke and died the next. But no accidents ever happened to me. This was all God’s care and protection. I was at the lowest point in my life. The family businesses had gone bankrupt, my husband had betrayed me, my friends and relatives were giving me the cold shoulder, and even my mother only cared about her grandson’s wedding and was ignoring me. All these things made me see that when it really comes down to it, people only care about money and benefits, and that really, there’s no such thing as family affection. In my pain and helplessness, God’s work of the last days came to me, and I heard God’s voice and returned before Him. After going through this, I saw that God had been silently watching over and protecting me, and I felt His real love.

In the first half of 2022, I was doing my duties in the church, and I actively preached the gospel to my friends and relatives, bringing them before God. I felt a deep sense of fulfillment in my heart. Later, I read God’s words: “‘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). “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. Looking now at Satan’s actions, are its sinister motives not utterly detestable? Maybe today you still cannot see through Satan’s sinister motives because you think one cannot live without fame and gain. You think that if people leave fame and gain behind, they will no longer be able to see the way ahead, no longer be able to see their goals, that their futures will become dark, dim and gloomy. But, slowly, you will all one day recognize that fame and gain are massive shackles that Satan uses to bind man. When that day comes, you will thoroughly resist Satan’s control and thoroughly resist the shackles Satan uses to bind you. When the time comes that you wish to throw off all the things Satan has instilled in you, you will then make a clean break with Satan and you will truly loathe all that Satan has brought to you. Only then will mankind have a real love and yearning for God” (The Word, Vol. 2. On Knowing God. God Himself, the Unique VI). God’s words clearly explain the root of human suffering. People live their lives chasing money, fame, and gain. These things are invisible shackles placed upon people by Satan, making people blindly pursue money, fame, and gain, even to the point of sacrificing everything, and ultimately, they distance themselves from God and betray Him. I had been influenced by Satan’s poisons, living by the views that “Money isn’t everything, but without it, you can do nothing,” “Money makes the world go round,” and “People must have the spine to fight for their dignity,” and I made money, fame, and gain the goal of my pursuit. Since I was a child, I’d believed that if I just had money, I could have everything, stand tall, and be admired. To make big money and stand out, I sold goods on the street, drove a taxi, and worked in sales, and after I got married, I opened a restaurant. After every single failure, I refused to back down. In order to save money by hiring one less employee, I was even working in the restaurant the day before giving birth. When I went for a check-up, the doctor said my child was lacking oxygen and suggested I go to the hospital for oxygen, but to save money I didn’t go, resulting in my child being born with brain hypoxia and having to be put in a neonatal incubator. In order to make money, I spent my days breaking my back from dawn to dusk. I managed to make some money, but my husband cheated on me, and eventually, our family fell apart, and I ended up with a body full of illnesses. I personally experienced how Satan used the invisible shackles of fame and gain to control me, making it impossible for me to break free, and causing me to live in great pain. I felt terrified when I thought back on that time because I almost lost my life in my pursuit of money, fame, and gain. If it weren’t for God’s care and protection, I don’t know where I would have ended up dying. Thinking back on it, I momentarily gained admiration and respect from others by pursuing money, fame, and gain, but in the end, it was all in vain. If I continued down this path, I’d only bring myself endless pain, and end up being devoured by Satan. This realization made me feel somewhat frightened, and I became willing to let go of money, fame, and gain, and to follow God properly.

Later on, I read more of God’s words: “As created beings, people ought to perform their duty, and only then can they receive the approval of the Creator. Created beings live under the Creator’s dominion, and they accept all that is provided by God and everything that comes from God, so they should fulfill their responsibilities and obligations. This is perfectly natural and justified, and was ordained by God. From this it can be seen that, for people to perform the duty of a created being is more just, beautiful, and noble than anything else done while living on earth; nothing among humankind is more meaningful or worthy, and nothing brings greater meaning and worth to the life of a created person, than performing the duty of a created being. On earth, only the group of people who truly and sincerely perform the duty of a created being are those who submit to the Creator. This group does not follow worldly trends; they submit to the leadership and guidance of God, only listen to the words of the Creator, accept the truths expressed by the Creator, and live by the words of the Creator. This is the truest, most resounding testimony, and it is the best testimony of belief in God. For a created being to be able to fulfill the duty of a created being, to be able to satisfy the Creator, is the most beautiful thing among humankind, and is something that should be spread as a tale to be praised by all people. Anything the Creator entrusts to created beings should be unconditionally accepted by them; for humankind, this is a matter of both happiness and privilege, and for all those who fulfill the duty of a created being, nothing is more beautiful or worthy of commemoration—it is something positive” (The Word, Vol. 4. Exposing Antichrists. Item Nine (Part Seven)). I’d suffered so much in the pursuit of money, fame, and gain, and I’d lived in deep emptiness and pain, and even became seriously ill, but it was God’s words that made me understand the truth and see through Satan’s malicious intentions to harm people. I saw God’s love and salvation for people. God’s words gave me direction, stopping me from continuing down the wrong path. I saw that those around me were also living amidst the pain of pursuing money, fame, and gain, and I wanted to bear witness to God’s love and His salvation for me so that those who were going through the same things I’d gone through could also escape their suffering, and have the opportunity to accept God’s words and be saved by God.

One day not long after, a friend who’d once worked with me on a project suddenly contacted me and said, “Gather your employees again and get them working! I’m now making 200,000 to 300,000 yuan a year. You don’t need to worry about the company, just manage your side of things. You’re better at business than me, so you’re sure to make a lot of money.” After hearing this, I felt a little envious and tempted. When working on projects in the past, I’d had to contact companies and handle business myself, but now, I’d just have to head up my team and I’d be able to make quite a bit of money. I subconsciously thought, “They make quite a bit of money each month, so if I work with them, I should be able to make a lot too. I can barely make ends meet and I’m up to my eyeballs in debt right now. Everyone knows my situation, so if I don’t go through with this, will they all mock and ridicule me behind my back?” But then I thought, “If I work with them on projects, I won’t be able to believe in God and do my duties properly, and I’d be in danger of drifting away from God.” Thinking back on those painful days, I didn’t want to repeat the same mistakes. Feeling pained and conflicted, I prayed to God, “God, I don’t want to drift away from You. Please guide me.” After praying, I thought about all the ups and downs I’d gone through before. When I was most in pain and helpless, God graced me, guided me to come before Him, and used His words to lead me, allowing me to realize that a person’s life, whether poor or rich, is all under God’s ordination, regardless of how much wealth they have. This allowed me to gain some understanding of God’s sovereignty and to come out of my pain. I was fortunate enough to be doing my duty as a created being, and this was God’s exaltation and grace upon me. If I continued to pursue money, fame, and gain, I would be failing to live up to God’s love and His painstaking intentions for me. After much consideration, I declined my friend’s offer. Later, no matter how they tried to persuade me, my heart stood firm. I was resolute that I would never leave God to pursue money, fame, and gain again. I wanted to believe in God properly, do my duties well, and repay God’s love. Since then, I have been doing my duties in the church. Thank God!